This years Cowtown Marathon was my 8th official race of marathon or ultramarathon distance, and I had decided it was time to give it a real honest effort at breaking 4 hours. The marathons I have entered in the past were basically all run with the intention of finishing, not worrying about time, and my official PR was at the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon with a 4:11:58. I did everything right in training for this race, so I thought, and was extremely confident that 3:59:59 was going to happen.
Training went perfectly...and by that, I mean I didn't miss a single run or workout for 6 straight weeks leading up to the race, including a 20 and 22 miler both run at a pace of 8:58/mi, which if kept up for the remainder of a 26.2 mile distance would have easily gotten me to the finish under my 4 hour goal. In those two training runs, I executed my strategy for the race perfectly. I drank enough, took enough gels, and paced by the book, even getting faster in the final miles...so surely on race day, the Cowtown Marathon would go my way and I would execute perfectly having practiced it twice already on two long runs. Nope, not at all!
First off, lets admit right off the bat that 6 straight weeks is not nearly enough mileage to build up for a marathon, even though I was in pretty good shape before I started that 6 week block. Yet, even with that said, after showing during two long runs of over 20 miles that I was completely capable of running a 4 hour marathon, I had never felt better entering a race. Ever. So what happened?? Over-confidence happened. Somewhere in my brain housing group, I calculated that if I could run 22 miles at an 8:58/mi pace, then I could easily speed it up to about an 8:45/mi pace for race day...you know, with all that 'race day magic' in the air that helps runners perform at a higher level the day of their big marathon. And that was my problem, as I blasted off the line and turned in an 8:41 first mile, I figured I could hold that pace for 25.2 more, and I've never been more wrong in my life. I continued turning in mile after mile around an 8:40/mi pace all the way up to mile 19...and you guessed it, ran smack into the dreaded wall that we all fear as runners. It's like this urban legend you hear runners talk about, the wall. It takes you down with no mercy and once you hit it there's no coming back. Your race is over the instant you slam into it, especially when you've exhausted your muscles to the point of cramping like I did on this day. I saw Dad and Marsha around mile 12 and felt great, then Misti and Ella along with Dad and Marsha at mile 19, and I was like two different runners between those points. I looked at Misti and embarrassingly said in a defeated voice, 'I don't feel so hot', and as soon as I said it I knew my attempt at 3:59:59 was over. It was great seeing my girls at that point, as it was the only thing that could make me smile knowing the pain I was about to endure for the next 7 miles.
I slogged on for the remainder of the race, walking when the cramps got too bad, and running (slowly) when they subsided, and finished with my second best official marathon time of 4:12:37...but when you miss your goal by over 12 minutes, you couldn't care less if it was the second best marathon you've ever ran. Coming down the final stretch, my friends Lori and Eric stayed to watch me finish and it was great to see their faces as I rounded the corner. She had finished the half marathon 2 hours ago so it was nice of her to stay and see me finish, and I could see she felt awful for me knowing how hard I had worked to run that day. As I turned to the finish line, there was my family again, along with my friends Krishna and Steven, and nothing is better than the end of a marathon when the people you know who care about you and understand the struggle of finishing a marathon are there to cheer you on. I smiled and waved to them as I crossed the line, grateful for the suffering to end. I limped through the finishing corral and gathered up my finisher's medal, all the food I could grab to include ice cream, and collapsed on the concrete to rest for a minute. It got pretty hot that day, around 70 when I finished, so the ice cream was a nice touch! After I could peel myself off the ground, I grabbed a beer, and made my way into the Will Rogers Auditorium and found my family and received some needed hugs from everyone. We all went back outside to the beer tent and listened to music on a nice soft grassy spot while Ella ran around and played. This was my favorite post race ever, because we got to sit around and enjoy free beer and relax on a beautiful day in Fort Worth. So there it is, my disappointing Cowtown Marathon, with a happy ending drinking beer, listening to music and hanging out with friends and family. Somehow it always turns out alright doesn't it?
A few more notes, Bobby finished his FIRST marathon at the Cowtown this year, so it was awesome to see him cross the line after all of his struggles with MS. Very impressive that he was able to complete this amazing feat, and I'm super proud of him! I also got to run the 5k the day before with Misti and our precious bump, and Lori. We had a great time taking it easy, and Misti did great carrying our baby girl who is due in July!
Race Gear:
Shoes- Altra The One 2.5
Socks- CEP Running+ 2.0
Shorts- The North Face BTN Long Haul 5"
Shirt- Reckless Running Tank
Watch- Garmin Fenix 3
Fuel- GU Roctane Gels, PowerAde and water from Aid Stations
Training went perfectly...and by that, I mean I didn't miss a single run or workout for 6 straight weeks leading up to the race, including a 20 and 22 miler both run at a pace of 8:58/mi, which if kept up for the remainder of a 26.2 mile distance would have easily gotten me to the finish under my 4 hour goal. In those two training runs, I executed my strategy for the race perfectly. I drank enough, took enough gels, and paced by the book, even getting faster in the final miles...so surely on race day, the Cowtown Marathon would go my way and I would execute perfectly having practiced it twice already on two long runs. Nope, not at all!
First off, lets admit right off the bat that 6 straight weeks is not nearly enough mileage to build up for a marathon, even though I was in pretty good shape before I started that 6 week block. Yet, even with that said, after showing during two long runs of over 20 miles that I was completely capable of running a 4 hour marathon, I had never felt better entering a race. Ever. So what happened?? Over-confidence happened. Somewhere in my brain housing group, I calculated that if I could run 22 miles at an 8:58/mi pace, then I could easily speed it up to about an 8:45/mi pace for race day...you know, with all that 'race day magic' in the air that helps runners perform at a higher level the day of their big marathon. And that was my problem, as I blasted off the line and turned in an 8:41 first mile, I figured I could hold that pace for 25.2 more, and I've never been more wrong in my life. I continued turning in mile after mile around an 8:40/mi pace all the way up to mile 19...and you guessed it, ran smack into the dreaded wall that we all fear as runners. It's like this urban legend you hear runners talk about, the wall. It takes you down with no mercy and once you hit it there's no coming back. Your race is over the instant you slam into it, especially when you've exhausted your muscles to the point of cramping like I did on this day. I saw Dad and Marsha around mile 12 and felt great, then Misti and Ella along with Dad and Marsha at mile 19, and I was like two different runners between those points. I looked at Misti and embarrassingly said in a defeated voice, 'I don't feel so hot', and as soon as I said it I knew my attempt at 3:59:59 was over. It was great seeing my girls at that point, as it was the only thing that could make me smile knowing the pain I was about to endure for the next 7 miles.
I slogged on for the remainder of the race, walking when the cramps got too bad, and running (slowly) when they subsided, and finished with my second best official marathon time of 4:12:37...but when you miss your goal by over 12 minutes, you couldn't care less if it was the second best marathon you've ever ran. Coming down the final stretch, my friends Lori and Eric stayed to watch me finish and it was great to see their faces as I rounded the corner. She had finished the half marathon 2 hours ago so it was nice of her to stay and see me finish, and I could see she felt awful for me knowing how hard I had worked to run that day. As I turned to the finish line, there was my family again, along with my friends Krishna and Steven, and nothing is better than the end of a marathon when the people you know who care about you and understand the struggle of finishing a marathon are there to cheer you on. I smiled and waved to them as I crossed the line, grateful for the suffering to end. I limped through the finishing corral and gathered up my finisher's medal, all the food I could grab to include ice cream, and collapsed on the concrete to rest for a minute. It got pretty hot that day, around 70 when I finished, so the ice cream was a nice touch! After I could peel myself off the ground, I grabbed a beer, and made my way into the Will Rogers Auditorium and found my family and received some needed hugs from everyone. We all went back outside to the beer tent and listened to music on a nice soft grassy spot while Ella ran around and played. This was my favorite post race ever, because we got to sit around and enjoy free beer and relax on a beautiful day in Fort Worth. So there it is, my disappointing Cowtown Marathon, with a happy ending drinking beer, listening to music and hanging out with friends and family. Somehow it always turns out alright doesn't it?
A few more notes, Bobby finished his FIRST marathon at the Cowtown this year, so it was awesome to see him cross the line after all of his struggles with MS. Very impressive that he was able to complete this amazing feat, and I'm super proud of him! I also got to run the 5k the day before with Misti and our precious bump, and Lori. We had a great time taking it easy, and Misti did great carrying our baby girl who is due in July!
Race Gear:
Shoes- Altra The One 2.5
Socks- CEP Running+ 2.0
Shorts- The North Face BTN Long Haul 5"
Shirt- Reckless Running Tank
Watch- Garmin Fenix 3
Fuel- GU Roctane Gels, PowerAde and water from Aid Stations
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