Race Report: 2014 Soldier Marathon

Today I ran the Soldier Marathon in Columbus, GA.  I did this race as part of a weekend double.  Tomorrow, I’ll be running the Peachtree City 50K.  Columbus and Peachtree City are about 90 miles apart, making this a convenient double.

Earlier in the year, I learned that this was the race where my friend Laurie was going to finish running marathons in all 50 states.  I met Laurie last December at the Rehoboth Beach marathon in Delaware.  The next day, we were both stranded in the Philadelphia airport for several hours, when the airport was closed down by a major snowstorm.  I did this race last year and liked it, so I decided to come back and celebrate Laurie’s accomplishment.

The race starts and finishes next to the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning.  There’s a Hampton Inn right next to the museum.  Last year, I wasn’t able to stay there, because they were already booked.  This year, I made my reservation early.  Staying at Hampton Inn meant I could walk to the race from the hotel.

I flew to Atlanta on Friday, arriving in the early afternoon.  From there, I had to drive about 100 miles to get to Fort Benning.  After checking in at Hampton Inn, I went over to the National Infantry Museum to pick up my race packet.  While I was there, I was able to take a tour of the museum.

I didn’t see anyone I knew at the expo, so I went to a nearby restaurant for a quick dinner by myself.  When I got back to the hotel, I heard a lot of activity in the dining area where they serve breakfast.  There was a large group of runners who knew each other.  They invited me to join them, and I stayed to talk until I needed to get to bed.

I went to bed early, but woke up during the night and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I felt like crap, but I knew that I could still have a good race.

Last year, I had to leave early to make sure I could find parking near the museum.  That wasn’t an issue this year.  I was able to eat a light breakfast at Hampton Inn and then walk to the start.  It was 38 degrees, so I wore an extra layer of clothes and brought a gear bag to check them before the race.

There was a Marathon Maniac group photo 20 minutes before the race.  The gear check was right next to the starting line, so I was able to wait until after the photo before checking my bag.

My goal was to break 3:30.  Last year I did this race with an ailing hamstring and couldn’t quite make my goal, finishing in 3:34:06.  This year I had a second chance, and I was going to take it, even if it left me with tired legs for Sunday’s race.  There wasn’t a 3:30 pace group, so I lined up between the 3:25 and 3:35 groups.  I would have to set my own pace.  This race wasn’t as crowded as my last two, so I was able to get into a good rhythm right away.  Once the gun went off, I was focused on running.  Any thoughts of feeling tired were gone.

The first seven and a half miles are through Fort Benning.  Some of the soldiers stationed there run the race. Others come out to cheer.

When we passed the first mile marker, I could tell that it was way off.  My watch read 9:22, but I could see the 3:25 group just ahead of me.  Clearly, I ran the first mile in no more than eight minutes.  The 3:25 group must have started fast and then eased up in the second mile.  I wasn’t running any faster, but I suddenly caught up to them.  I eased up, so I would stay behind them.  I reached the two mile sign in 15:20.  I heard the 3:25 pacer tell his group that they had run that mile in 7:40.  I decided to ease up some more and let them pull away.

Early in the third mile, there’s a noticeable hill.  The drill sergeants line up here to “motivate” the runners to get up the hill.  I picked up my effort on the hill.  Although I needed to slow down, I didn’t want to slack off in front of the drill sergeants.  I backed off after cresting the hill.

By the time we left Fort Benning, I was consistently running 7:45 per mile.  To break 3:30, I only needed 8:00 per mile.  I was running fast, but it felt surprisingly easy, so I stayed with it.

Next, we followed a combination of paved roads and bike paths that led us to the Riverwalk.  The Riverwalk is a paved trail that runs alongside the Chattahoochee River.  The Chattahoochee forms the border between southern Georgia and Alabama.  This far south, the river is wide.  It’s hard to believe it’s the same river that flows through Helen, GA, where I had dinner four weeks ago.  This is the most scenic part of the course.  There wasn’t any wind, so the water was as smooth as glass.  You could see reflections of the trees on the water.

We followed the Riverwalk until we reached downtown Columbus.  For a couple miles, I settled down to eight minute miles.  Then I resumed running 7:45s.  After about five more miles, we reached downtown Columbus.  We ran past a softball complex, and I could smell the food people were grilling for their tailgate parties.

Next we crossed the river and ran briefly through Phenix City, AL before returning to Columbus.  We were only in Alabama for about a mile, but they really turned out to cheer.  There were dozens of school kids in uniforms, a color guard and a band.

This part of the river has a few sets of rapids.  Running alongside the river we had good views.  I could also see the rapids from the bridge, as we crossed the river again to return to Georgia.

We looped through downtown Columbus for a little over a mile before returning to the Riverwalk.  I started to pass other runners.  I wasn’t going any faster; they were going slower.

As we got back onto the Riverwalk, we ran a section of boardwalk with a canopy of trees.  We didn’t run this section earlier.  This part of the course used different routes for inbound and outbound runners.  By now, I was expecting to get warm, but I was still comfortable.  I never needed to take my gloves off.  We had a light breeze that kept me from overheating in the late miles.  I could now see ripples on the water.

The inbound and outbound courses merged together at 20 miles.  For the outbound runners, it was just past the halfway point.  In the next mile, I saw five runners I knew who were still outbound.  One of them was Laurie.

At this point, I could have slowed to 8:30 per mile, and I would still have broken 3:30.  With another race on Sunday, it was tempting.  I was passing most of the other runners, but then one caught up to me.  As he reached me, he said, “I have to know.  I’ve been working hard to catch up to you for a couple miles now.  How old are you?”  He wanted to know if we were in the same age group.  As it turned out, we were.

I slowed briefly, so we could talk.  Up until now, it hadn’t occurred to me that I could place in my age group.  Realizing that we might be completing for a spot in the top three, I had to go for it.

I picked up my pace.  At first he stayed with me, but I eventually pulled away.  I ran a 7:30 mile.  Then I ran another one.  When I reach the 24 mile mark, I realized that if I kept up the pace, I could break 3:25.  Then I saw the 3:25 pacer ahead of me.  There wasn’t anyone else with him.  That’s actually not unusual for a fast pace group.  Some runners can’t maintain the pace.  Those that can go off on their own to see how much faster they can run.

Ordinarily, 3:25 would not have been a big goal.  Then I realized it would give me a BQ-5 for 2016.  I’ll have other opportunities to get a faster qualifying time, but it would be nice to get one now.  For the next mile, I worked to reel in the 3:25 pacer.  I was gaining ground, but it wasn’t easy.

At 25 miles, I realized I was just barely on pace for 3:25.  The 3:25 pacer was still ahead of me, but I was getting close.  I finally passed him in the last mile.

I was getting close to the finish.  To my left, I could see Hampton Inn through the trees.  As I ran past the hotel, I knew how close it was.  The second to last turn brought me onto the driveway that goes in front of the National Infantry Museum.  Then I made the final turn onto the Avenue of Flags.

At that last turn, there was a soldier who told me to push hard all the way to the finish. I did.  I crossed the line with a gun time of 3:24:03.  My chip time was 3:23:44.  I ran the second half faster than the first half.  That’s not bad for a race where I seemed to run the first half too fast.

The finisher medals are designed to look like dog tags.  I like this design.  It’s unique; it’s appropriate for this race; and it’s something you can wear comfortably.

After finishing, I looked back to see that the next finisher was the 3:25 pacer.  The runner in my age group who had been chasing me finished right behind him.  He also broke 3:25.

After picking up my gear bag, I went through the food line.  There were lots of good post-race snacks.  I had a peanut butter banana frozen yogurt bar, a bagel with peanut butter and jelly, an egg and cheese burrito, and a can of Dr. Pepper.  That’s enough food that I didn’t need to stop anywhere for lunch.

Next, I checked the results board.  I took second in my age group.  The runner who was chasing me took third.  I couldn’t stay for the awards ceremony.  I needed to get back to the hotel to check out.

I didn’t have time for an ice bath, but I took a hot bath and stretched.  After packing up and checking out, I returned to the finish area.  I got there in time to see my friends Tom and Fran.  I had seen Tom on the course earlier.

I was able to pick up my age group award.  Here’s what it looks like.

As I was walking back to my car, I saw Laurie reaching the final turn.

I drove to Peachtree City to check in at Hilton Garden Inn, where I’m staying for the next two nights.  Later, I returned to Columbus for Laurie’s post-race party.

I’m hoping I can sleep better tonight.  I have another race in the morning.  I didn’t do myself any favors by going all out today.

Weigh-in Wednesday: 11/5/14

It’s another weigh-in Wednesday.  This morning I weighed 120.2 pounds.  That’s both good news and bad news.  The good news is that I’m down a pound from last week.  The bad news is that I’m still up more than a pound compared to two weeks ago.  I guess I’m going to need another week to lose the weight I gained in Ireland.

I want to eventually get down to 118, but I can afford to be patient.  Next year, I hope to bring my marathon times down.  For now, I’m doing base training, and I’m content to keep running times in the 3:20s.

My eating habits while traveling haven’t changed dramatically, but my eating habits at home have.  Yesterday, I made my third batch of Minnesota Winter Chili.  It’s one of Scott Jurek’s recipes, but I’ve tweaked it a little to suit our tastes, replacing some of the tomatoes with extra black beans.

I’m also getting better at making omelets to use up my leftover onions, peppers and mushrooms.  This one turned out pretty good.  Sometimes my omelets turn into scrambled eggs.

I’m continuing to gradually ramp up my training.  A leaner diet combined with more exercise will keep my weight moving in the right direction.  Although I’m not at my target weight yet, I’m starting to notice the results.  Yesterday I did a faster pace workout on the treadmill, and I could feel the difference.  I’m not carrying as much weight as I was two months ago.

Since short-term fluctuations in weight can sometimes obscure the overall trend, I also keep a five-week moving average.  I’m happy to say that the five-week average has been moving steadily downward, even if the changes are small.

A Second Circuit of 50 States Now Seems Inevitable

In 2010, I finished a long-term goal to run marathons in all 50 states.  For several years, I’ve been a member of the 50 States Marathon Club.  Some members finish their 50 states and then set out immediately to run a second marathon in each state.  I wanted to do something different.

Within two weeks of finishing, I joined two other running clubs.  One was 50sub4.  50sub4 members share a goal of finishing marathons within four hours in every state.  At the time, I had sub-4 finishes in 42 states, so I just needed to repeat eight states to get faster times.

The other club I joined was Marathon Maniacs.  This club is for people who run marathons frequently.  The minimum qualification to join is to run two marathons within 16 days or three marathons within 90 days.  There are higher levels for more extreme marathon streaks.

Having run marathons on two consecutive days, I joined at the four star level.  Over the next year, I wanted to run enough marathons to reach a higher level.  I eventually put together a running schedule that included marathons or ultras in 23 different states or countries.  That would qualify me for eight stars.  My schedule included the eight states where I still needed to break four hours.

Over the course of the next year, I reached both of these goals.  In the process, I ran my second marathon in several states.  In 2012, I set another goal.  I wanted to reach the highest level of Marathon Maniacs – 10 stars.  One way to do that is to run marathons in 30 different states or countries within 365 days.  It doesn’t have to be a calendar year, but in my case it worked out that way.

I was getting pretty consistent at running marathons fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  Once I had qualified for Boston in half of the states, I made a point of visiting states where I had not yet qualified for Boston.  By the end of 2012, there were only nine states where I had not yet qualified.  As I planned my race schedule for 2013, I made a point of running marathons in each of these states.  I reached that goal in January of 2014.

All of these goals brought me back to states where I had already run at least one marathon.  Earlier this year, I realized I had run two or more marathons in 43 states.  As I was picking races, I started looking for opportunities to revisit these states.

I just ran the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.  This was my second Indiana marathon.  It was also a 50 States Marathon Club reunion.  During the expo, I visited the club’s booth.  They had a form for updating your statistics, which include your total number of marathons and the number of states you’ve done.  People who have started a second circuit usually indicate how many states they’ve repeated.  Since I had never previously committed to doing a second circuit, I was in the habit of writing 50 states – I had already completed my one (and presumably only) circuit of 50 states.  This time, I listed my state count as 47, since Indiana was the 47th state in which I ran a second marathon.

This map shows where I stand today.  I’ve run at least two marathons or ultras in 47 states.  I’m only missing Alabama, Hawaii and Alaska.  I’ve already scheduled another Alabama marathon, but I don’t know when I’m going back to Hawaii and Alaska. I don’t have a schedule for finishing my second circuit, but at this point it seems inevitable.

It’s worth noting that I’ve already run a third marathon in over half of the states.  Is a third circuit inevitable?  I think it all comes down to how many marathons I eventually run in Hawaii and Alaska.  It would be a lot easier if someone would organize quadzillas in Hawaii and Alaska.

Race Report: 2014 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

On November 1st, I ran the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.  This was the first race of an ambitious November race schedule.  This race starts and finishes in downtown Indianapolis, running past the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.  I chose this race because it was a quarterly reunion for the 50 States Marathon Club.

I was able to get an affordable non-stop flight to Indianapolis, arriving early Friday afternoon.  My friend Aaron, who was rooming with me for one night, picked me up at the airport.  We stayed at Embassy Suites, which was only a few blocks from the expo, start and finish.

After checking in at Embassy Suites, we walked over to the Indiana Convention Center to pick up our race packets.  After dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we walked back to the convention center for the 50 States reunion.

I saw quite a few friends at the reunion.  The majority of the meeting is dedicated to recognizing club members who have recently finished their quests to run marathons in all 50 states.  Each one is presented with their award and given an opportunity to tell the rest of us about their journey.  Aaron was one of the recent finishers who spoke at the meeting.

After the meeting, several of us had dinner together at Palomino, an Italian restaurant that was across the street from our hotel.

Saturday morning, about 30 minutes before the race, I met my friend Stefanie in the lobby.  I first met Stefanie on my trip to Costa Rica in September.  She was aiming to qualify for Boston at this race.  She needed 3:35 to qualify, but wanted to run 3:30 or better, so she would be under her qualifying standard by five minutes.  My default goal for most races is 3:30, so I have a lot of practice pacing for 3:30.

The weather was cold.  It was in the low 30s with 15 MPH winds.  Friday afternoon it had been raining and there was a possibility of rain or snow overnight.  When we went outside, I was pleased to see there wasn’t any ice on the streets.

I wore a long sleeved polypro shirt with my 50 States Marathon Club singlet over it.  I also more my cheetah tights, my cheetah hat, and two pairs of gloves.  The hat doesn’t cover my ears, but it’s warm.

As soon as we got outside, I regretted leaving the hotel so early.  I would be warm enough once we started running, but walking to the start I felt cold.  The start was only a couple of blocks away, so we didn’t really need much time to get there.  We stepped inside a Subway restaurant briefly, to escape the cold.  A few other runners had the same idea.

There was a 3:30 pace group, so we lined up with them.  Large races are always congested in the early miles, making it hard to gauge your pace.  By letting the 3:30 pacer worry about the pace, we were able to focus on working our way through the crowd of runners.  There are always people who line up in the wrong spot, and it takes a few miles before everyone around you is running the same pace.  As we started running, I watched where Stefanie and the 3:30 pacer were.  My only goal in the first mile was to stay near them without bumping into people.  It’s easier said than done.

Our first mile was 8:19.  That was a little slow, but nobody was too concerned.  It gave us a chance to warm up.  We had 25 miles to make up the time.  It’s possible that we were already going fast enough by the end of the first mile.  It didn’t seem like we sped up much, but we hit the two mile mark in 15:59.  In the third mile, we eased up and settled into the right pace.

The early miles wound through the downtown area.  There were a number of turns, including a portion of the circle around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.  After that, we were mostly running north until the halfway mark.  That meant we often had a headwind.  I was worried that the wind would be both cold and tiring, but we could look forward to having a tailwind in the second half of the race.

After three or four miles, we got a little bit ahead of the pace group.  That gave us more space to run without bumping into people.  At first, we made a point of making sure the group was right behind us.  Eventually, we didn’t worry about it.  We settled into a nice rhythm, clicking off miles in the 7:50 – 8:00 range.

My outer pair of gloves were cotton, so I didn’t want to risk spilling water on them.  Stef went through aid stations without slowing down.  I stopped briefly, so I could drink without spilling.  Then I would hurry to catch up to her.  Since we were running a little bit fast, I usually stayed a step behind her.  I didn’t want to inadvertently pull her to a faster pace.

Around 10 miles, I was noticing the wind more.  It wasn’t too tiring, but my hands were getting cold.  I knew we wouldn’t have a headwind much longer, but I was looking forward to the second half.

At 13 miles, we were almost a minute ahead of schedule.  Stefanie saw that she could break her half marathon PR, so she accelerated before crossing the chip mat.  After a couple of turns, we started working our way south again.  Now the wind was at our back, and I felt warmer.  I removed my second pair of gloves and tucked them under my belt.

Since we sped up just before the halfway mark, I was concerned that we might continue running too fast.  We eased up in the next mile.  At the 14 mile mark, I saw that we eased up too much.  That mile was 8:16.  I worked to get us back on pace.  We started passing quite a few of the other runners.  I overcompensated.  We ran the next mile in 7:36.

We were both feeling good.  One fast mile wasn’t going to hurt us, but we back off again.  The next mile was 8:02.

With the wind at our backs, we slipped back into a rhythm where we were averaging about 7:55.  At 19 miles, Stef was beginning to feel tired, and I was starting to get warm.  We tried to ease our pace, but accidently ran another 7:50 mile.  Overall, we were ahead of schedule by about 1:40.  We settled back to an 8:10 in the next mile, but still had a cushion of a minute and a half.

With each remaining mile, I calculated the pace we needed to average to break 3:30.  With four miles to go, Stef started having cramps in her right calf muscle.  We were forced to slow down a little, but we were still running fast enough.

In the last few miles, we could see the downtown buildings in front of us, and it was easy to see they were getting closer.  Until the last few turns, we were running toward the monument.

In the last mile, I could tell we were slowing significantly.  We only needed to run it in nine minutes, so I was pretty sure we were OK.  I had to be careful not to pull away from Stefanie.

As we reached one of last turns, the 3:30 pace group caught up to us.  They were actually a little ahead of schedule, so we were still OK.  The pace leader was encouraging everyone to stay with him.  As we rounded the corner, I saw the 26 mile sign.  When we got there, I could see we still had 2:35 to run the last two tenths.   That seemed safe.

There was one final turn before we could see the finish line.  The 3:30 pacer encouraged everyone else to finish and then slowed down to stay with us.  I finished alongside Stefanie, and we crossed the line in 3:29:09.  Stef got her Boston qualifier with almost six minutes to spare.  She also beat her marathon PR by 15 minutes.

After receiving our finisher medals, w each got a disposable hooded jacket.  The temperature was still in the 30s, so we needed them to keep warm until we got back to the hotel.  Stef thanked the 3:30 pacer for his encouragement in the last few blocks.  He said he could see us just ahead of him for most of the race, and didn’t want to pass us.

I ate a few post-race snacks, but I think Stefanie just took a water bottle.  There was a tent with hot food, but we headed straight to the hotel.  It was only a few blocks away, but my hands were cold by the time we got there.

It was reassuring to know that just five days after the Dublin Marathon, I could run a 3:29 without too much effort.  In two weeks, I’m going to be leading the 3:30 pace group in the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Marathon.

I went back to the room to get cleaned up.  Before long, Aaron returned.  He had a tough race, but finished within four hours, which was his primary goal.  He drove home, and I went next door to a sports bar for a late lunch.

Later in the day, Stefanie and I walked around downtown a little, and I took a few pictures.  Then we had dinner.  Naturally, I celebrated with pizza.

Indiana State Capitol, where the race finished

My flight home wasn’t until Sunday afternoon, so I was able to get a full night’s sleep and take my time eating breakfast before getting ready to leave.  Some of my friends were also doing marathons today.  I’m kicking back and taking it easy – only one marathon this weekend.