2012 Colfax Marathon Race Report

Pre-Race

I woke up at 4am and had my banana, coffee and oatmeal.  This race starts earlier than most at 6:00 am but I was particularly happy because we would be out of the sun an hour earlier.  I had to walk about a mile to the starting line, I arrived at about 5:30 and spent most of that time waiting in line for the bathroom.   I was unable to find the bag check so I left my bag under a tree near the start which was gone when I came back.  At the start it was about 45 F and still dark.  The day before it had rained all day and never hit 50 degrees, today the weather would be perfect.

0-13.1 miles 1:45:18 – 8:02 pace, Avg HR 150

My plan was to toss out my conservative instincts and start the marathon off fast.  My goal was to go out at or near 8:00 minute miles (in my head this felt like a suicide mission).   Because it was so crowed at the start I just went with the flow and ran the first mile in 8:22.  I didn’t know till after the race while analyzing the data that mile 1 was my slowest mile of the day.   Once traffic thinned out I settled into a faster pace near 8:00.  My HR was pretty calm staying in the 140’s for most of the first half of the race.  I felt like I was working much harder than my HR was showing.   I clicked off many miles just under 8:00 pace, I felt really good and I was passing people nonstop.  They had a big clock and banner at the half way point and I was pretty surprised to see 1:45 (fast enough to be my second best HM).  I thought to myself maybe I could run 3:30 today.  My only worry was my calf that sort of felt tired or just off, I wasn’t sure.  I’ve had a lot of calf problems mostly minor but I don’t like them feeling weird at all.

13.1 -20 miles. Avg Pace 7:51, Avg HR 161
 Shortly after the highs of crossing the 13.1 mark I hit some rough patches in mile 15 and 16 which had a long steady low climb (not steep at all but tough at 8:00 min pace).  My HR exploded into the 160’s and my pace slowed back above 8:00/mi.  I thought to myself “that’s it my HR going to skyrocket until I slow into the 9:00 -10:00 pace”.  I tried to keep that in the back of my mind and I knew that miles 17-20 were mostly downhill (out and back course).  Also my family was waiting for me at 20 so I clawed out of my funk and returned to a pace just under 8:00.  I hit 20 miles in 2:39 which is my fastest 20 ever in any race or training run.  Once again I was feeling really good. My calfs were still my only worry they didn’t feel great but they were still holding.

Mile 21 – 7:50 – 168 HR

Seeing my family and my 20 mile time changed my state of mind.   “I want 3:30 I am ready to hurt” and hurt I did.  I wasn’t the only one either people around me were starting to break down.  I was passing people like crazy, I looked at my watch and I hadn’t speed up at all.  I can remember a single person passing me again not even relay runners that had just stared their leg at the 20 mile mark.

Mile 22 – 7:46 – 172 HR

At mile 21 I was supposed to eat my last gel but my stomach was starting to feel queasy so instead I went without and only had some water (couldn’t even look at Gatorade).  My calf continued to feel funny, I hoped it would hold a little longer but I tried not to think about it now.  My calfs have always been my week link and if anything is going to cramp or get injured it will be my calf so it’s hard to ignore their complaints.

Mile 23 – 8:02 – 173 HR

Coming off all that downhill was a hard transition now I had to work for those 8 min miles not just coast and get them for free.   Last year in this exact spot my calf started cramping and I was scared it would happen again.   I decided to not worry about pace and just get through this section.   Which was good because my watch started acting weird so I couldn’t tell how fast I was running (because of the downtown buildings).

Mile 24 – 7:23 – 174 HR

My Garmin was really going nuts and it was telling me I was at 8:40 pace.  But maybe it wasn’t messed up, I sped up to try and get my pace under 8:00 and when I came out of the big buildings my watch corrected itself from 8:00 pace for the current mile to 6:50! And then I hit a huge hill.  I went way into the red zone from going too fast and then climbing up this hill.  I spent the rest of this mile recovering at what I think was about 8:30 pace.  On my overall summary my watch said I max out at 193 HR and I am pretty sure it was during this hill after running 6:50 for half a mile.

Mile 25 – 7:55 –  174 HR

This mile really hurt, I was still in pain from that hill but I couldn’t let up.  I crossed 24 at 3:10 I knew I could get 3:30 if I just run the last 2.2 in 20 minutes.  I tried to do the math but failed to figure out the pace I needed.  For the first time in the race I was feeling too hot, in reality it was only about 55 F but I was sweating like crazy.

Mile 26 – 7:33 – 177 HR

12:00 to run 1.2 miles which now I can easily see is 10 min pace but I failed again to compute the pace needed and just kept pushing.   With about a mile to go we entered the park where we started and I just took off.  This is the first time I ever had a marathon kick.  I got some great comments from fellow marathoners as I passed them “you’re kicking ass” and “finish strong”.

Last 0.2 – 7:20 pace – 186 HR

Crossing the 26 mile marker felt awesome and suddenly the pain dissipated (runners high).  I continued to speed up as I charged towards the finish line.  I have never felt this good coming into the finish of a marathon it was a wonderful feeling.  I would have sprinted but I didn’t trust my “no pain feelings” I knew my body was really hurting and my calf was near failure.  Wasn’t worth a few more seconds and I already had a huge PR.  I couldn’t see my family but they could see me finish strong.  I usually look like I am about to die at the finishes.

A Few Fun Stats
- This was my 7th marathon (8 if you count the 50K)
- First time I ran negative splits in a marathon. First half 1:45, Second half 1:42.
- Fastest miles: 7:23 in mile 24 and 7:33 in mile 26
- Slowest mile: 8:22 in mile 1 
- Average Pace 7:55, Avg HR 158, Max HR 193 (second highest Max HR for the year)
- Miles between 7:45 – 8:05 = 17, Miles between 7:35 – 8:15 = 23