Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Just An Old Guy Rambling Another Race Report

If a tree blogs in the woods and no one is around to read it does it make a sound?  Put another way I want to again thank my two blog readers (you know who you are kids).  Now onto the race report...
I was looking for a spring marathon and wanted to shake things up a bit.  I had run NJ the last two years, but after last year's "debacle" I decided I needed a change of venue.  Since I missed a BQ eligible time by 46 seconds (damn those bathroom breaks) my search for an early Spring marathon headed south to the Shamrock Marathon.

The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon is part of a series of races held St. Patrick's Day weekend in Virginia Beach. The running festival hosts ~28,000 including the marathon, half marathon, 8k, and various shorter distance "fun runs". Of the 28,000 runners ~10,000 register for the half marathon and ~4000 for the marathon.
Shamrock is a little earlier in the Spring than NJ and offered the hope of slightly cooler temps.  I'd rather run in 25 degrees than 75 degrees so this was a big plus.

The course is pancake flat making for a fast course.  Another plus.
The biggest plus was that it was only an hour away from where my daughter lives.  This meant she could come and laugh at me hobbling at the end of the race support me in my effort.
Example of support (not actual daughter)
The weather forecast called for temperatures in the mid forties all morning with overcast skies.  Perfect conditions.  There would also be winds around ten mph near the beginning of the race and increasing to twenty mph throughout the morning.  Not so perfect.
Marathon morning rolled around and the marathon start was scheduled for 8:30AM.  As per my usual routine I got up about three hours prior to the race, had a cinnamon bun (thanks Ted & Linda) and cup of coffee.  After dressing in the clothes laid out the night before I walked the mile from the B&B to the race start.

It was still dark outside as I approached the race staging area.  As I got closer I was joined by thousands of runners heading toward the start, many of who were dressed in "over the top", St. Patty's day themed, green outfits. The half marathon started ninety minutes prior to the marathon and most of the crowd was headed for the half start.
At 7AM the half went off and what had been a loud, boisterous, crowded circus was now a quiet, calm, empty street. Which could mean only one thing.  No porta potty lines!

With an hour plus to kill I walked to the marathon starting area in order to find a quiet spot to relax.  On the way I managed to catch a beautiful sunrise over the ocean.  I wasn't expecting this since the forecast was for overcast skies.  Luckily the clouds moved in shortly after.
It was a little chilly outside and I was hoping to warm up.  I managed to find a spot to camp out on the lobby floor of one of the hotels nearby the start.

About fifteen minutes before the start I headed out to the corrals to warm up and discard  donate my $20 warm up outfit. I also had an opportunity to meet the pacer and a few others running with him.

Before the marathon I was debating whether to go out with the 3:05 or 3:15 pacer.  My tune up runs, specifically a 39:35 10K time trial, indicated I might be able to run a 3:05-3:06.  That would be almost a twenty minute PR and seemed a little ambitious.  Once I got to the corral and felt the wind my decision was made easy.  I knew 3:05 was out of the question and lined up with the 3:15 pacer.
The gun sounds and we're off.  Within five minutes, despite double knotting my shoes, I can feel my left laces slapping my right calf. Sure enough the second knot had come untied.  This is going to be real annoying for  three hours.  Oh well.  I figure I'll wait until I trip to deal with it!  (Luckily I forget about it after a mile or two and never tripped.)
The first two miles go through the main commercial area of VA beach. After crossing a bridge at the south end of town (the only "hill") the course opens up into a more wooded area.  Around mile seven we go through a national guard base with lots of cheering soldiers and a "mini gauntlet" of soldiers.

During mile nine is where I had to take my first "nature break". Twenty seconds later I was back running, but the pace group had decided to continue without me (how rude of them).  This was my first big decision of the race...do I catch up with them immediately or do I reel them in over a few miles.  After doing some quick calculations in my head I decided that catching them over the next three miles was the way to go.

Split

Avg Pace



1
7:38
2
7:19
37:22
4
7:17
5
7:25
6
7:22
7
7:23
8
7:24
9 (25s rest stop)
7:52

Up to this point the wind had been at our back or we were in a protected area.  After mile nine this changed as we were turned directly into the wind.  To make things worse I no longer had the pace group to draft off. And miles 10 and 11 were on the boardwalk with absolutely no protection from the wind.  Despite this "adversity" I managed to close in on the pace group.  I also saw wife and daughter waiting for me to crash and burn cheering me on at mile 11.  At mile 12 the course turned off of the boardwalk and the buildings offered a little protection from the wind.  By the end of mile 12 I was back with the pace group.

10
7:21
11
7:29
12
7:28
13
7:16
14
7:12

Half split 1:37:51

At this point the pace group was still intact with about twenty runners. I was feeling pretty good and was happy that I could "slow down" now that I wasn't chasing the group.

The next three miles continued into the wind and took us through the north end of the resort.  Miles 16-19 turned west into a protected area and out of the wind.  Up until this point there had always been some crowd support. But once we left town that changed.  The next few miles were pretty quiet, only interrupted by the sounds of shoes hitting the pavement.

Around mile 17-18 I was feeling really strong and knew I could pick up the pace.  I also knew I needed another "nature break" soon. But I dreaded having to play catch up with the group again.  So I made my next "big decision" and decided to pull away from the pace group.  I figured that over the next mile or two I could get far enough ahead, take that quick break, and still not lose ground to the group.

15
7:22
16
7:23
17
7:13
18
7:20
19
7:28
20
7:18

As I stepped back onto the course the group was just passing and I quickly rejoined the back of the pack. We were now at the 20 mile mark and I was still feeling strong.  Only 10K to go which meant one thing...start opening it up.  Which is exactly what I was about to do until....BAM...two things happened.

The first was that our pacer, a 2:40 marathoner, informed us that he was going to have to drop out.  Not the end of the world as the group was still surprisingly intact.  One of the other runners in the group had paced halves in the past and took over from the pacer when he dropped out.

The second was that as soon as we hit mile 20 we hit twenty plus mph winds dead into our faces.  We were now on the cape with the unprotected winds coming directly off of the Atlantic.

At this point the group started to slow down a little.  Part of it was from the wind, but part was from fatigue. I could see some of the runners struggling and slowing down.  I wanted to speed up and not slow down, but I knew that drafting the group, even though slightly slower than the pace I wanted, would be preferable to running alone. I also knew that we would  be on the cape for only about two miles more and decided that drafting the group was a better choice.

21 dead into 20 mph wind
7:33
22
 dead into 20 mph wind

7:32

As we neared the end of the cape and turned out of the wind I finally decided to "shift gears" and pulled away from the group. From here to the end of the race I still felt strong, though definitely tired.  I was able to find another gear and speed up, although an "impending" hamstring cramp kept creeping up every time I tried dropping below 7min/mile pace.

Over this part of the course I passed at least thirty runners including the runners in the group. I was only passed by one runner during this time (the fifty year old woman who took over as the pacer when the original pacer dropped out).

This stage of the race was also the part where I passed the slower marathoners running in the opposite directions.  The ones at mile 13-16 on the "out" part of the course.  This is the part of the race where I always say to myself I'm so glad that I'm not going to be on the course for another three hours!
I'm the old guy in the blue about to pass the kid in the red


23
7:12
24
6:49
25
7:17
26
7:17
270.356:44

Official result an almost 11 minute PR with an almost 2 minute negative split and 114th place overall!

Epilogue

Did I mention that Yuengling was the sponsor and post race celebration was beer and Irish stew :-)





CHIP TIME

3:13:52




PLACE

114

Results

  • Chip Time: 3:13:52
  • Gun Time: 3:14:02
  • Total Pace: 7:24/M
  • 7mi Time: 52:28
  • 13.1mi Time: 1:37:51
  • 18.1mi Time: 2:14:16

Standings

  • Group: Men 50 to 54
  • Group Place: 10
  • Group Finishers: 170
  • Gender Place: 101
  • Gender Finishers: 1528
  • Total Finishers: 2791