The Runners Edge gave a presentation of marathon tips last night at the Garry Gribble store on Ward Parkway. As Coach Eladio Valdez explained his approach to running a marathon it occurred to me that almost everything he said not to do, or that could go wrong, described my experience at Oklahoma City last April.

Eladio promotes what he calls the “smart pace” strategy, where you start out slow to warm up, and take some strategic walks in first half of the race, particularly at the first aid stations. You also back off on steep hills to avoid over heating. Some say a marathon can be divided into two “halves:” the first 20-miles, and the last 6.2 miles. The smart pace strategy is a conservative approach to the first 20 miles so that you don’t hit the wall in the last 6.2 miles.

The main point of the smart pace is to start out slow and warm up for the first mile or two. The hardest part of that strategy is forcing yourself to actually slow down, especially with all the race day excitement and everyone blazing past you. Trust me, I know. I tried and failed to start out slow at two half marathons and a marathon this year, and two of those races turned out very, very badly.

Eladio emphasized taking extra time at the first few aid stations to hydrate. As he put it, your body will use every ounce of fluid that you drink at the first aid stations, but only a portion of what you drink at the last one. By then it is too late.

Strategic walks allow your body to release built up heat. The length of the walks depends on your time goal. With a time goal of 4:45, I can walk briskly for 45 seconds while passing through the aid stations, or alternatively, I can save that walk for an upcoming steep hill. The time lost walking is made up by a slightly faster pace between aid stations, thus preserving your overall goal pace.

My plan for The Kansas City Marathon is to take it very slow the first mile and a half, up to the crest of the hill at Barney Allis Plaza. I’ll open it up a little bit going downhill between Barney Allis Plaza and Union Station, but still slower than my overall goal pace of 10:53/mile. There, at mile three, are the steepest hills of the race. The biggest of these is on Kessler Street. It’s a half-mile climb from Union Station up to the Liberty Memorial. I will run that conservatively and may even walk 45-seconds in the middle. I’ll also take it slow on Trinity Hill, just past the Liberty Memory. You can see the hills on this elevation chart that I made last summer after riding the route on my bike.

By the time you get over Trinity Hill you are four miles into the race and ready for a nice long descent through Westport and down to Country Club Plaza at mile seven. That stretch only has a few short uphill sections. It will be my first opportunity to run at race pace, or slightly better on the steeper declines.

There is a relatively flat stretch through Country Club Plaza and past UMKC, followed by the second steepest hill on the course, Sunset Drive, leading up to Loose Park. We ran that part of the course on our last 22-mile training run. It didn’t seem that bad at the time, but nevertheless I plan a 45-second walk in the middle of it too, just like at the Liberty Memorial.

Once past Loose Park there is a slow climb from mile 12 ½ - 15 ½, finishing with a short, steep rise at 75^th Street and Summit Road (aptly named).  There is no need for a walk at Summit Road since the climb is short and is followed by a long downhill stretch.

Miles 16 – 21 are an enjoyable descent passing Waldo and Brookside on the way back down to Country Club Plaza and the UMKC campus. This is another chance to pick-up the pace and make up some time.

The biggest challenge of the race will be in miles 21 – 24. Just as people are starting to hit the wall there is a climb from Brush Creek up to the intersection of Linwood and Paseo Blvd. The steepest part of the climb is on Harrison Street between Gillham Road and Armour Road. There is supposed to be an aid station with Gu Energy Gel at mile 21 just before the climb begins. I’ll probably take my time at that aid station rather than walking on Harrison. That’s easy to say now, but who knows how I’ll be feeling at mile 21 on race day.

Once you get to Linwood and Paseo Blvd it is downhill to 18^th Street and Vine and then most of the way to finish line. This is where I hope to be reaping the benefits from running a smart race. I would like to still have enough gas left in the tank as I crest Linwood to open it up again on the descent to 18^th and Vine. The elevation chart is deceiving/wrong. I remember it as pretty flat from 18th and Vine to the finish where there is a slight hill at the end.

The weekend of my first marathon is finally here, and I'm a nervous wreck.  You can sign-up for email or text messages when I cross the finish line or at various points along the way.  Just put in "Steven" and "Mitchell" and then pick "Steven C Mitchell" from the list.  You will be asked to respond with a confirmation code from a test message to complete the process.  I'm going to shoot for a 5 hour marathon, but will probably go slightly over.

I'm worried about the 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms and whether I'll get blisters if I run in the rain.  I'm worried that I peaked a month early for the Olathe Marathon that was canceled and I failed to fit in a make-up 20-mile training run. I'm worried that I was so zapped at the end of the Olathe Half-marathon and whether that will happen to me midway through the Oklahoma City marathon.  I'm worried about running in warm weather for the first time this year.  I'm just plain nervous about my first marathon.

I've been roaming  around the house all night getting ready and gathering the things I will bring:

• Anti-friction cream.

• Sunscreen, a mesh hat, and sunglasses.

• 6 GU Roctane Ultra Engery gels for miles 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24.

• 6 Succeed! S!caps for miles 0, 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22.

• 6 asprin.

• A tiny ziplock baggy that some spare buttons came in to hold the asprin and S!caps.

• My favorite Ironman running socks.

• RoadReady shorts with lots of compartments for my  GU.

• A spare running shirt in case I don't like the KC Marathon shirts they are handing out on the bus to promote our marathon next October.

• My beard is trimmed short.

• My toe nails are clipped (I almost lost a toenail this winter from snagging during a run that left it black and blue.  It still hurts).

• My Garmin 305 is charged.

• My Phone is charged.

• I have a backpack to leave at the start/finish line with a dry shirt, a drink, a snack, and some sweatpants to throw on for the shuttle ride back to the hotel.

• I've pack clothes for the return bus ride Sunday.

Seems like a lot of stuff just go running.  Nevertheless, I'm sure I'll forget something.  Coach Valdez said he is showing the documentary "Spirit of the Marathon" on the bus on the way down to get us pumped up for the race.  We'll spend Saturday afternoon at the Expo, then have a group dinner.  I'm really really looking forward to the event and sharing the experience with the runners I have gotten to know in The Runners Edge.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

The The 2009 Olathe Marathon has been canceled due to the approaching snowstorm.

Marathon runners were given three options:

1. Run in the 2010 Olathe Marathon.

2. Run in the Olathe Half Marathon (rescheduled for next week).

3. Take your participant medal and go home.

I opted to run in the half marathon next week.  That still gives me time to taper for The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon a month from now.

I'm not really that disappointed.  Oklahoma City was going to be my "main marathon event" anyway.  The Olathe Marathon was just a warm-up event that would have allowed for my family to see me finish.  My only disappointment is that my family won't be in OKC to cheer me on.  This is probably going to work out better for my shin splints though.

My training schedule is screwed up now since I ran my last 20-mile run three weeks ago.  I'm going to head out for a seven mile run tonight before the weather turns bad.  If the snowstorm has not begun by 7:00 AM I'll probably join The Runners Edge on its Saturday morning run too.  I wish there was a way for me to work in a 20-mile run this weekend. That can't happen without a road trip.

I ran my last 20-mile run Saturday and now I begin to taper for the Olathe Marathon, March 28.  I honestly don't know how I would have made it this far without Coach Valdez and The Runners Edge. Nor do I know how I would have stood all these hours of running without the wonderful companionship of the people in my pace group -- they make the hours and miles fly by.

It was already in the 60's when the run began Saturday, making it possible to wear shorts and a short sleeve shirt for a change.  The heat began working against me as the run progressed though.  In the final four miles I was really huffing and puffing. Lisa, the pace group leader, is still injured, so I ran with Dan and Becky most of the way, though I kept falling behind the last few miles, catching up briefly at the mile markers.  I really enjoy running with Dan "Mr. Motivator" and Becky.  I was off my "name game" Saturday, so I didn't get the names of some of the others running with us out to mile-8, or the woman who ran with us out to mile-9.

I have to confess that my two twenty-mile runs have been hard on me.  My shins stay sore all week, I've bruised a nerve on the ball of my foot, and my legs are "tore up."  As I fought my way up the final hill in mile-19 I wondered how on earth I would be able to run an additional 6.2 miles on race day.  It is going to be tough. 

Honestly, though, I have no room to complain compared to so many others I met on this wonderful journey. For instance, last week I visited with Tami Martin.  Tami has run 54 marathons, including a marathon in all 50 states.  In February Tami went down to Huntsville, TX for the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Run.  Tami ran 50-miles, and her friends, who were attempting 100-miles, ran 75-miles.  I cannot even comprehend what it would be like to run 50 or 75 miles.  And, on my first 20-mile run, two weeks ago, as we were on the final leg of the run we ran into some people training for an ultramarathon on the way back out for their 32-mile training run.  My pair of 20-mile runs are just a warm-up to those people!

Next week I plan on running the Olathe half-marathon route for my last long run before the marathon. Looking at the 0lathe Marathon course map I noticed that the half-marathon is a loop from which the full-marathon route does an out-and-back before rejoining the loop.  Since I had a 12-mile training run scheduled anyway, it just made since for me to run a half-marathon on the Olathe course to get familiar with the route.

Three weeks to Marathon day!

Today was supposed to be a 10-mile run, but I ended up running 12 miles.  There is no question now about whether I can run in the Topeka half-marathon next Saturday.

Coach Valdez was giving a pre-run talk on Five Things Elite Runners do that Everyday Runners Don’t, and since today’s run was just a few blocks from my house I walked over early to hear it.  The talk was interesting and included the lesson I learned accidentally about the importance of starting out slowly on endurance runs.  I look forward to reading it in detail in next week’s email from Coach.

While Eladio was talking I noticed that DaShaun Carter was there today.  Afterwards, DaShaun and I visited a bit, and then we made our way over to where Frenchy was forming the 11:40/mile pace group.

Julie was there again, this time in her Ironman finisher warm-up, a real badge of honor I must say, along with Leslie, Carl’s wife. I told Leslie my story about bonking Carl on the head with a medicine ball in boot camp when we stood back-to-back passing the ball over our heads and between our legs.  Apparently I hadn’t accounted for how tall he is when I passed the ball over the first time.

As we started out I was very chilly and I worried about being cold on the run. The temperature was 21 degrees and there was a pretty stiff breeze.  I had on several layers, topped-off with my NikeFIT LiveStrong hoodie.   Under my hoodie I wore the 180’s ear warmers my brother Don and his wife Geri gave me for Christmas.  I cannot say enough good things about my 180’s.  I also had on a running hat with a bill.   

Three miles into the run I had warmed up so much that sweat was dripping from the bill of my hat.  Soon I noticed several icicles attached to my hat.  DaShaun saw that condensation from my breath was freezing to my beard.  As the run progressed my hoodie became stiff as the moisture in it froze too.

Around the 4-mile marker we started asking what distances others were running.  Julie said she was running 12 miles.  Leslie said she had wanted to get in a 12-mile run this season, and since this was the last Saturday of the winter session, Leslie decided to go for it.  That left DaShaun and me… no pressure!

I glanced at DaShaun, who just shrugged, so I replied “Ah, what the Heck.  We’re in too.”  That was a pretty crazy call considering that I had just jumped from 5 to 8-miles last week, and DaShaun would be jumping from 5 to 12-miles. It all worked out in the end though.

We continued on what was now our 12-mile run in freezing temperatures.  The route took us on parts of the Overland Park trail system I’ve never seen before.  It led us behind St. Andrews Golf Course and past Deanna Rose Farmstead.  Overland Park has done a great job building its trail system.

After Frenchy turned back, Leslie and I used our Garmin Forerunners to keep us close to the 11:40 pace.  The course got pretty hilly behind the golf course and I was really feeling fatigued around 8-miles, but like last week, the short walk at each mile marker allowed my body to recover and we kept going on pace.

The return trip was into the wind, so we took turns leading, Leslie and Julie, then DaShaun and I.  Being the eloquent speaker that I am, I had suggested that we could take turns breaking wind.  That got a chuckle.

The last few miles went by surprisingly fast, and before I knew it we were back on the Indian Creek Tail for the last mile. DaShaun and I picked-up the pace as we headed down the home stretch.  We rolled in with a total elapsed time of 2:39:00, or an average pace of 13:12/mile (counting walks and aid stations).  That is a faster pace than I did last week on the 8-mile run.

When it was all said and done I convinced DaShaun to join me next week for the Auburn to Topeka Half-Marathon.  Let’s just hope it is not quite as cold.

I was chatting with DaShaun Carter Monday.  I met DaShaun through the Kansas City Java Users Group years ago.  We’ve worked together a couple of times since then. When I told him my plan to run in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, April 26, 2009, without hesitation he replied “I’ll do it with you.”  True to his word, he registered for the marathon and signed up for The Runners Edge Spring Program.  I laughed, telling DaShaun that we may run the same race, but we won’t see the finish line together.  He is younger and far more athletic.  Nevertheless, it will be great to have him along for the journey.

It was a double workout day for me.  I started the day with The Runners Edge Winter Boot Camp, and I finished the day with a 5-mile run.  Normally I don’t double-up like that, but tomorrow I need to rest so that I can do a 6-mile New Years Day run with the Kansas City Track Club.  I’ll finish the week with another 6-mile run Saturday.

Today I learned a lesson about controlling my pace.  I’m fortunate to live close to the Indian Creek Trail, a 17-mile paved, multi-purpose trail running from Lenexa, Kansas to Kansas City, Missouri along Indian Creek.  It is mostly wooded and passes through several parks.  It’s a great place to run (if your are not downwind of the sewage treatment plants in Overland Park and Leawood, Kansas ).

As you leave my house at the top of the hill it’s a quick half-mile jog to the trail, dropping in elevation about 350 feet.  It is easy to let enthusiasm get the best of you and start out too fast.  That is what happened to me on Sunday.  Saturday was a travel day.  Sunday I was eager to repeat the performance of my five-mile run in Springfield the previous Friday.  As I setout on a fresh set of legs I felt great. I glanced at my Garmin and saw that I was running a 9:30ish pace.  Even after trying to ease-up I was still running in the low 10’s.  Everything was great until I got to the icy part of the trail.

About two miles into my run there is an arched iron pedestrian bridge with a wooden deck crossing Indian Creek.  On the other side of the creek the trail is set into the base of steep wooded hill.  Snowmelt from the top of the hill that gets sunshine freezes as it crosses the trail in several shaded parts.  As I tried to negotiate the ice I was forced to walk.  Even after I was past the ice on the hillside my pace was slow and running was laborious.  I decided to stop after four miles.  My pace was a disappointing 12:19.

When I ran today I paced myself for the first mile.  I felt like I was running in slow motion.  It was all I could do to slow down to an 11:00 pace.  Even after the first mile I never “opened it up,” per se.  I just tried to keep my pace under 12:00.  The temperature was in the low fifties so the ice was gone.  I only walked briefly at the turnaround point.  On the return leg I really felt like I had hit my stride.  Instead of slowing down I was on cruse control.  I finished 5-miles in 57:59, or 11:35/mile, matching the pace of my last Springfield run, but with much less effort in the end.  It was wonderful to be able to finish strong.

So, now I know. It really is important to pace yourself at the beginning of a training run.  I suppose that is just common sense, but now that I’ve seen the dramatic effect I will make a concerted effort to pace myself better from now on.