Setting low expectations is, in general, not a particularly
good idea. I’m a firm believer that stretch goals push one to closer to
reaching their full potential and that as much as possible, a goal should be
near the edge of what one thinks one can accomplish.
My plans for this year’s Colorado Marathon, however, were a
notable exception to this philosophy. Had I not injured myself back in January,
and had that injury not lingered for several weeks to follow, I might be
writing a much different report today.
But those things did happen and I had to adjust my
expectations accordingly. In 2006 as I prepared for the Rock-N-Roll San Diego
Marathon, I had racked up about 430 running miles of training. This year, going
back to October, I had only hit 297 miles and there was a large gap the covered
around four and half weeks with absolutely no running at all.
With that as my backdrop, I was actually considering
dropping out of the race or perhaps changing my distance to the half marathon.
This somewhat pessimistic
post
more or less conceded that I would not be doing 26.2. But, as I have documented
extensively since, I had an epiphany of sorts when I determined that I could
still walk a great deal of the race and finish with a reasonable time.
All of this lead me to hope for a time of around 5:03 which
would be only a tad slower than my 2006 time.
The rest of this story begins at 3:00 am on Sunday morning.
Yes, you did read that correctly: I said 3:00 am. I had to be up that early
because busses taking racers from downtown Fort Collins
to the starting line in the Poudre
Canyon started leaving at
4:00. Given the time I needed to dress, eat something and then drive from my
parents’ home in Greeley,
3:00 was about the latest I could get up. Ending the day with a DNF because I
could not finish the race is one thing; having a DNS because I MISSED THE BUS
was completely unacceptable.
Despite the early hour, I felt reasonably well-rested. I had
forced myself out of bed at 6:00am on Saturday just to make sure that getting
to sleep that evening would be easier and it worked. I was asleep by 9:00 that
night. Six hours is not a lot, but it was enough.
Upon arriving at the downtown city parking garage, I
encountered more charter busses than I’ve ever seen in one spot. They were
scattered about all over, on adjacent blocks, in front the main municipal
building, you name the spot, and there was a bus. When I say charter, I do mean
charter, not a fleet of school busses. These were the real deal, luxury coaches
with soft seats and plenty of leg room. I ended up riding with a guy named
Brian who was clearly in class well above mine. He discussed ambitions to Boston-Qualify
and was planning to use this race as a recon in case he decides to commit to
that goal. That makes sense because according to their own website, the
Colorado Marathon has about 20% of its finishers reach the BQ standard.
Of course, I had no such ambitions, but I enjoyed our ride
up the canyon and we had a good chat trading marathon war stories. Runners, I
find, are generally a congenial group of people. If this had been
cyclists…weeellll….
Getting to the bus departure early gave me peace of mind.
But it also meant that I was dropped off at the Stevens Gulch picnic area at
5:00, a full ninety minutes before the start. And it was dark and cold. This
shot is shortly after I arrived. That’s a crescent moon near the center. It was
really that dark up there.
Another benefit of arriving early (I was on the third bus to
arrive) was no line for the porta-potties. That turned out to be a huge benefit
because as more and more busses arrived, the line got longer and longer.
Typical of any race, there were people still there when the gun went off.
Of course, the sun did rise and with about 20 minutes to go
until the start, I handed in my gear bag with the clothing and other items I
did not plan to have with me on the run.
Given how cold it was and my desire to have a handy place
for my phone and nutrition, I opted to keep my running jacket on. Besides, it
was still cold (low 40* range I would guess) and I wanted to keep my upper body
warm. A single UPS truck was assigned to the task. I would not have thought
that would be enough (there were 1700 people registered for the full) but it
was. A gear check is really essential in any long race, especially when the
temperatures are low and you need to keep warm clothing with you as long as
possible. Tasking a shipping company like UPS or FedEx with this task just
makes sense.
I hate waiting around before a race as much as anyone, but
even in the chilly air, this hour and a half seemed to go by fairly quickly.
There was minimal fanfare at the start and before long, we were underway. This
is what it looks like when 1700 people start a race in the Poudre Canyon:
I positioned myself between the 5:00 and 5:15 pace groups. I
figured that was about where I belonged.
There was the usual slow moving pack as people got up to the
line before they began running, but I did not mind. There were 26.2 miles ahead
of me and a few seconds really were not going to matter.
This race used bib-based timing tags and I have to say it
was a nice change from having to attach a chip to my shoe and worry about it
falling off. I predict that more and more running races will continue to adopt
this technology. Tri’s are another story. You really can’t swim with a bib on!
I was a little slower than I planned during my first couple
of miles, but I attributed that mostly to being a in a pack. As it thinned out,
I started running a little under 10:00 pace. The first aid station is at this
iconic tunnel. We were about 2.5 miles in now:
These shots are a bit on the blurry side, but I was not yet
at a walk break and I wanted to stay as true to my race plan as possible.
I grabbed a cup and kept on moving en route to my first
walking stop after four miles. When I reached it, I thought about going on to
five, but I decided I needed to stick with my plan. There were over 22 miles to
go and my long runs from training informed me that I was going to be very sore
and tired before this was all over.
So walk I did and I seemed to be about the only one. People
passed me frequently but I gave it no thought. I was still moving.
When I reached the five mile mark, I was moving again and
the next four miles were much like the first four. I felt a bit tired at this
point, but basically pretty good. Going down hill but on a gentle grade is
really nice. Your legs feel better and the cardio never really spikes. I stayed
in my Z2 range during this entire time and even recovered into Z1 on the walk
breaks.
Upon reaching the 10 mile mark it was time to run again and
this was going to be my first real test. I had done a long run a couple of
weeks earlier and struggled from the 10 mile mark onward. This was, in large
part, due to the fact that I was running up hill. My home in Parker sits at
over 6000 feet, higher than most of the town so I almost always end up running
up hill to go home. Now I was going down and it was actually going well. While
my plan called for a pace of about 10:30 through these miles, I ran under 10 on
each of them.
The scenery, as it always is in the Poudre, was great. No
industrial parks, Section 8 housing projects or blighted land on this course.
Nope. Most of it looked like this:
Peaceful and serene. There were a few cars going up and down
the canyon and a few cases where one lane of traffic had to yield to the other,
but it actually was going smoothly and no one honked in anger, made obscene
gestures or otherwise behaved like a jackass. The State Patrol was also running
a couple of motorcycles up and down the highway and signaling runners to stay
to the left of the cones that were placed at about halfway through the uphill
lane.
The biggest problem I had through this stretch was the
banked curvature. For any readers not familiar with canyon roads, they are
built with a bank on steep curves. It’s not as dramatic as what you might find
on a NASCAR track, but the same principal applies. It’s not the kind of thing
you notice when driving, but you definitely feel yourself running at weird
angles. Fortunately, as the curve begins to straighten out, the bank eases back
to flat as well.
Shortly after the picture above, I reached the mouth of the
canyon. It was now a couple of miles beyond the half way point. The final
stages of the race were in sight and I was happy about this:
As you can see, I’m still wearing my jacket. It was still cool
and now a breeze was blowing. Given that I was also walking some, it made sense
to keep it on and stay warm.
The last section of the course that follows Colorado Highway
14 is a straight and mostly flat section that eventually intersects with US 287.
I say mostly because there is a gradual hill on the last mile or so of 14.
Along here, I did manage to see my dad who was volunteering for the race as one
of the communication coordinators (he’s a Ham Radio operator). That was
necessary because most of the canyon does not have cell phone service.
The climb out of Highway 14 continued as I headed south on
287 before finally flattening out. It had been 3 miles since my last walk
break, but I decided to take one here. The climbs as well as the overall distance
were taking their toll. What’s more, the next 1.2 miles or saw would see the
biggest hill on the course. Known as Bagel hill for a guy who used to hand them
out to runner, this one is about a 2.5% grade for half a mile. It’s also at
mile 19 near the traditional “wall” for marathoners. I saw no need to burn
myself out running up this one so I walked it until I had clearly reached the
crest and then enjoyed an easy run down the back side, headed toward the town
of Laporte.
Now I did two more miles before the next walk break. Running
was getting harder and harder. I tried not to look at the distance on my
Garmin, but it sure did seem to take a long time to reach the mile markers.
Right around the start of mile 22, you are off the road for the duration of the
race and on the Poudre River Trail which is an extensive bike path.
A short while after joining the path, you are on the same
stretch of path used by the
Horsetooth
Half Marathon. The last time I was on this stretch, I was suffering the
results of the first 9 miles of that race. While I was certainly in even more
pain now, my outlook was better. It was clear that I was within striking
distance of my PR. The faster than expected times in the early miles plus my
first two walk breaks being about 90 seconds ahead on each, put me in far
better shape than I expected.
This bridge (the picture is only part of it) is another
scenic icon of the race. However, it bounces so if your rhythm is not in sink
with the bounce, you could end up coming down kind of hard. I walked it and was
happier for it.
I ran mile 23 but that would be my last full mile of
running. I reached mile 24 and walked for a half, then ran the second half.
Then I ran from 25 to 25.5. Now I was within striking distance and I liked the
time I was seeing on my watch. I knew I would hit the sub 5:00 mark and I
didn’t much care how far below that I went. I also had about 0.35 miles of
drift between my watch and the course markers. Around 25.8, I started running
again. The path runs directly to
Linden
Street. Make a left and you end up at the
New Belgium Brewery, makers of Fat
Tire along with several other fine beers. Turn right and you’re headed toward
Old Town Fort Collins which is their downtown, pedestrian mall area.
This last stretch was further than I thought it was going to
be but off in the distance I could see the blue finish arch. This is the point
in the race where the sore muscles and exhausted cardio-vascular system are
overwhelmed by the momentum and the desire to finish. Along orange
crowd-control fences were throngs of spectators (even at this late stage of the
race) all cheering. I stepped over a timing sensor and moments later the MC was
announcing my name and home town and encouraging everyone to cheer me on—which
they did enthusiastically. Everyone deserves such an ovation after completing
such a task. My time across the line was 4:55:48. That was a PR by more than 5
minutes!
My Highlights and Low
Lights
With a finishing time that was a PR, I was delighted.
Scarcely more than a month earlier, I had resigned myself to not doing this
one, only to not only finish, but beat the time I ran seven years earlier. I
also stayed true to my plan except when exceeding it. Better still, the injury
that prohibited so much of my training was hardly noticed. I felt a little pain
early on but most of what I feel today is the normal sore muscles and ligaments
that follow running so far for so long. The only low light was the fact that
had I been able to train the way I intended, I think I could have cracked 4:30.
I’m not dwelling on that, however.
The Race Review:
Next Time
Start Area Wait. I
hate to offer a criticism when I don’t have a clear solution, but the start is
a little problematic. I love that you get to run down the Poudre and the
Stevens Gulch area is more than able to accommodate everyone. However, it if
had been wet or windy, a mere annoyance could have resulted in people suffering
hypothermia before the race even
started. Perhaps the organizers already have a contingency for this. Perhaps
not. Either way, they should.
Porta-Potties. You
really can never have enough. Though the start area had something on the order
of 25-30 units, that number probably should be increased by 10 or so. Making
people wait in the line for 30 minutes or more is never a good experience. I
was spared, but only because I arrived so early.
Course Maps. Like
other events, the organizers should make use of one of the various online
mapping tools out there. The fairly crude and basic map that is on the website
gets the general idea across, but there are so many other, more detailed
options available.
The Good.
There’s a lot more right with this race than wrong. Like
other events that have been going on for several years, the collective
knowledge that follows makes the experience good for everyone.
Course. Fantastic.
Beautiful scenery from start to finish. Every mile was marked with a big banner
and there were no confusing turns or twists. Anyone who is doing their first
marathon should think about this one because the course is so forgiving.
Support. This was
really well done. Porting bags from the start to the finish was easily
accomplished with a bib tear-tag and a zip tie. UPS knows how to move things
from one place to another and I had no problem getting my bag after the finish.
Aid stations were adequately stocked with water and Gu Brew (as well as Gu gel at
a few) and volunteers were standing with multiple cups to hand off. I ran
through all of the stations with no problem.
Volunteers. They
are the backbone of any event and these were world-class. My dad (a multi-year
volunteer himself) noted that the people who do this event are always excited
to come back. Whenever you run a race, thank a volunteer. They’re awesome and
we’d all be resigned to training runs without races were it not for them.
Results.
Timberline Timing
handles this race and they just seem to keep getting better. The decision to
use bib-based timing is a good one. In addition, the finish area had a tent
with laptops available for folks to look up their times. They even put visors
over the screens since some of them were facing the sun. A couple hours after
finishing, I got an e-mail with my complete results. This is all really
fantastic. Why more races can’t execute on this critical function is a mystery
to me.
Finishers Medal. Since
this is the Colorado marathon, it seems only fitting
that the strap is a series of state flags. The medal itself is a big sucker,
far more than some of tiny little spoon-sized hardware I’ve seen from other
races.
Post Race. The Old Town
area is a really good place for all of this. Soon after leaving the immediate
finish line area, I arrived at a tent set up by Whole Foods where volunteers
were serving steel-cut oatmeal garnished with almond milk, brown sugar and
berries. It really hit the spot and was far more palatable than some post-race
fare like burritos which are probably too much for a sensitive stomach. After
enjoying my oatmeal, I headed into a beer garden area for another reward:
Back at my parents’ house, my dad asked if I would do this
one again. At the time, moving much of any direction was causing me a lot of
pain. It’s hard to think about next year when this year was so hard. However,
if I can train without hurting myself, I’d like to go back and get that 4:30
time. To be sure, that is a stretch goal as well. In time, I’ll know if this is
something I’m going to do again.
For now, the focus goes entirely back to triathlons. In less
than two weeks, I kick off that season with the
Summer
Open Sprint. I've been neglecting the bike and the swim a little more than
I would have preferred but hopefully they’ll come back in good form.
Three weeks from today is the
BolderBoulder which ought to feel like
a casual stroll with my dog after yesterday’s events. That said, I’ll be
running harder and there will be no walk break after four miles. I doubt I’ll
beat last year’s time, but then again, I didn't even think I would start the
marathon.
Thanks for reading such a long report (hey it was a marathon after all) and have a
great week ahead!
