Baton Rouge Beach Marathon Recap

OK here it is. We all got up at about 5:30, although after I looked at my watch at 5:00 I couldn't really sleep. I kept thinking that I hadn't set the alarm right and that we were sleeping in too much. I finally just got out of bed and got ready. We got down the the starting area at about 6:00. We actually were able to park right at the start/finish area. It was nice. I walked around a bit and stretched and jogged. I was feeling great. Here I am less than five minutes before the start of the race.


And here I am about 200 feet after the starting line. I look great.

This is about the five mile mark with a time of about 40 minutes. For the first half of the marathon I had a pretty good pace. I felt great.


So great in fact that at the half way point (13.1 miles/1 hour 47 minutes) I was still enjoying so much that I was smiling big. Someone a few feet further up from this photo called me "smiley." I thought that was pretty funny, but I felt great. I thought I was going to be able to break 3:30 for sure.

After the half way point I slowed down to probably a 9 minute per mile pace or even 9:30 for the next 6 or 7 miles. That must have been my wall. I hit it pretty hard too. I never noticed a sudden lack of energy like I have heard people tell of, but I just gradually slowed down and felt like I couldn't keep going, but I did keep going, one foot in front of the other. I decided not to get a split time at every mile, although I wish now that I had done that so that I could analyze exactly where it was that I slowed down the most and such. I did however get a few splits. The first split was at mile marker 22 my time was 3:17:51. I wanted to see how much I had slowed down. At mile marker 23 it was 3:28:21. It had taken 10:30 to do one mile. I really had slowed down. By that point I had started adding 30-40 second walks every five to ten minutes. I was feeling pretty tired. My legs cramped up too. It was also about that point that I started noticing my lower back tighten up. I hurt it pretty bad just two week earlier, and I decided that I would rather get a really slow time, than really hurt my back again. So I didn't push it too hard. I could feel that my legs were really tight and after mile 23, I walked pretty much the whole way. I tried jogging every 5 to 10 minutes for 20-30 seconds, but I just couldn't do it. My legs were so tight that by the end of the 20 second jog, I would have to walk and try to loosen it out so that it wouldn't cramp so bad that I wouldn't even be able to walk. I actually got splits on all those last miles. At marker 24 my time was 3:47:40 (a 19:19 mile), at marker 25 my time was 4:11:23 (a 23:43 mile), and at marker 26 my time was 4:29:50 (an 18:27 mile). With all the energy I could muster I told myself that I could jog the last .2 miles to the finish. I did all but about 5 seconds where my legs started cramping. I came in to the view of the finishing crowd and forced myself into a jog again. Here is the grand finish:

At least I had enough energy to raise my arms as I crossed the finish line. It took me 2 minutes and 30 seconds to go that last .2 miles. My final time (unofficial, from my watch) was 4:32:19. Am I disappointed with that time? Yeah, but it is something I can live with. I have lots of excuses: I hurt my back two weeks earlier, because of that I missed five good runs, I didn't eat enough, etc. etc. I can look at how I did and plan how I need to change. I think I need to load up on more carbs the day before. Maybe a bit more of a substantial breakfast too. All I had was a Powerbar. I was had four Gu energy gels that I took along the race too. There was only one point where I was getting a little bit worried. For probably about a mile before the last aide station, I started getting a little shaky. First my pinkies started tingling, then my ring finger too, and pretty soon my whole hands and arms were tingling and feeling numbish. I definitely needed more sugar in my body. It was right about mile 24 that I came upon the last aide station. I think it was actually a little after mile 24. I drank two cups of Poweraide. That was it. I really should have stopped and got more, like an orange or two. But I didn't want to stop. I was feeling much better within 10 minutes. My arms and hands stopped tingling.

As you can see by the video below, I look really worn out. I come across the finish line pretty darn slow. I must say though that I had a really great crew cheering me on. My daughter had a really big voice. I was actually quite surprised that I heard her from so far away as I approached the finish line: "Go Daddy!" She was great. My wife must have worked hard to teach her to be vocal like that. Thank you Amanda for getting such great photos of the race.

It is now 11:00 Sunday night. I woke up this morning feeling really sore. I took an ice bath about an hour after the race, then again last night when we got home. I also took some Motrin last night. Once I got up and started moving around I felt better, but I was still sore all day. It is hardest going up and down stairs. It is easier to walk down backwards. I don't think I will try running tomorrow. It all depends on how I am feeling. I hope I can go for an easy three mile jog by Thursday or Friday and run five or six on Saturday. I definitely need to do some more speed work to get ready for the next marathon. There is a pretty good hill about a mile and half from my house that would be perfect for hill work. I can jog over there for warm up, do the hill 4 or 6 times, it is about .25 miles up, then jog back to cool down. I'll also do more track work. I would like to be able to get my mile time down to 5:30 or even 5:00. I don't know about sub five though. Probably not while training for my next marathon. We'll see. I think it would definitely help develope my fast twitch muscles.

Well, I'm sure I have rambled on too much about this. That is it. I ran. I jogged. I walked. I raced. I finished. Make sure you watch the video.

Marathon Finish Video

The Marathon

Well, I did it. I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but at least I finished. I came around the half way point at 1:47, which was a little slower than I wanted but acceptable. I then slowly slowed down. My mile 23 my leg muscles were so cramped and tight that I could barely even jog. I had to walk most of the last four miles. I kept trying to run, but after 20 or 30 seconds I would have to stop and walk. I managed to jog the last .2 miles in two and a half minutes, with only stopping to walk for about 10-15 seconds. time at mile 23 was 3:28:21. each of the next three miles was about 20 minutes. My final time was 4:32 and some change. I don't have any photos right now to show you. They are on the camera and I am to lazy to go get it. I will post them tomorrow. I'll tell you a little more about the race too, with some more specific times. I even have a video of me coming up to and crossing the finish line. It was a great day for the race. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The family was a great support, by the end of the race Ella was yelling "Go Daddy!" loud enough for me to here her down the street.

Race Ready

I did a little speed workout yesterday. It was good, nice and short. I totaled four miles. Today I went for a five mile easy run. I pushed Alex along in the stroller. I feel really good. I went down to the store today to get some energy gel. I bought some Gu. I also bought some Nuun. It is an energy drink that I learned about recently. It is really cool. It is just a tablet that you put in water and it dissolves to an energy drink. It's great because it doesn't have all the bad for you sugars. I also bought a running shirt. I've been just using a t-shirt. It works, but all the sweat just stays there on the shirt and by the end of a run my shirt weighs about ten pounds. This new shirt should work great. Well that's it for now. I only have three short days till the marathon.

Great News

I went for a seven mile run today on a track and I felt great the whole time. I used to think that 28 laps on a track would be really boring, but it didn't seem that long at all. I even tested my speed a little to see how my back would handle it. I did a 400 meter lap on the second mile at 1:21 and another one for the first lap of my seventh mile at 1:20. That is not a great 400 meter time, but it was pretty good for having just run six miles. It was pretty cold and windy too. I think the temp was about 50 but it was really windy and it felt like it was about 40. Well, if I have a couple more runs like this I might think about pushing myself a little on the marathon for my 3:25 time. We'll see.

Recovering

Good news: I went for an easy three mile jog today and it felt great. I was very cautious because I didn't want to aggravate my back. I went a mile up the road here, then came in and ran another two on the treadmill. The whole run felt great. When I stopped though, I felt my back tighten up a little. Nothing to worry about. I'm still taking some Motrin to help loosen up my muscles. I have Icy Hot that I am using too. Here is a tip for you. Never put Icy Hot on imediately after a hot shower or bath. It normally feels great. A nice soothing cool followed my a warm tingling sensation. It feels good. If you put it on when your skin is already hot or warm: it burns. I looked at my back and everywhere the Icy Hot was was bright red. I had to go lay down on the bed with the fan on high. The burning sensation went away after just a few minutes, but they should put a warning on the label or something. Well, that is all I have for now. Tomorrow I hope to be able to run five or six miles. Just another easy run. Keep your fingers crossed.

Bad News

Yesterday as I was getting Alex in the car, I pulled my back. It was really annoying because I've done the same thing hundreds of other times before and never had a problem. This time I guess Alex has grown too big. When Amanda came outside, I was on my hands and knees. That was pretty humiliating, I couldn't even stand up. She helped me up. I took some medicine and it helped, but I still hurt. I took a hot bath this morning and then sat down and didn't move for a few hours, when I finally started to move around I was surprised that I didn't hurt nearly as much. I am aching now, but I hope it will go away so that I can run this marathon. I am definitely not going to push myself now. Maybe I'll make a four hour goal for myself. I'll see how I am feeling the day of the race. I'll keep you updated and let you know how I am feeling.

Long run

I ran 17 miles today on my longest training run before the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon. I would have liked a few more weeks to build up some more endurance, but I am glad i have something specific to work for. I felt pretty good today, except for the slight dehydration towards the end. I really should start carrying water on my longer runs.

Baton Rouge Beach Marathon

Well, I did it. I just signed up for the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon on December 1st at 7:00 AM. I also reserved a hotel for the night before. There is no going back now. I have paid my money: no refunds. It will be fun. This will be my second marathon. My first marathon, the Top of Utah Marathon, was over five years ago. My time was 3:26:46. My goal for this race is to finish faster than that. I would like to beat three hours, but I don't think I am ready for that yet. I had to cut off a month from my training and modify it a bit so that I would be ready for this marathon. Maybe three hours can be my goal for the Salt Lake City Marathon in April. I've got a ways to go to prepare for that race. Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted on my training and I will definitely tell you about the results. It is just three weeks away. I hope the Thanksgiving feast will not get in the way too much, especially since we are having two of them this year.
This race is pretty small. In the past, there has only been about 100 people doing the marathon and 400 or so doing the 1/2 marathon. If I plug my last time into last years results or the year before, I would be in the top 5 or 10. Anyway, I'll go rest now for my upcoming training week.

Marathon Training

This was a good week for marathon training. I found a marathon I want to run on December first. It is a couple hours away from here. I mapped out a training schedule for the next four weeks. I will be ready for this marathon. I ran ten miles on Tuesday. I ran twelve miles today. This week totaled 32 miles. I feel good. I've been a little sore this week, but I feel really good today. I have a 35 mile week lined up next week. I will run 15-17 miles on Friday or Saturday. I have a couple of speed workouts lined up for this week too. I want to beat my time from the last marathon which was 3:26. I haven't done a lot of speed work, so I don't know if I will be able to beat that time. I will though, be able to run the whole thing and not be as sore as I was after the last marathon. I have only 3 weeks until this marathon, so wish me luck.

On another note, yesterday we went to an air show. It was pretty cool. We stayed there all day. Alex napped a little bit in the stroller. The Super Hornet is a very loud airplane. It is very cool. At first Alex was scared and cried about the loud airplanes, but once he realized that the planes wouldn't hurt him, he was very excited. He was so excited that he was jumping and screaming (for joy, not fright), and pointing up to the sky. The show ended at 6:30 or so and we were home in time for bed time.