On September 18, I race-walked the We Walk Marathon in Mayer, MN. This is a race that’s organized for the benefit of walkers, whether they’re race-walkers, fitness walkers, Nordic walkers, or hikers. I walked this race two years ago, but at the time I had not done any recent race-walk training. This year, I expected to be much faster.
You aren’t required to walk the
whole race. They also have a run/walk
division for runners who alternate between running and walking. For that matter, you could also run the whole
way, but they discourage that by imposing a “speed limit” of 10:18 per mile,
which corresponds to a finish time of 4:30.
Anyone who finishes faster than that is given an official time of 4:30 in
the results.
I’ve race-walked seven other marathons
this year, but I did them all in a span of three weeks. In most of them, I was holding back, to keep
some gas in the tank for the next one.
My fastest of those was 5:15:44, which was an average pace of 12:03 per
mile. My goal for this race was to break
5:15.
In addition to the marathon,
there was a 50K race, a half marathon, and a 10K race. In theory, the 50K and marathon started at 7:00,
the half marathon started at 8:00, and the 10K started at 9:00. In practice, it was a rolling start. We were each assigned a time to pick up our
race packet at Mayer Lutheran High School.
As soon as we had our race packets, we could go outside and start.
Our packet pickup times were staggered,
based on our estimated finish times. The
earliest packet pickup time for the 50K was 6:45. The earliest packet pickup time for the
marathon was 7:00. My packet pickup time
was 7:15.
I left home at 6:00, allowing
an hour for the drive to Mayer. I got
there a little bit early, which gave me time to shed my warm-ups and make a
bathroom stop inside the high school before picking up my race packet. After pinning on my race number, I got
started as quickly as I could.
I don’t know if I was the last
walker to start the marathon, but I think I had the latest packet pickup time. I fully expected all the other walkers to have
a head start. My hope was to catch up to
all the other walkers before the end of the race.
The race started in a parking
lot on the south side of the school. The
first half mile was a combination of city streets and a paved path through a
corner of West Ridge Park. Next, we got onto
the Dakota Rail Trail and started heading west.
The course for the marathon was a double out-and-back. The vast majority of it was on the Dakota
Rail Trail.
For the first minute or two, my
legs felt a little bit stiff. The long
drive didn’t help, and the chilly morning air may have made my muscles tighten up. It was 47 degrees at the start.
I worked hard to loosen up and
get into a good rhythm. By the time I
was on the trail, I felt like I was going pretty fast. I suspected I might be too fast, but I waited
to see my split for the first mile.
To break 5:15, I needed to
average about 12 minutes per mile. I was
reasonably confident I could sustain a pace as fast as 11:45, but I didn’t want
to much faster than that in the first half of the race. My first mile was 10:59. I knew that was much too fast, so I told
myself to relax a bit. My second mile
was 11:32. That was better, but I
worried that it might still be too fast.
By the third mile, I had slowed into the 11:40s. I kept going at that pace for the next few
miles.
There were four aid stations,
and we would pass them each a total of four times. They didn’t use any paper cups. They had small bottles of water and slightly
larger bottles of fruit juice and Gatorade.
I didn’t want to carry a bottle with me, but I also didn’t want to be
wasteful, so I adopted a strategy of skipping most of the aid stations, but
drinking as much as I could when I did stop.
I drank a bottle of fruit juice right before the race, so I was able to
skip all the aid stations on my first trip out to the turnaround.
I started so far behind the
other marathoners that I didn’t see another walker for the first mile. Early in the second mile, I saw some people
in the distance. It wasn’t until the
third mile that I finally caught up to the two walkers ahead of me. After that, I passed at least a couple more
each mile. Most were walking, but not as
fast as I was going. A few were running,
but they weren’t going much faster than the walkers.
The trail took us past a
variety of scenery. Most of the time, we
had trees on either side of us. At
times, we passed ponds. As we got
farther from town, we sometimes passed corn fields. There was a road next to the trail, but it
was often hidden by trees. Even though
we were always close to the road, I seldom noticed it.
As I got closer to the turnaround
at the west end of the course, I started watching for runners or walkers who
were on the way back from the turn. The
first one I saw coming back was a runner.
I was still about three quarters of a mile from the turn, so he had a
lead of a mile and a half. Since he started
before me, I assumed he was probably doing the 50K. Regardless of which race he was doing, I didn’t
need to compete with him.
About a minute later, I saw a
walker coming back. She looked like a
race-walker. Since we were going in
opposite directions, I couldn’t tell which of us was walking faster. She also started well before I did, so I
assumed she was probably doing the 50K race.
I didn’t know for sure, though.
I was so distracted by the people
going the other way that I forgot to notice my pace for the sixth mile. I would have to wait another mile before I would
get another chance to check my pace.
I saw two more runners who
reached the turnaround shortly before I did.
On my way back, I was so close to them that I wondered if I would catch
them. I didn’t have to wait long to find
out. They both stopped briefly to adjust
their camelbacks. That’s when I went by
them.
Although I was cold in the
first few miles, it was warming up quickly.
I took off my gloves and put them in my fanny pack. Then I started thinking about finally having
something to drink. On the way out, I
had an opportunity to scout out the aid stations. I knew the first one I would pass had only
one trash bin, and it was right next to the table. The one after that had trash bins a distance
away in each direction. I decided to
wait until that one before stopping to drink.
There were mile markers going
out, but not coming back. When I saw the
“6” sign, I realized I had already gone about 7.1 miles. My watch vibrates when it records a split,
but I never noticed it. I glanced at my
watch. Sure enough, it read 7.1
miles. I missed another split.
I knew by now that I was
probably speeding up, but I didn’t know how much. I knew there was another walker still ahead
of me, but I didn’t know when she started.
I also didn’t know if she was doing the marathon or the 50K race. Until I knew which one of us was going
faster, I was inclined to pick up my pace a little.
When I saw the “5” sign, I
looked at my watch. I had already failed
to notice another split. That was three
in a row.
About halfway through the next
mile, I got to the aid station where I had been planning to stop. By now, I had already walked almost nine
miles without drinking anything. That’s
about a third of the race. I grabbed a
bottle of Gatorade from the table and twisted off the cap. I had come almost to a complete stop while I
drank it. I drank the whole bottle and
then tossed it in the trash bin. I felt
bloated, but that was enough fluid to last me for several miles.
I started checking my watch
periodically to make sure I wouldn’t miss another split. My ninth mile took 11:28. That made me wonder how fast the previous
three miles were. It’s possible my
current pace was sustainable, but I felt like I was pushing my luck.
As I neared the end of the
mile, I saw an orange cone in the distance.
That was the turnaround point for the 10K race. Conveniently, that was also roughly 10 miles
for me. Realizing I was almost done with
another mile, I made sure I noticed when my watch recorded another split. That mile took 11:24. I was speeding up.
I also made a point of noticing
my total time for the first 10 miles. It
was just under 1:55. That meant my
average pace for the first 10 miles was 11:30 per mile. That confirmed that I was also going fast in
the three miles where I didn’t notice my splits. When I downloaded data from my watch after
the race, I learned that miles six, seven, and eight took, 11:29, 11:23, and
11:30 respectively.
At the first turnaround, I was
on pace for a finish time between 5:02 and 5:03, but I didn’t take that too
seriously. After 10 miles, I was on pace
for a time between 5:01 and 5:02. That
made me wonder if it was possible to break five hours today. Before the race, I didn’t think that was a
realistic goal. Now I was beginning to
re-evaluate that. For the past few
miles, I had been pushing the pace a little, because I wanted to compete for
the overall win, and there was another fast walker on the course. Now, I had a second reason to push the pace.
I was conflicted. Should I continue to push the pace, or should
I settle down? I only had about three
miles until the halfway mark. By then, I
would have a better idea how fast the walker ahead of me was going. If I was only worried about competing, I
could afford to hold back a little until I knew where I stood. If I had any serious thoughts about trying to
break five hours, I had to push hard all the way.
I backed off a little in the 11th
mile, but only by about 10 seconds. In
the 12th mile, I got back to my previous pace.
With only about a mile until
the end of my first out-and-back, I started looking for the runner and walker
who were ahead of me. Soon, I would see
them on their way out again. I saw the
runner first. When he passed me, I had
about eight tenths of a mile to go. That
put him about 1.6 miles ahead of me. He added
to his lead, but only by about a tenth of a mile. He wasn’t going much faster than I was, even
though he was running.
When I saw the lead walker, she
wasn’t as far ahead of me as before. At
most, her lead was nine tenths of a mile.
Earlier, it had been more than a mile.
Since then, I had gained ground, which means I had a faster average
pace. I still didn’t know if we were
doing the same race. If we were, what
mattered is who had the fastest time on the course, not who crossed the finish
line first. I now had reason to believe
I was going faster. I also realized I couldn’t
relax too much.
I left the trail and got back
onto city streets in Mayer. Just past West
Ridge Park. There’s a small hill. It’s not
much, but it’s the only noticeable hill on the course. Going over this hill, I noticed some soreness
in my legs. That was a reminder that my
fast pace was probably taking a toll on me.
In the last block and a half
before returning to the high school, I had to watch my step. I had noticed earlier that the city is repaving
some of the streets. The curbing is
done, but they need to put down one more layer of asphalt. As a result, there were uneven spots. It wasn’t a problem if I paid attention, but
I couldn’t afford to get careless.
I finished my first
out-and-back in 2:30:44. That was
tantalizingly close to a five hour pace.
I had to see if I could speed up a little in the second half.
As I headed out again, I
watched my step where the pavement is uneven.
I made a mental note to be really careful when I came back through
here with tired legs at the end of the race.
When I recorded my 14 mile
split, it was 11:02. I knew I was
speeding up, but I still didn’t expect to go that fast. If I did a few more miles at that pace, there
wouldn’t be any question about whether I was on pace to break five hours. The only question is whether the pace would
break me.
I felt like I was keeping up
the same effort, but I slowed to 11:25 in the next mile. Now I started to wonder what average pace I
needed the rest of the way to break five hours.
I was too fatigued to do the math, but 11:25 sounded pretty close.
I made another stop to drink just
past 15 miles. I tried to drink another
whole bottle of Gatorade, but it was too much.
I drank as much as I could and then dumped the last few ounces before
putting the bottle in the trash bin. I
planned on making my last stop around 21 miles.
I was worried stopping to drink
would make this mile slow, so I picked up my effort. I was rewarded with a split of 11:06 in my 16th
mile, in spite of stopping to drink.
It was around this time that I
started noticing some discomfort in my fingers.
They were swollen. This is a symptom
I’ve had on rare occasions, but it’s usually associated with
overhydration. I definitely wasn’t
overhydrating today. In the first 15
miles, I stopped to drink only twice. I’ve
talked to other walkers who have had swollen fingers. It’s apparently much more common for walkers
than for runners. When I walk, I have a fairly
vigorous arm motion. I wonder if fluid
gets forced into my fingers by centrifugal force. For what it’s worth, no other part of either
hand was swollen.
If my only goal was to break
five hours, I would’ve been more patient here.
I would try to average 11:25 per mile until the turnaround, and then I
would push hard coming back.
Psychologically, it’s always easier to pour it on when you’re getting
closer to the finish line. At the
moment, I was still getting farther away with each mile.
Breaking five hours wasn’t my
only goal. I was also competing with the
walker who was somewhere farther up the trail.
That’s what drove me to continue pushing the pace, even though I still
had 10 miles to go. My next three miles
took 11:11, 11:04, and 11:11.
By now, I noticed a walker
ahead of me who had a familiar gait. I
recognized her arm motion. At first, I thought
it was the walker I had been chasing, but there’s no way I could have caught up
to her this quickly. I eventually caught
up to the walker in front of me. Then I
discovered it was another race-walker I had noticed just as I was finishing my
first lap. She was doing the half
marathon. When I saw her before, she was
just getting started.
After passing her, I caught a
glimpse of the turnaround cone in the distance.
It was about half a mile away. I
still hadn’t seen either the lead runner or the lead walker. I expected by now, I would at least see the
lead runner. Looking ahead, I couldn’t
see anyone between me and the turnaround cone.
They weren’t ahead of me. Where
were they?
In retrospect, I could see how
I could fail to notice the runner. By
now, there were also people on the course who were doing the half marathon, so
a runner could blend into the crowd.
Runners all have a similar gait, as do the more casual walkers. The faster walkers stand out. What really surprised me is how I could fail
to notice the only other walker on the course who was going anywhere near the
same speed I was going. I had to assume
she was still somewhere ahead of me. I
had no way of knowing if I was gaining ground on her.
To be on pace for five hours, I
needed to reach the turnaround in 3:45.
I got there in less than 3:44. I
now had a cushion of more than a minute.
I put the other walker out of my mind and focused on my own pace.
When I reached the “6” sign, I
realized it now meant six miles to go. I
looked at my watch. To break five hours,
I needed to walk the last six miles in 70 minutes. Now I could do the math. I needed an average pace of 11:40 the rest of
the way. That sounded much easier than
11:25.
My next mile took 11:16. I put 24 seconds in the bank. With five miles to go, I just needed to
average 11:45 per mile.
It was during that next mile
that I stopped to drink for the last time.
The aid station was in the middle of a clearing in a town called New
Germany. I had noticed a wind that was
helping keep me cool, but I was usually sheltered by the trees. Now that I was out in the open, the wind felt
tiring. Fortunately, I wouldn’t be out
in the open for very long.
I once again drank as much of a
bottle of Gatorade as I could. As I
resumed walking, I didn’t like how full my stomach was. Drinking that much, however, meant I wouldn’t
have to stop again.
I was really happy when I saw
my next split. Despite stopping to
drink, that mile was a few seconds faster than the previous one. I kept up that pace in the next mile. Each time, I recomputed the pace I would need
the rest of the way to finish in five hours.
When I had three miles to go, I
only needed to average 12:14 per mile.
Now I knew breaking five hours was in the bag, but I didn’t let up. I wasn’t going to set an all-time PR, but
this would be the first time I walked a marathon under five hours since
2018. It’s a major milestone for my
training. Now that I knew I was going to
break five, I wanted it to be as fast as possible. I poured it on the rest of the way.
Halfway through the next mile,
I saw another orange cone and a timing mat.
People doing the 50K race had to do an additional out-and-back that was
just under two and a half miles each way.
This was the turnaround point for their extra lap. Seeing that reminded me that I would get one
more chance to look for the runner and walker who I missed seeing earlier. If, as I suspected, they were doing the 50K
race, I would eventually see them going out again.
I slowed down by just a few
seconds in my 24th mile. I should
probably have been happy that I was still on roughly the same pace, but slowing
down at all was no longer acceptable. I
dug deeper. I walked the 25th mile in
11:00. Then I started watching for the
runner and walker who had been ahead of me for the whole race.
On my first lap, I saw them
both before I left the trail. This time,
I didn’t. I was already back on city
streets before I saw anyone going back out.
After another block, I entered the park for the last time. Then I went up the hill for the last
time. Halfway up the hill, my watch
recorded my split for mile 26. It was
10:56, which was my fastest of the race.
Then I saw the runner. He was, in
fact, doing the 50K race, but he had slowed down since I last saw him. I gained almost a mile on him.
I never saw the other walker
again. I pressed on and finished in 4:55:58. I enquired whether any other walkers had
finished the marathon. So far, I was the
only one. I don’t know what happened to
that other walker, but it no longer mattered. Based on her early start time, I’m going to
assume she was doing the 50K. Perhaps
she took a break at some point, and I went by without noticing.
They had awards for the first
three in each age group. I was the only
race-walker in my age group, so I received my age group award immediately. I would have to wait until later to find out
if I was first overall. I was. I even finished faster than all the runners.
After the race, I was surprised
by how long I could stand around outside without getting cold. By the time I finished the race, it had
warmed up to 70 degrees. Only the shade
along the trail and the cool breeze kept me from feeling hot.
I eventually went into the
school to have some post-race food and beverages. They had water, fruit juice, and an
assortment of snack foods. Three foods
that you don’t usually see after a race were buttered popcorn, cheese, and
salami.
By now, I was noticing less
swelling in my fingers. By the end of
the day, they were back to normal. I’ll
have to notice that the next time I walk a marathon, but it doesn’t seem to be
a major concern.
No comments:
Post a Comment