Re: Richmond RR - Better late than never

MikeDaMarine08 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:45:21 GMT

Thank you Everyone! Running Marathons is addicting!

Richmond RR - Better late than never

MikeDaMarine08 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:56:12 GMT

Race Report – Sun Trust Richmond Marathon

Respect the distance

Originally, I had not planned on running the full in Richmond. My decision to run it finally came after I learned that Irene’s XC team would not be participating in the state finals this year.

The weather forecast for the weekend looked promising (partially cloudy, high of 65) considering that we had a ton of rain the week leading up to the marathon. Having run the Outer Banks Half the week before, I was a little concerned about being able to have a quality effort but I was still pretty stoked to get back on the road again.

I arrived at the expo around 2 and caught up with a couple of local friends of mine and we navigated the expo together. It was an average expo but they did have some great gear and I managed to get out of there in a reasonable amount of time without leaving too big of a hole in my wallet. I did not manage to catch up Chris or Charlie for dinner, but I did find a great local Italian restaurant thanks to my local friends Jon and Christine, who I ended up joining for dinner.

Race morning, I woke up (the first time) at 0330 and consumed my breakfast which consisted of a bagel, breakfast shake, Cliff bar and washed down with 32oz of Gatorade. I was back in the rack by 0400. I woke up an hour later and jumped in the rain locker, stretched, got dressed and was out the door. Walking to my truck it felt a little chilly and I briefly thought about grabbing my arm sleeves to run in. I decided not to as the forecast was to be in the 60’s. I drove to the finish area and quickly found a place to park just a block from the finish.

I hung around the start area for the National Anthem and 8K start. As the HM runners were gathering, I made my way to the porta-johns for one last pit stop. On my way back I ran into Charlie and we hung out for a while before we made way to our respective corrals. There was a slight drizzle, but my flannel kept me warm for the most part. I was beginning to regret not bringing my arm sleeves. I decided to make one more pit stop before finding a spot somewhere in between the 4:15 and 4:30 pace groups. My goal was to run right around 4:30 for this race. I planned to take water and sports drink at each water stop except for miles 6, 12, 18 and 24 where I would take water with my gel. My gel of choice for this race was Hammer Rasberry.

The race started right on time and I pitched my flannel shortly after crossing the start line. I had looked at the elevation profile and knew that there were some hills scattered throughout the first half of the course, so I knew that I would have to be careful and not burn myself out running them to hard. I ran the first mile @ 9:50 as I tried to settle into a comfortable pace. My plan for the race was to walk the water stops (roughly every 2 miles) in an effort to manage my heart rate. Mile 2 was 10:09 as I hit my first water stop shortly after the mile mark. I felt like I was running pretty comfortable as my 3 mile split was 30:30, a little slower than I wanted but I was getting settled nicely. Chris had caught up to me at some point but then had to make a pit stop along the way.

I was into a pretty good rhythm was feeling more comfortable as miles 4, 5 and 6 ticked away at 10:01, 10:21 and 9:55 giving me a 3 mile split of 30:17. Chris caught back up to me and we resumed our leap frog activities. I had some really fast splits (probably too fast) while running through the initial hills with Chris. Miles 7, 8 and 9 where 9:14, 9:18, and 9:39 (weeeeeeee! that was fun) making my splits for those miles 28:11 (yup, too fast). Looking at it now we really flew through those hills Chris! Nearing the HM mark, we wondered if you could claim a PR for a distance covered during a longer race. I was on pace to beat my 10 mile PR, which I did with a 1:38:21, and Chris was on pace to beat his previous HM best. Miles 10 – 12 @ 9:23, 10:22 and 9:42 were still at a good clip with a 29:27 split.

I lost Chris a little before I hit the HM mark @ 2:10:29, which was faster than the OBX half which I had completed the weekend before. Miles 13-15 @ 10:16, 9:41 and 9:59 were still sub 30 with a 29:56 as I came up on the famous Lee Bridge. I can see why some Richmond Marathoners hate it. Being 6’3”, I had a number of people drafting me and was lucky enough to be able to draft a couple of runners myself. Drafting does make a difference IMO.

I was beginning to feel the effects of my fast run through the hills and strong first half as I hit miles 16-18 in 10:12, 10:49 and 10:07 making my split for those 3 miles 31:08. It would get worse from there. I found the wall around miles 19-21 as I wandered into the 11 minute mile range with 11:02, 10:21 and 11:00 for a 32:23 3-mile split. As I hit mile the mile 20 split in 3:20:52, I knew that I had an outside shot at a 4:20 something finish and was definitely on pace for my goal of 4:30. Watching my HR approach 180 during mile 20 told me that I would be closer to 4:30 than 4:20 as I decided to take it easy the last 6.2.

Miles 22-25 were my worst with 11:12, 11:30 and 11:19 giving me a 34:01 3-mile split. The course had changed to water stops every mile and I took advantage of them by walking through them until after mile 25. Mile 26 was an 11:12 as I hit the downhill run to the finish and ran as fast as I trusted my legs to let me. My finishing time was 4:31:25, which was an 18 minute improvement over MCM just 3 weeks ago, a PR! Thank you Power Balance! ;-)

Completing Richmond has shown me that my training and perseverance has paid off over the last 8 months following my calf injury. Learning from my setback and respecting the distance (thank you Ramesh) have been two of the major factors is helping me remain focused and not push too hard while I am still recovering and learning each and every time I race. While my pacing and wardrobe were less than ideal, I believe my rest, nutrition and hydration strategies were almost perfect. All in all I am very happy with my performance and am looking forward to improving again my next time out.

Re: RR: JFK50

MikeDaMarine08 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:03:36 GMT

Kat,

The fact that you continue to challenge yourself is inspiring. Thank you and a job well done.

Re: Thursday runs?

MikeDaMarine08 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:56:28 GMT

Did a total of 4 miles. It was not until mile 3 that it dawned on me that I should really be running at my recovery pace and not my easy pace. It was my first real recovery run following Richmond.

Steelers - Stay with it and try not to get too wrapped up on the time for now. As you get healthier and build your distance back up your times will begin to fall rapidly.

Re: JFK50 Roll Call..

MikeDaMarine08 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:47:44 GMT

Good Luck Kat!

Re: Richmond Race Report

MikeDaMarine08 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:24:33 GMT

Kyle,

A great Race and a great race report. I am horrible when it comes to consistent splits. We were probably running around each other the majority of the race as I finished in 4:31:25. Chris and I ran together for a good portion of the first half which I hit in 2:10. I was wearing a blank singlet and red MCM hat. Any race that you can walk away from with a PR can't be that bad. Job well done!

Mike

Good Luck RNR San Antonio runners!

MikeDaMarine08 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:16:03 GMT

I wish I could be there with you guys! Good Luck!

Happy Veteran's Day!

MikeDaMarine08 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:55:41 GMT

I know that it is cliche but it works............

If you can read this, thank a Teacher.

If you can read this in English thank a Veteran.

Thank you to all of those that have served.

For those that are still serving, keep up the great work, you continue to make this Country proud!

Re: Richmond anyone?

MikeDaMarine08 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:42:37 GMT

I will be the one wearing a flannel shirt before the race. Hope to see you there Kyle!

Re: Day late Sunday runs...

MikeDaMarine08 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:01:04 GMT

Great Race Dennis, congratulations!

I ran 13.2 Garmin miles as a leader of the 2:15 pace group for the Outer Banks Half Marathon. We got them across in 2:14:33. This was one of my most enjoyable HM's to date. RR to follow.

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