Race Report -- Seattle Marathon

We're back! Pooh, Monkey and I flew in from Seattle late last night, and I'm slowly managing to do stairs again. ;-) For those who haven't looked up the results already, I completed the Seattle Marathon -- but missed my goal time by a good 20 minutes or so, finishing in 4:08. The full story:

THE RACE

The morning dawned cool and foggy, with light rain...typical Seattle November. The rain had mostly stopped by race time, but thick fog and mist remained, especially along the lake. JD (in the middle with our training partner AA):

The night before, I was notified that King 5 (the local NBC affiliate) was going to use my story as a personal-interest piece on the evening news, and I spent the last 15 minutes prior to race start interviewing with NBC for the spot.

You can see it here. My friend JD was there with me (you can read about him in my previous blog), and we had a great time laughing and joking before the start.

Just prior to the start, I switched from long sleeves to short, remembering the mantra to always "dress for the finish." The course was a lot of out-and-back -- from the Seattle Center (basically the Space Needle) across the floating bridge to Mercer Island, then back across the bridge again to Lake Washington, down Lake Washington Boulevard to Seward Park, and back up Lake Washington Boulevard to finish in Memorial Stadium at the Seattle Center.

THE PLAN

In every previous marathon, I've carried all my hydration and gels with me, but this was my "hometown" marathon (where all my family lives), and this seemed like a good course for them to come and meet me on the course. So, I arranged for my wife and father to meet me at the 10-mile point, which is also the 15-mile point -- a perfect place for two passes where I could high-five and replenish fluids/gels. Mom, dad, and Pooh (with Monkey in tow) would then move ahead to the 20-mile point, and finally meet me with the rest of the family (all 20+ of them) at the finish. They even got T-Shirts made!

THE RESULT

As most of you know, my goal was 3:45. I trained at 8-minute miles (a 3:30 marathon), knowing that I'd need to make a pit stop or two, and that I usually spend the first mile or two just getting up to pace. That plan worked perfectly for about the first eight miles...at which point my quads really began to burn, which I attribute to lactic acid buildup...entirely unexpected that early in the race. I was barely breaking a sweat or breathing hard, and already my legs were going? By mile 9, my quads were cramping considerably, and I did something I never thought I'd do.

I gave up.

I called Pooh, and told her to have the car at the 10-mile point, and I was done. With quad cramps at mile 10, there was no way I could do another 16+. Well, as fate would have it, she couldn't get through the barricades to the 10-mile point. She called back shortly thereafter, in tears, and explained that she couldn't get to me. Two problems here -- first, she had my gels. If I was going to continue, I needed carbs. Second, I didn't plan to continue. If she wasn't there, I'd have to keep going...and keep going I did. I took a brief detour, running about a quarter-mile back to the last water station, one of only two on the course with gels. Fortunately, they had Vanilla Bean Gu -- my favorite! It added a half-mile to my race, but so be it...without Pooh to pick me up, I had to keep going, and I needed carbs. I passed the half-marathon mark at 1:51, right on pace for my 3:45. At the 15-mile point, Pooh was finally able to get through the crowds and barricades with gels and fluids (my arrival at Mile 15 below).

She and my father were a welcome sight, but my cramps were still pretty severe...I told them to go ahead to 20, and if I could make it that far, I could at least walk the last 6. By 20 miles, I was executing what I not-so-affectionately call my "550 plan," which is running 500 paces, then walking 50. That's how the last six miles went...almost two and a half hours' worth. Miserable quad cramps...one of those things I'll always question. I never had that problem in any other marathon, and never in any training run -- was it fatigue? Nutrition? Hydration? Cold weather? Who knows...anyone ever experience anything similar?

THE FINISH

Of course, I had saved up enough energy to run the last half-mile, up a small hill to Memorial Stadium, into the stadium, and across the finish line. As I approached the stadium, I saw my wife and baby girl standing outside -- I made my way over to the crowd, picked up my baby girl, and my wife hopped the barricade...and we crossed the finish line together!

My brother-in-law even managed to get it on video:

My time, about 4:08, was very disappointing...but it was tough to think about that when I looked around and saw all the family around me, and saw my baby girl in my arms and my wife beside me. I collapsed shortly thereafter, but had quite a crowd to keep my spirits up...

They even all had their "Running With Cancer" shirts on, and Monkey had her own made that said "Run Daddy Run" on the back! SO cute...and of course, she had to check to make sure the finisher's medal was real gold...

JD

My buddy JD did an amazing job. After losing over a hundred pounds, he completed his first marathon. We've now been friends for 27 years, and it was an amazing experience to motivate each other during training, inspire each other during the race, and congratulate each other at the finish line. He crossed in just over four and a half hours, and is now an addicted runner. He may even join me (and many of you) at Rock-N-Roll Seattle in June!

Well, that's all for now...I'll blog again before surgery next Thursday, but it's odd to consider that running a marathon is the smaller of the two hurdles I have to clear this week...onward and upward!