Blog Posts From Turtle Training Tagged With rehoboth_marathon

The Innaugural Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon - 11/22/2008 - Run Report

Steve Carton — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:30:33 GMT

I'm trying to think of all the adjectives I would use to describe this day, this run. Here are a few: beautiful, scenic, flat, windy, cold, great race management, fun volunteers, and surprisingly good crowd support. Here's the blow-by-blow.

We drove out to Rehoboth on Friday evening to pick up our race packets. We got to the Rehoboth Beach Running Company (RBRC) at around 7pm after driving through a bit of snow, got our kit and headed next door to get some dinner. Good food at Catchers. While we were eating, the snow started coming down a lot harder! Then we drove down to Bethany where we had planned to stay at my mom's place there. But when we got there, we found there was no water. So we made reservations at the Hotel Rehoboth and drove back up, checked in and went to sleep at about 11. I was constantly cold and was beginning to think I hadn't brought warm enough clothing for the run.

Next morning, we drove down to the starting area to pick up our race chips (at about 5:30) and then headed to "Crystal" restaurant for a 6am breakfast. I just had some toast - I had already downed an energy drink and felt a little full. Then we headed back to the pavilion to get ready to start.

It was quite crowded - more than I expected. Turns out they had over 600 runners signed up - only expected about 400. While in our corral, we met several runners including bib#50 - Ed Peters, who was running his final and 50th state marathon in his quest for all 50 states. What a great guy - what conviction! The sun was rising but it was still very cold and windy. But I was warm enough.

I was surprised at the limited clothing some people were wearing. It just seemed too cold to me for shorts or a tank-top. But there were some runners dressed just like that. Mostly, folks seemed to be dressed more "appropriately" though. I say that because of what came later, when I warmed up!

So we stood around, trying to stay warm, chatting with our corral-mates and making new friends (one gal was here from Salt Lake City), when the gun went off and we all pressed towards the starting line. It took about 2 minutes to get across and get running. Lots of local crowd support there at the start - and we were off, running north on the Boardwalk, in the snow, with the sun coming up over the ocean. Now that was just plain beautiful.

We ran north to the end of the boardwalk and then continued into North Reho, turned around in one of the many parks and came to the first watering hole. The sun was coming up and we were actually starting to warm up: I took my hat off and switched to a headband! But that was a start - I could actually feel a little sweat. We headed west and out of the main part of town, out past Groves Park and onto the back roads heading north towards Lewes.

Shortly after, we came to the wooded trail part of the run - miles 5-8 roughly. This was a very scenic portion through the woods and along wetlands and the canal. I warmed up enough now to shed the gloves and jacket, which I tied around my waist.

We continued north and east and on into Lewes, past the Cape-May Lewes Ferry where we saw a number of the leaders heading back towards the finish. They looked peaked, but I discovered why later.

Then we came to Cape Henloped Park. Oh My God was that ever beautiful. The sun was fully out by now and we were very comfortable. This was one of the best part of the run. Some slight rolling hills (not hills for real). And views everywhere! The course took us all around the park and we would alternate seeing pristine sand-dunes with scrub vegetation and sweeping ocean or across the Delaware bay to Cape May and the ferry.

We reached the half-way point and were able to dump our jackets - arranging to get them carried back to the finish. Felt much better not having to carry them, though it likely didn't matter to our times We turned around and crossed the half-way-point timing mat. This was maybe the highest point of the run, so we started a rolling descent (that's a bit of a joke since these are not hills at all).

As we left the park (regretfully) and headed westand back into Lewes, we hit the only hard part of the run -- head into the wind. It was wicked. For about 3, maybe4 miles, I just had my head dow, working on putting one foot in front of the other. It certainly explained why the front-runners we saw earlier were dragging a bit! It was like running up a steep hill. Kind of felt like running on a treadmill - no forward progress. At one point, the wind backed off and I almost fell forward - I had been balancing forward against it!

But then, we got back to the bridge in Lewes and turned south and east again and the wind was at our backs. And suddenly life was good again!

I felt very strong as we headed back onto the trail part of the run and met up with one of the runners I had met on Active.com discussing this marathon. It was his first full after completing a half in Baltimore in October (go Will-I-Am - looking great). We came to the water stop in the woods and even here, in the cold and wind, the volunteers and spectators were all-in.

As we continued south and east, sometimes we would feel the wind, but mostly it was at our backs or side and not as much of a bother. And we were definately headed "downhill" like a horse smelling the barn. Crossing mile 24 was a big boost - we knew we were in the final stage.

Coming back into town, as we were running, a long line of cars leaving the beach (those fast runners) were honking their horns and cheering us on. It was a big boost. Then we headed back into north Reho, turned right and back to the boardwalk. As soon as we came to the boardwalk, I could see the finish line gate and I took off -- sprinting to the finish. It turned out to be a lot farther along that darned boardwalk than I had remembered, but I managed to keep it up and finished strong. As I approached the finish, The race directors were announcing names as we came to the line. That really felt special.

After the finish, the race directors took the chips back and gave us foil/mylar sheets for warmth. In the past, I didn't need these, but this time I took it and wrapped up in it! We stayed on for a bit to watch other finishers. One special one was a mom, who's kids met her at the end of the boardwalk and ran to the finish with her.

We began to get cold again, so headed back to the hotel to shower and change, check out and head to the post-race party. Like everything else in this event, it was great -- good food, meats, carbs, veggies, no matter the post-race craving, it seemed to be covered. Had a beer (well, a half one) and some pulled-pork and a veggie burger. It was a great topper to the day. Then we said our goodbyes - This is Ed Peters after his 50th state:

Even the medals where great -- this is me as we were heading off:

A great end to a fantastic race. I guess I would say that if I learned anything, it was that I will get warm! I want especially to say thanks to my one big fan - my wife - without who's support I would never get to a starting line. Thanks a thousand times over and I love you!

I'll be back...

T-Minus 21 hours to Rehoboth Marathon

Steve Carton — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:28:04 GMT

So, we're there - Start is at 7am tomorrow morning. Still need to pack, drive out to the beach, pick up the packet, and get some shut-eye. Ideally, do a 2-3 mile easy run to warm my legs back up from this past week of tapering. I think I may have tapered a bit too much -- between work and travel and home life, I have run 0 miles so far this week! That's paltry. Though I realize I'll make that up tomorrow in a big way. Still, I can't help but feel like I've unbalanced the taper in favor of carb loading

The forcast for tomorrow isn't great -- Sunny, but cold and windy. It looks like the temps will be in the 30's during the run, but the 15-20 mph winds will make it feel like the 20's. So I'm going round and round about what to wear. I think I'll take a trip to the local running store today and look at wind pants. The stuff I have is really better in less wind and I think that either the wind and cold will go through or they will act like a parachute (depends on which pair). I think I have the top parts covered okay, but may need something for my legs.

Anyway - here's my fashionista statement for tomorrow, subject to change up to 7am:

Underwear with "protection" (keeps certain sensitive parts warm), tights (TBD) and shorts on the outside.

Tech long-sleeve, tech short-sleeve and a vest. Maybe a warmer vest.

Hat, gloves, long/tell tech socks. Oh, and New Balance MR1101 shoes.

The vest I like to wear is similar to a race-ready in that it has nylon mesh pockets sewn into the outside back and is great for holding all the stuff (like gels and Succeed) I pack. But it may not be warm enough. I carry a trash bag in case I get cold, mostly before the start, but it could serve during the run too.

T-Minus 5 days (A little less) to The Rehoboth Beach Marathon

Steve Carton — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:22:42 GMT

Five days to go. This promises to be a PR-run if all the stars are lined up! I'm hoping to break 4:30 and should be able to on the flat course and cool day. So far, the weather predictions are a bit conflicted -- either low 40s (for a high) and sunshine or mid-40s and maybe some rain. We'll see as the week progresses.

Training for this week:

6 easy miles today. 4 easy Wednesday. 2 werry werry easy Friday.

On to the Next Event - Rehoboth Beach Inaugural Marathon, 11/22/2008

Steve Carton — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:00:15 GMT

I had originally planned to run three marathons in 2008: B&A Trail, Frederick, and Baltimore. I had run two in 2007: B&A Trail and Marine Corp and those were my first ever. So I thought I could add one more in '08. But I feel really good and Baltimore went really well for me. So I decided to try and add one more -- a mere six weeks after Baltimore -- the Inaugural Rehoboth Beach Marathon.

I first saw the notice for this while on vacation back in July. My family has been heading to the Delaware beaches every year for many year. So I knew a little about it. Then, after Baltimore, my RB and I both felt like we wanted to do one more and heading to the beach in November just sounded like a nice end-of-year mini-vacation. So we signed up.

According to the race sponsor (http://www.runningrehoboth.com/), they are expecting around 400 runners. It's both a full marathon and a two-person relay. So it will be a very small race - no crowd support to speak of. But that's okay with me -- I like that just as much as the big deal races. And it has a significant advantage to me (after Baltimore) -- it's FLAT! Here's what the course looks like: http://www.runningrehoboth.com/course-map.htm

So, after a week of recovery, we're back pounding the pavement in training again. Lighter, for sure than leading up to Baltimore, but significant nonetheless. Here's the plan:

Week of 10/20: 6x800 intervals, 18 mile LSD, 8 mile tempo.

Week of 10/27: 8x800 intervals, 20 mile LSD, 8-10 mile tempo.

Week of 11/3: 8x800 intervals, 16 mile LSD, 10-mile tempo.

Week of 11/10: 6x800 intervals, 12 mile LSD, 6 mile tempo.

Week of 11/17: 4 mile easy, 2 mile easy, marathon on 11/22.

The last 3 weeks are "Taper" and I believe it to be a critical part of success in the full, giving my worn out body a chance to heal and recover glycogen stores. We're already into the week of 10/20 and I managed to get the intervals in and we did a 19 mile LSD last evening - great run. So we're off...