On November 1st, I ran
the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, NC.
It’s the fourth time I’ve run this race.
I like it, because it has easy logistics. First, I can get a direct flight from
Minneapolis to Raleigh. Also, the start
and finish lines are both downtown. If I
stay in a downtown hotel, I can walk to and from the race.
The only thing that isn’t
convenient is packet pickup. It’s at a
location that’s on the opposite side of town as the airport, and it ends at
4:00. In past years, I had an early
flight that got me to Raleigh around noon.
This year, the earliest non-stop flight didn’t arrive until 2:15.
If my flight was on time,
I’d have time to pick up my rental car and drive to the expo. It wouldn’t take much of a delay, however, to
put me at risk of missing packet pickup.
Fortunately, I had friends in the Raleigh area who were willing to pick
up my race packet for me if I couldn’t make it on time.
Friday night, I didn’t
get much sleep. I recently had a tooth
extracted, and I’m still experiencing some discomfort. During the day, I’ve been taking prescription
strength ibuprofen, but I only take it with food. During the night, the ibuprofen wears
off. I woke up around 2 AM, and had
trouble getting back to sleep. The
clincher was a thunderstorm that started around 3:30. After that, I never got back to sleep.
When I got up, I found
out my flight was delayed. It wasn’t a
huge delay, but it was enough that I couldn’t count on getting to packet pickup
before it closed. My friends, Julie and
Miles, picked up my race packet for me, and I met them later for dinner.
I stayed at the Hampton
Inn in downtown Raleigh. I’ve stayed
here before, so I knew exactly what to expect.
On the plus side, it’s conveniently located for the race. The downside is the noise. When I checked in, I saw that my room faced
the railroad tracks. You might think
that was the noisy side of the building, but you’d be wrong. That’s the quiet side. The other side of the building is closer to
the nightclubs. This hotel is in the entertainment
district, and on a Saturday night the club next door is loud until closing time. The hotel staff puts earplugs in every
room. I brought my own.
Race day was the same day
we change the clocks, so I had to account for that in my sleep schedule. There wasn’t an alarm clock in my room, which
was just as well, since I wouldn’t know if it would automatically adjust. I manually changed the time on the microwave,
and I knew my phone would change automatically.
The extra hour enabled me
to get a full night’s sleep and still wake up before my alarm went off. The race started at 7:00, but I was already
dressed when the hotel started their breakfast service at 6:00.
This was my fourth
straight race with ideal temperatures.
It was 50 degrees when I walked out to the start, and it stayed in the
50s for most of the race.
My default goal, whenever
it seems feasible, is to run a Boston qualifying time. In my last race, I was held back by a
cold. I’m healthy now, so I was
cautiously optimistic that I could run fast enough for a BQ. This isn’t an easy course. It’s hilly, and there’s a particularly tough
stretch that comes late in the race.
That said, I ran a BQ last year, so it seemed feasible.
I had one other
goal. Last year, I placed in my age
group. I’m not as fast now, but I’m in a
new age group. That gave me hope that I
might be rewarded with an age group award if I ran a good race.
They had pace groups with
target times in 15-minute increments. I
started the race with the 4:00 group. My
plan was to run with this group for the first 20 miles. Then I could slow down on the uphill section
between 20 and 23 and still be on pace to finish in 4:05, which is what I
needed for a BQ.
That plan came apart
pretty fast. I wasn’t even done with the
first mile when I realized I was going to need to make a bathroom stop. I thought I emptied out pretty good before
the race, but nothing wakes up your colon like running at a fast pace.
I spotted a row of
port-o-potties when I was halfway through the second mile. As I got closer, I saw that there were
already five runners waiting in line. I
didn’t want to spend several minutes standing in line, so I kept running.
Halfway through mile
three, I came to an aid station that had several port-o-potties. After drinking some water on one side of the
street, I had to cross over to the over side to get to the port-o-potties. I bumped into a few people trying to get
across the street.
That stop took a long
time. I wanted to make sure I was really
done. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t done.
When I resumed running, I
was surrounded by much slower runners.
Before, I was with the 4:00 group.
Now, I was right in front of the 4:30 group. Their target pace is more than a minute per
mile slower.
I couldn’t make up the
time I had lost, but I wanted to at least get back to my previous pace. Finishing in 4:05 was no longer feasible, but
I could still finish in 4:10 with a good enough race.
I was on my own to find
the right pace now. Also, I had to work
hard to keep from getting bottled up behind slower runners. I accelerated until the pace felt tiring.
My split for mile three
was meaningless, because it included the bathroom stop. It wasn’t until I finished the fourth mile
that I knew how fast I was going. I
overcompensated. Now, I was going 20
seconds too fast.
Early in mile five, we
left the downtown area to run through a residential neighborhood. Here, there was a long downhill section. In that mile, I ran even faster. The next mile was also fast.
By now, I could see the
4:15 pace group just ahead of me. I
wanted to catch up to them, but I was starting up a hill. On the hill, it was all I could do to keep
pace with them. I had to wait until I
crested the hill. Then I caught up to
them.
I considered staying with
the 4:15 group, but I decided to move ahead of them. I had not yet given up on 4:10.
The next few miles were
rolling. On downhill sections, I could
speed ahead of people. On uphill
sections, I couldn’t even keep up.
Already, my effort in miles three through six was catching up to me.
In mile seven, we turned
onto Hillsborough Street. This is the
same street that would eventually bring us back into downtown. I could see runners in the shorter races
coming back into downtown on the other side of the street. In the direction we were going, it was mostly
uphill, and I started to slow down.
We had to go around a few
roundabouts. On one of them, I thought I
had room to get between another runner and the curb. As she moved closer to the curb, I was forced
to run over it. I stumbled, and I almost
knocked down two other runners as I struggled to keep from falling. I had to apologize to all the runners I
bumped into.
Early in mile nine, we
left the street to begin a long out-and-back section on paved trails. Within a mile, we began a long downhill
section that was about two and a half miles long. This was the last easy part of the
course. All I could think about was how
tough this section would be when I had to run it in the opposite direction.
Running downhill was
easier, but my pace was disappointing. I
could no longer match my pace from the early miles, even going downhill.
At one of the aid
stations, I saw two port-o-potties. One
was vacant. I was tempted to stop, but I
didn’t want to lose more time. I continued
running, and within a minute or two, I wished I had stopped while I had the
chance. I was feeling pressure building
in my intestines, but now I had to wait until the next aid station.
Just past 11 miles, we
ran under a bridge, turned to go up a ramp, and then crossed the bridge before
turning onto the next section of trail.
There was an aid station next to the bridge, and there were
port-o-potties. This time I stopped.
After that, there was
another mile of downhill running, then the course leveled out. When I say it leveled out, I mean there was
very little net elevation change. There
were lots of undulations.
My pace now was even more
disappointing. I saw no reason to push
the pace now. Between my bathroom stops
and the fatigue from running too fast earlier, it was obvious that I was going
to have a disappointing time. I gave up
on time goals and just focused on finishing the race – hopefully without any
more bathroom stops.
Just before 15 miles, I
ran through a park, where I saw Julie and Miles. I stopped briefly to let them know how my
race was going.
I was about a mile from
the turnaround when I saw the 4:00 group coming back. Before I reached the turnaround, I also saw
the 4:15 group. They had passed me
earlier while I was in the port-o-potty.
The turnaround was near
the 16-mile mark. Not long after making
the turn, I saw the 4:30 pace group. It
was disturbing how close they were.
When I came back through
the park, I looked for Julie and Miles.
They were on the opposite side of the trail now. They got a few pictures of me, but I didn’t
see them until I was almost past them.
At 19 miles, there were
people offering a mixture of fruit juices.
I had seen them on the way out, but I didn’t stop. Coming back, I drank a cup. I couldn’t identify the various fruit juices,
but I detected some ginger.
For the next mile, all I
could think about was the tough uphill section that was looming ahead of
me. It started just past the 20-mile
mark. I ran as much of it as I could,
but I had to take short walking breaks on the steeper sections.
I thought my digestive
system had stabilized, but my extra effort running uphill was having an adverse
effect. When I got back to the bridge, I
stopped to use the port-o-potty again. I
wondered if the 4:30 group would pass me while I was stopped.
As I resumed running, I
made a hairpin turn onto the ramp, and I saw Julie. The was following the online tracking and
said I would finish at 11:26. I had
crossed the starting line at 7:02, so that meant I was on pace to finish in 4:24.
I wasn’t sure if that estimate was based on my current pace or my average pace. I suspect it was my average pace. My current pace was much slower. The important thing is that I was still ahead of the 4:30 group. All I cared about now was staying ahead of them.
After running under the
bridge, I enjoyed a brief downhill section before resuming the climb. When I reached the 21-mile mark, I knew the
two toughest miles were still ahead of me.
I did the best I could to
limit the damage. I only walked when I
had to, and I kept my walking breaks short.
I was on the last part of
the climb, when I heard runners behind me talking. Pace leaders will often talk to their groups
to encourage them or to let them know what’s coming up. I wondered if I was hearing the 4:30
group. I never looked back. I assumed the 4:30 group was right behind me,
and I picked up my effort.
Just after cresting the
hill, I saw some spectators who had set up a table with beer, hard seltzer, and
pickle juice. I was just getting into a
good rhythm, so I had no temptation to stop.
When I reached the
23-mile sign, I saw a runner stopping to take a picture of the sign. I recognized her as someone I ran with for
several miles in another race. In that
race, she took pictures of all the mile signs.
She recognized me also, and we ran together for a couple minutes. Then she needed to walk, and she told me to
go ahead.
With less than three
miles to go, I got back onto city streets.
From here, there was a gentle downhill trend.
Now, I saw spectators
offering beer, shots, mimosas, and pickle juice. I didn’t stop. I didn’t know what my digestive system could
handle.
When I got my split for
mile 24, it was my fastest mile since the turnaround. I was still ahead of the 4:30 group, and if I
kept up this pace, they wouldn’t catch up to me. That gave me the incentive I needed to pick
up my effort.
I once again felt like my
extra effort was putting me at risk of losing control of my bowels. The last two miles were a balancing act. I didn’t want to slow down, but I had to be
careful not to push too hard.
Mile 25 was five seconds
faster than mile 24. That was
encouraging. I just had to hang in there
for a little more than a mile.
The last half mile had
three turns. It was mostly
downhill. I knew I would break 4:30, but
I was fighting to keep it together.
I finished in
4:29:22. I felt like my race had been a
disaster, but at least I didn’t get caught by the 4:30 group.
The finisher medal
featured a spinner in the shape of an acorn.
I wanted to look for
Julie and Miles, but first I had to rush to the port-o-potties for an overdue
bathroom stop. Next, I went to the
timing tent, where I found out I had placed in my age group.
Julie and Miles
eventually found me. We stayed in the
finish area long enough to find out where I could get my age group award.
We were only a block away from my hotel. Julie and Miles waited in the lobby while I went to my room to shower and change into clean clothes. Then we went to lunch.
