On June 30, I ran the Missoula Marathon. The course is point-to-point, starting in Frenchtown and finishing in downtown Missoula. It’s mostly flat, but there’s a tough hill in the middle of the race.
For the second straight
year, I stayed at the Doubletree Edgewater.
This hotel is half a mile from the start, and it’s right across the
river from the University of Montana.
After running the 5K race
Saturday morning, I spent the rest of the day relaxing. There was a farmer’s market in a parking lot
next to Caras Park, so I picked up a huckleberry pastry for my pre-race
breakfast.
After that, I spent some
time relaxing in the pool and hot tub.
Then I went back to Caras Park, where I bumped into three friends who
happened to be there for packet pickup.
I hung out with them at
Caras Park for about an hour before heading to dinner. On my way back to my hotel, I bumped into
them again, but this time they were with two more friends.
I went to bed early, in
anticipation of getting up early. I was
able to get to sleep quickly, but I couldn’t sleep through the night. I woke up at 2:00 and never got back to
sleep.
Buses to the start left
from the University of Montana, which was across the river from my hotel. I had to walk about half a mile to get to the
bus loading area. There were volunteers
to make sure we got on the correct bus, as the marathon and half marathon had
different drop-off locations.
The buses started loading
at 4:15, and the last bus left at 5:15.
I left the hotel at 4:15, so I was on a bus by about 4:30. The runner who sat next to me on the bus was
also from Minnesota. I keep meeting
other Minnesota runners at races in other states.
The bus ride took about
half an hour. When I was dropped off in
the start area, I immediately got in line for the port-o-potties. It can take time to get through the line if
you wait too long. Then I found a place
where I could sit down.
It was warm enough to
wear shorts for the race, but I wore warm-up clothes to stay warm before the
race. They had a gear check, so I didn’t
have to use throwaway clothes. I was
already familiar with the layout of the start area, so I knew right where to go
to drop off my bag before lining up for the race. I kept my jacket with me, just in case we had
rain during the race.
The race started at
6:00. I lined up with the 3:50 pace
group. I didn’t know if I would be able
to run that pace for the whole race, but I wanted to see how it felt. Last year, I started the race on pace for
3:50, but I couldn’t sustain the pace.
Even before the long hill, I was forced to slow down. In retrospect, I wonder if it was because I
ran the 5K race the day before. I did
the same thing this year, so I didn’t know how it would go.
As the race started,
there was a fireworks display that lasted for a few minutes. They did that last year too.
Last year, the 3:50 pace
group started way too fast, and I had to drop back and run on my own. I’m pretty sure there were different pacers
leading that group this year, but I wasn’t going to trust their pacing too
much.
In the first mile, the
pace felt tiring. Rather than try to keep
up with the pacers, I let myself fall behind a bit. As I suspected, they started too fast. My time for the first mile was 8:12, and they
were a few seconds faster. Our pace was
supposed to be 8:46.
After that, I eased up
and tried to find a pace that felt right.
The pace group quickly pulled away from me.
In the next two miles, my
pace was in the 8:30s. That was still a
little too fast, but it was more reasonable.
In mile four, I finally eased into the 8:40s.
After that, my pace
bounced between the 8:30s and 8:40s. If
I ran a mile in the 8:40s, I was careful not to slow down any more. The result was that I would speed up to the
8:30s. After a mile in the 8:30s, I
would ease up, and I’d be back in the 8:40s.
For several miles, I had a consistent pattern of running odd miles in
the 8:30s and even miles in the 8:40s.
For the first third of
the race, we were on a two-lane road, surrounded by ranches. There weren’t any spectators on this part of
the course. The only crowd noise was a
rooster.
Early in the race, I was
already sweating more than usual. It
wasn’t hot, but I suspect there was a lot of moisture in the air.
On average, my pace was
still a little faster than the pace I would need to break 3:50. The 3:50 pace group was going much
faster. Every now and then, I would look
ahead. I could see them in the distance,
but just barely. After about six miles,
I started to lose sight of them.
After about seven miles,
I started running with a group of local runners who were all going at about the
same pace. I started talking to one of
them. His name was Logan, and I talked
to Logan for several miles.
I was finding the pace to
be more tiring than it should have been.
I’ve run faster in other races this year, but I had serious doubts that
I could sustain this effort for the whole race.
I had the same experience last year.
One of the hills near
downtown Missoula has a white “L” on it.
That was put there by students of Loyola High School. Eight miles into the race, I noticed the “L”
in the distance. I had never noticed
before that you can see it from this far away.
Halfway through the 10th
mile, we turned onto Kona Ranch Road. As
we made that turn, we got our first crowd support.
At about 10 miles, we
crossed a bridge over the Clark Fork River.
Ahead of us, there was a mountain ridge, and I could see dark clouds above
the ridge. I could see rain in the
distance, and I was hoping the rain would stay on the other side of the ridge.
Next, we turned onto Big
Flat Road. I’ve always found that name
amusing, since it’s the only part of the course that isn’t flat. At 11 miles, we started to climb a long gradual
hill.
The next two miles were
slightly uphill, but I kept up the same pace.
At the halfway mark, I was on pace to finish in 3:48. The 3:50 pace group was nowhere in
sight. They must have been at least two
minutes ahead of me. They were on pace for
3:44 or faster.
The halfway point is
where we started climbing the one big hill on the course. I told Logan my only goal in the next mile
was to get through it without wearing myself out. I was a minute ahead of schedule, and I was
willing to give it all back in this mile.
We slowed down going up
the hill, but it was still too tiring. I
told Logan I was going to walk for a minute.
He continued to run. I was
disciplined about walking for one minute and then running again. When I resumed running, I was past the
steepest part of the hill.
Shortly before the 14
mile mark, I crested the hill. I ran
that mile in 9:39. That was about a
minute slower than my previous pace.
Logan was about 30 second ahead of me.
The next mile was mostly
downhill, but there was a section where it kicked up again. I tried to pick up my pace in that mile. Logan was also picking up the pace, so I wasn’t
able to catch up with him.
When I reached the 15
sign, I was disappointed with my pace.
It was 8:44. I was hoping to be
faster in a mostly downhill mile.
Mile 16 was all
downhill. I did manage to pick up my
pace in that mile, but I still wasn’t gaining any ground on Logan. I suspected I would never catch up with him.
Near the end of that
mile, we turned onto River Pines Road. This
was the junction where the marathon and half marathon courses merged. There was a long row of port-o-potties,
followed by an aid station. I didn’t
think I needed a bathroom stop, but I started to feel pressure in my intestines
a few minutes later.
Most of the aid stations were
playing music. At this one, they were
playing, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
I couldn’t help but think that I should’ve stayed, so I could go. Now I had to wait for the next aid station
that had port-o-potties.
After 16 miles, I was
about 30 seconds ahead of schedule, but now the course leveled out. Running on level ground, I couldn’t sustain the
same pace.
River Pines Road led us
to a bridge over the Bitterroot River. About
a quarter mile before the bridge, I saw a sign saying, “Thanks for
running. Because of you, they had to fix
the bridge.” When I reached the bridge,
I noticed it had new pavement, so there’s probably some truth to that sign.
Mile 17 took me 8:59. If I kept running at that pace, I would only
be on pace for 3:50 for one more mile.
After that, I would start falling behind. On top of that, I knew I would need to make a
bathroom stop. I couldn’t hold out for
the rest of the race.
In the next mile, I felt
a few drops. It didn’t amount to much,
but it was a reminder that rain could still move in before I finished the
race. I could see dark clouds nearby.
At the 18 mile mark,
there was an aid station with a row of port-o-potties. I stopped to do my business, but it took a
long time. As I was getting ready to
exit the port-o-potty, I could hear the music from the aid station. They were playing, “I’m Still Standing.” That was a reminder that I wasn’t moving.
As I left the aid
station, I was about three and a half minutes behind schedule for a 3:50
finish. I revised my goal to breaking
four hours. I had to do the same thing
last year. At least I held the pace
longer this year. Last year, I couldn’t
even hold that pace to the halfway mark.
I couldn’t run as fast as
before, but I tried to limit the damage, so I could stay on pace to break four
hours. At 20 miles, my time was just
over three hours. I had slightly less
than an hour to run the last 6.2 miles.
My time for mile 20 was 9:37. At
that pace, I would make it, but I couldn’t afford to slow down any more.
From that point on, I
worked harder to pick up my pace. In
mile 21, I picked it up to 9:19. For the
rest of the race, all my miles were faster than 9:20, but I really had to work
at it.
Looking straight ahead, I
could see the “L” again. I was in
Missoula now, so it was much closer. As
the crow flies, I was about two miles of the finish line, but the marathon
route has a lot of turns going through town.
To get there, I still had to run more than five miles.
When I reached the 23
mile sign, I saw that I now had more than 32 minutes to run the last 3.2
miles. I was confident I would break
four hours, but my breathing was getting more labored. The last few miles reminded me of how I felt
when I was running the 5K race on Saturday.
In the last mile, I
caught up to Logan. After my long
bathroom stop, I didn’t expect to see him again during the race. As I went by, I told him I would see him at
the finish line.
I’ve done this race three
times before, but I can never remember the route going through town. It wasn’t until the last few turns that I
recognized where I was. Then I knew the
remaining turns.
After the last turn, I
could see the Beartracks Bridge, but I had to go uphill to get onto the bridge. I finished as best I could, but a few runners
passed me on the bridge.
I finished in 3:57:24. After getting my medal, I waited for Logan to
finish. Then I waited another minute or
two to see the 4:00 pace group come in.
The surprise gift for
completing the Big 3 Challenge was a small zippered travel bag. We had our choice of three colors. I chose the cobalt blue.
It never warmed up much during the race. It was cloudy and breezy. It was sprinkling as I ran the last mile, but the rain stopped by the time I finished. Still, I knew I would get cold quickly, so I put on my Tyvek jacket. Next, I retrieved my gear bag. I put on my warm-up pants as soon as I could find a place to sit down.
I stayed in the finish
area long enough to have post-race snacks and beer. Logan spotted me in the finish area, so we
were able to eat together.
By the time I got back to
the hotel and showered, I was getting hungry again. Every time I walked to or from my hotel, I
passed a small hamburger stand. It
always smelled good, so I went there for lunch.
The burgers taste as good as they smell.
I like this series of
races, but it’s tough to run a quality marathon the day after a 5K race. If I do this again, I either need to go easy
in the 5K race or go easy in the marathon.
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