A Tough Day.....Stupid Mistakes
I made some serious rookie mistakes at Boston this year. While hanging out in the "Athlete Village" pre-race, the weather kept F'ng with me. It would go from chilly / breezy to warm so wasn't sure what to wear...I finally decided to wear a long sleeve thermal Nike Pro shirt under my singlet which was my first mistake. The race started and after less then 5k I realized that I was going to be seriously overheating if I wore the thermal for the whole race. I don't know what the "F" I was thinking, I run in cooler temps all the time in Oregon and typically just toss on a dri-fit T. I tried to wear the thermal for a couple more miles before I couldn't take it any longer. I peeled off the race course and wasted 3 minutes taking off my singlet, thermal, watch, hat and putting everything back on sans thermal. I ended up tucking the thermal in the back of my shorts since I didn't want to throw away a new $60 thermal shirt. After a couple miles of feeling like I had a diaper in my shorts, I had to make the drastic decision of tossing my shirt....F$@#!
The only positive was that I was feeling good after losing the "sweater" and was clicking off 7 - 7:15's. I crossed the 13.1 mile mark in what I thought was 1:34 and change but *this was my MAJOR mistake* in the marathon- I was going off the run time on my Garmin GPS and forgot to take into consideration that the stopwatch actually STOPS when you aren't moving. Remember my pitstop to take off that thermal? Yep, 1:34 + 3 minutes for an official 13.1 split of 1:37:17.
The second half marathon was tough. I had some "stomach issues" which caused me to hang out in a couple porta potties...nuff said there. After mile 18, I was started to get cramps in my calf...I'd be running along and get a twinge *yikes* I was stressing that it would go "full lock" on me but, thank God, it never did. I really didn't have any problems with the hills.....ran all the hills including heartbreak...had more problems on the downs...my quads were officially shot and with the intermittent cramping, it had me running scared thru the finish. My Garmin finish time as I crossed the finish line was 3:16:31. Again, totally forgot about the GPS unit stopping during my pitstops so another 3 minutes lost on the second half during my 2 porta potty stops so my 2nd 13.1 split wasn't 1:42, it was actually 1:42 + 3 minutes or 1:45.
My official finish time was 3:22:33. I lost 6:07 due to my clothing switch and 2 bathroom breaks. I know the bathroom breaks couldn't have been avoided but 6 F'n minutes of stoppage in a marathon where I was NOT MOVING!?!? Definitely need to work on that "sense of urgency" during a race...being parked for 6 minutes is ridiculous.
Ok, enough of my whiny bitching...I'm sure all the "shoulda, woulda, coulda" gets old. Some positives from this race were that the 7- 7:15 pace felt alot easier during this race then the last marathon I ran in early February......I just need to work on staying injury free and getting some solid miles under my belt. I think that would prevent the cramping issues I seem to be plagued with during the latter stages of a marathon. I know it isn't a hydration issue because I carried a water bottle and supplemented with salt tabs in my drink mix. Also, you couldn't have asked for better weather for a marathon ...heat wasn't an issue today.
Official Results
3:22:33
Overall Place 4278
Gender Place 3840 (Do the math, 438 women kicked my slooow ass on the course today- girl power- gotta love it!!)
Division Place 2188
Also, hats off to all the finishers out there today. It was very motivating to be racing the course with the hardcore runners out there. There were some very fast men and women out there today...I got passed by more then a few today as the stats attest- good times!
I am going to be spending a few days hobbling around Boston with Deb....she has been a great cheerleader out here so looking forward to doing everything but think about running for the next few days......
If you're still reading this, thanks for hanging out till the bloody end of my whiny race report. Next year at Boston, I will not make the same mistakes.
Peace out!
The only positive was that I was feeling good after losing the "sweater" and was clicking off 7 - 7:15's. I crossed the 13.1 mile mark in what I thought was 1:34 and change but *this was my MAJOR mistake* in the marathon- I was going off the run time on my Garmin GPS and forgot to take into consideration that the stopwatch actually STOPS when you aren't moving. Remember my pitstop to take off that thermal? Yep, 1:34 + 3 minutes for an official 13.1 split of 1:37:17.
The second half marathon was tough. I had some "stomach issues" which caused me to hang out in a couple porta potties...nuff said there. After mile 18, I was started to get cramps in my calf...I'd be running along and get a twinge *yikes* I was stressing that it would go "full lock" on me but, thank God, it never did. I really didn't have any problems with the hills.....ran all the hills including heartbreak...had more problems on the downs...my quads were officially shot and with the intermittent cramping, it had me running scared thru the finish. My Garmin finish time as I crossed the finish line was 3:16:31. Again, totally forgot about the GPS unit stopping during my pitstops so another 3 minutes lost on the second half during my 2 porta potty stops so my 2nd 13.1 split wasn't 1:42, it was actually 1:42 + 3 minutes or 1:45.
My official finish time was 3:22:33. I lost 6:07 due to my clothing switch and 2 bathroom breaks. I know the bathroom breaks couldn't have been avoided but 6 F'n minutes of stoppage in a marathon where I was NOT MOVING!?!? Definitely need to work on that "sense of urgency" during a race...being parked for 6 minutes is ridiculous.
Ok, enough of my whiny bitching...I'm sure all the "shoulda, woulda, coulda" gets old. Some positives from this race were that the 7- 7:15 pace felt alot easier during this race then the last marathon I ran in early February......I just need to work on staying injury free and getting some solid miles under my belt. I think that would prevent the cramping issues I seem to be plagued with during the latter stages of a marathon. I know it isn't a hydration issue because I carried a water bottle and supplemented with salt tabs in my drink mix. Also, you couldn't have asked for better weather for a marathon ...heat wasn't an issue today.
Official Results
3:22:33
Overall Place 4278
Gender Place 3840 (Do the math, 438 women kicked my slooow ass on the course today- girl power- gotta love it!!)
Division Place 2188
Also, hats off to all the finishers out there today. It was very motivating to be racing the course with the hardcore runners out there. There were some very fast men and women out there today...I got passed by more then a few today as the stats attest- good times!
I am going to be spending a few days hobbling around Boston with Deb....she has been a great cheerleader out here so looking forward to doing everything but think about running for the next few days......
If you're still reading this, thanks for hanging out till the bloody end of my whiny race report. Next year at Boston, I will not make the same mistakes.
Peace out!
posted by Mike at 3:46 PM
11 Comments:
I know the last thing you really want to hear is that it's OK and you still did a great job, but you did. I admire you so much for making it to Boston. Being there is the icing on the cake for some people, so it's great that you got to have some fun on one of the best marathon courses in the world. And you got to spend 6 extra minutes enjoying it!
How great that you are feeling good running at 7:00 - 7:15 pace! If you can keep 7:00 pace up for next year, you'll have plenty of time to shower and change before I (hopefully!!!) cross the finish line next year. :)
Now go and have some chowda!
Another reason not to own a Garmin! 3 minutes to take off a shirt. WTF?
Seriously, nice job Mike. 3:22 on that course is nothing to be upset about. I was tracking 10 people and I think the average positive split was about 8 minutes.
Enjoy your time with Deb in Boston. Time for a little R&R.
Good grief!! You're FAST!! Congrats!!
Holey Smokes! You were smokin!! Enjoy Boston! You've just accomplished what many of us will never see!!
Congrats Mike nonetheless. My fist marathon I had to make 7 bathroom stops? I have since gotten better, but hey it takes a lot of time to master the marathon. Have fun enjoying the city.
Nice, even with your "mistakes". Hey its Boston, enjoy it! Hopefully we can all learn something from each other along the way. Thanks and go get'em next year.
Mike,
Despite all the mess up and u end with a 3;22 :). That's great.
It was a good call to take off that shirt. You could dehydrated and worst, DNF.
..hahha..i did my marathon last year and i ended up with a 5 hr 18 min run. I was helping a girl finish her race and dont' want to leave her behind.
I was passed by 98% female runners on the course..oh yeah that really help me build my confidence :D
Stop fretting the small stuff, Mike! You qualified, you ran it nearly injury free, you finished in 3:22 w/stops, etc...
You did great so enjoy the fact!
Now...go get on a Duck Tour!
BTW - mid-60's and sunny this weekend! Get recovered and let's ride!
Congratulations on finishing. At least you made rookie mistakes...that means you only have one direction to go: up!
Congrats Mike. Don't feel bad about the potty stops. On my first marathon I think I added a good hour to my time due to potty stops. I was sick and probably should have bailed on the race. But I'm a stubborn woman. I must have hit every other portapotty. Near the end I think I hit some of them just to rest for a moment...lol.
As for taking off the extra shirt...I've learned a few tricks on that one...lol. Most times I just wear sleeves I cut off from an old shirt. When I don't need em, I pin them to each other, fold in half and pin them to my waist band or shirt. Then I still have them if I need them. They also work good for wiping of excess sweat when you get really hot. This method only takes seconds and I can often do while still running.
Hey Mike,
Not a whiny report, just the facts and we runners always have the woulda coulda shoulda reviews after the big races. Just think of how well you're going to do on the next one with a 1/2 decent course profile. And then there's next year ;-)
Canada Mike
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