Yesterday’s marathon was one of those races where the time doesn’t even come close to telling the whole story. I ran my second slowest time ever, a 3:13:16 (online results) but feel like I ran as well as I could have given the conditions and am really happy to have pushed through. And, because of the heat, that time was good enough for 17th overall out of 1282 runners and 2nd out of 100 in my age group.
Helen and I went to a wedding in Pennsylvania the night before then stayed at a hotel a little over an hour away from Long Branch. That made for an early wakeup and a lot less sleep than I would have liked. Between that and the fact that I had been running fairly hard all week with no rest since Monday, not to mention the fact that I’d run Boston hard 13 days prior, my legs were pretty tired and sore at the start.
It was cool and breezy right by the ocean, but after turning left about a quarter mile into the race, we were greeted with a wall of heat. It was almost suffocating. We fought through and kept up near 7 minute pace for the first 9 miles. At that point, the heat was really taking a toll on Helen and so we slowed down to about 7:30’s. Mile 12 brought us back to the cool air of the beach and we again sped up. She zoomed off with about a half mile to go and finished 5th in the Half Marathon.
The cool air and the fact that we had been running pretty easy the last few miles tricked me into thinking I had more than I did. I knew I just had to hit a 1:27 half to finish sub-3 and that seemed reasonable. I sped up to about 6:45 pace and began deliberately moving up through the runners, passing one every few hundred yards. If the sun had stayed behind the clouds as it was then, I think I just might have pulled it off.
But the sun didn’t stay behind the clouds. It came back full force and the temperatures shot up into the eighties quickly. The humidity from the ocean made it seem even hotter. I slowed to 7:15’s, then 7:30’s, then 7:45’s, but the whole time I was still consistently passing other runners. Everyone was dying out there. I was so thankful for the spectators out on their lawns with garden hoses and got sprayed down every chance I got. And I was taking two Gatorades and one water at each water station but it just wasn’t enough.
A horrible cramp in my chest nearly dropped me right after mile 24. It was a pain like I’ve never felt before and no matter how much I wanted to, there was just no way that I could run through it. I could barely walk. I took a bunch of deep breaths and was finally able to pick up a slow jog again by flexing my abs in as hard as I could but, as you can imagine, that doesn’t allow for very quick running. I slowed down to over 8:30 pace and a few of the people I had picked off in the second half passed me back. Helen was off to the right cheering me on just before the finish, but I was in so much pain that I didn’t even recognize her.
Finally, the finish line and it was over. I’ve never been so happy to finish up a race.
So, yes, I’m a little disappointed that I had to walk, that I didn’t run a negative split, that I let those runners pass me the last mile, but all in all, I have to be really happy with how the race went. It was hot, I was uncomfortable, but I found a way to fight through and finish. I have some much bigger, tougher races on the horizon and so it’s good to know that I can handle a little adversity.
good to see you both yesterday. Congrats to both a great finishing time even with the heat.
i gotta apologize to helen — kinda my bad when I accidentally crossed her path when crossing her path to cough!
No worries. That sort of thing happens. And, again, congrats to you too for finishing up despite the heat and your tired legs from Boston.
Well done under tough conditions. Now for some down time? FWIW, I see the guy in 6th did a 3:02, but I’m pretty sure he can do a sub-2:50.
Wow, that’s a major slow down. I know that even if I were on fresh legs, I wouldn’t have run anywhere near the 2:53 I picked up in Boston.
And, yes, a little down time now. I’ll be focusing on lots of slow miles and building up a solid base in preparation for the ultra in August.
Wow. Nice race. And maybe a taste of what you’ll experience in Death Valley?
Definitely. But, it’s so scary to think that it’s gonna be 40 degrees hotter out there than it was yesterday. And, 109 miles longer… Yikes!
[...] Robert’s tale of carnage in NJ [...]
Congrats on finishing the race!! That was one ROUGH day to be running!!!!! I was feeling it for everyone out there!!!
It was rough, but you know that old saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Keeping that in mind, you could change that to, “That was one good day to be running.”
nice work Robert! it was such a hard race I agree! if those people with the garden hoses weren’t there I think we might have died.
A couple of the hoses just completely drenched me. My shoes, shorts, etc. were completely drenched by the end. No complaints though — I was happy to carry the extra weight.
Nice job, Robert! We’re bound for those kinds of days. I, too, struggled yesterday on a ‘training run’ at the Pig. Got in about 20 at a decent enough clip before some fueling issues caught up with me; major hammy cramps over the final few miles and, as you can see here, at the finish: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=225665&id=657334837&l=2c12c5f31a
Damn cramps.
Ooh. Chest pains. Doesn’t sound good. I wonder why? Things can be so unpredictable.
It wasn’t chest pains in the heart attack sense. It was on the right side for starters, plus it was lower, like right underneath my lowest rib. It felt just like the cramps I sometimes get in my legs at the end of a marathon, but just not in my legs… I’m guessing it was probably caused by the same physiological factors that cause them.
Tough day at the office would be an understatement. I second what Julie said about it being good mental preparation for Badwater. The heat out there is unbelievable, but you’ll be running a hell of a lot slower than 7 minute miles.
No kidding. The course record is a 10:10/mile pace and, of course, I won’t be anywhere near that.
Heat training. And pretty good at that.
Though out west, they’ll be less pollen! I’ve heard a couple people mention that as horrific as the humidity and heat were at NJM, the pollen was god awful.
Interesting. I took a Claritin before the race and that seemed to work. I didn’t notice the pollen being all that terribly bad.
[...] Boston. Matt has a nice race report on a recent five-miler on his podcast. And Robert’s just crazy (and I got to run with him on the prior Saturday). Both Herb and Robert, I should note, ran 22s on [...]
Wow, I sweated and lost electrolytes just reading. Congrats to a hard wrought finish.
[...] Add in some crazy Virginia humidity and all of the sudden, this thing’s looking as hot as New Jersey was (but twice as [...]