2014 Rock n’ Roll Denver

26.2 mi – 3:50:55

Goals for this race (in order of importance)
1. Run easy enough so I can recover before my 50miler on November 1st
2. Run Sub 4hrs
3. Have fun

Pre Race
I do a lot of things that other runners would call dumb, within my track club I have the reputation being “that crazy guy”. But I am not that crazy and I take on challenges that I think I can overcome. This race on the other hand had me questioning my sanity. A marathon 2 weeks before a 50 miler that is stupid. It’s not a good sign when you are questioning yourself add to that the pressure of all my friends running or spectating, a streak that I can’t let die (goal #2) and a rough training schedule that I just finished a week earlier. It was obvious that there was no way that I could hit all three of my goals.


0 – 10, 10 miles – 1:27:29, 8:45 pace
Right of the bat my legs felt like crud. I have found that when I am training hard I can go week to week without soreness but as soon as a take some time off all that fatigue catches up with me. This week and last week was my rest break. The 5 weeks of training before that was brutal with 5 long runs over 20 miles. It didn’t help that they changed the course this year and significantly added a lot more hills to the early miles. By mile 10 my legs felt like they could cramp up at any moment. At least the weather was perfect it was in the 50’s and overcast.


11-20, 10 miles – 1:29:07:29, 8:55 pace
One thing that I did have going for me was the amount of friends and family running and spectating. Knowing that I was going to run slower I backed up into coral 6 and ran with a friend. As the day got hotter he had to let me go on without him but we ran a good chunk together. I slowed down too but not at much as the entire race seemed to slow. Because I started in corral 6 I kept catching up to friends which I would chat with for a moment and then be on my way. I am amazed that was able to find so many people within the 12,000 runners. At mile 12ish 10,000 of those runners turned off our course to finish the half marathon. The course was a little more lonesome, just the way I like it. I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad but I told myself that I would go when I saw an open pot-a-pottie. Unfortunately that didn’t happen until mile 15, I always go by this rule and sometime it takes until mile 18-20 before I don’t have to wait in line. My calfs still were threating to cramp and I was feeling warm, I was no longer coasting and I knew that was going to have to work now to keep my sub 4:00.

21-24, 4 miles – 35:42, 8:51 pace
The clouds rolled away and the sun came out raising the temp up to about 70F. I was still holding my pace pretty steady. At this time I was flying past people who were destroyed, which was most everyone. My kids were waiting for me at their usual spot where they could see me twice and I was happy to see them as usual. In addition to my family I probably saw a friend spectating every 2-3 miles along the course. One of my goals this off season is to repay the favor and cheer my friends on in their races.

25-26.2, 2.2 miles – 18:38, 8:28 pace
With only 2 miles to go I lifted the self-imposed speed limit. Late in a marathon if you can hold your pace you pass people like crazy, speed up and it’s like they are standing still as you blow past them. This race has really grown and the finish this year was awesome. From about a half mile out you are running through a tunnel of cheering people, it was so loud. I actually had a final kick in me that felt fast my gamin said 7:30 pace for the last 0.2, at least it was enough to outsprint superman. Later my son asked me “why didn’t superman just fly to the finish?

Goals Revisited
1. Run easy enough to recover. Check, today (Wednesday) I ran 7 miles @ 8:38 pace for my easy run
2. Run Sub 4hrs. Check, and the streak continues to 10 sub 4’s in a row.
3. Have fun. Check.... Well sorta, that was a lot harder than I planned so there wasn’t much time to stop and smell the roses.

A few stats
21st Marathon/Ultra
8th fastest marathon
10th consecutive sub 4:00 marathon (excluding ultras and trail 26.2’s)
4th Denver Rock n’ Roll Marathon (I have also run the half 2 times)
6th marathon of 2014

Pictures
21.5 miles into the race and I am having way to much fun


This one is at 23.5 miles. I just gave my daughter a high five, I look determined.

2013 Denver Rock n’ Roll Marathon

26.2 miles – 3:41:19 (8:27 pace)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/393284743 


Pre Race 
The Denver marathon has been my proving ground for years. Back in 2009 this was where I ran my first marathon in a time of 5:19 that I am still upset about. Every year since I have run either the full or the half, this race is my yearly benchmark to compare the years. I plan on continuing to run this race every year and I sign up for it super early to save money. This year I signed up before I set my goals for the year and that is why I ended up running it 3 weeks after my first 50 mile race. Expectations were low, I told everyone that I would take it easy and run somewhere around 4hrs. 


First 10 miles 1:24:51 (8:29 pace) 
The early miles went perfectly to plan just enjoy the race. I ran what ever felt comfortable, I had my watch but I wasn’t checking times or pace. I have run the half or the full for 5 years in a row now but this was the first time I was soaking in the course, marathon atmosphere and the beautiful fall weather. I read every marathon sign, joked with other runners, jammed to the live music and laughed at all the crazy costumes. I knew I was running about 8:30 pace but I didn’t have a clue what kind of a finish time that would be I only knew that 9:09 was 4hrs, usually I study up on pace times. In the back of my head I only had one concern my feet, which started to hurt around mile 4 or 5. The last few months I have been having foot pain on some of my longer runs and a lot during and after that 50 miler. I am not talking about the bottom of my feet, which were also sore. This is pain feels like is coming from the tops of my feet. I got to see my wife and kids at mile 6 and then again at mile 8. They were eating breakfast in the grass and not ready for me so I went way off course to give them hugs and high fives (not the first time I have gone to them). 

11-20, 10 miles 1:25:12 (8:31 pace) 
Mile 11 was tough because of a short but steep hill. Normally this hill would have been cake but at 8:30 pace it was the first time I felt out of breath in the race. Luckily my parents, brother and niece were at the top of this hill cheering me on. At mile 12 we split off from the half marathon crowd it seemed like for every 10 HM runners 1 runner went down the full marathon route. The race contained 15,000 runners and only about 3,500 were running the marathon. With so few people I was able to relax even more, the fall colors were just amazing. My feet continued to hurt but they never really got any worse than a mild discomfort. Nearing mile 20 realized how easily I had coasted through first part of this race. I saw my training buddy around this time and he was happy to see how well I was doing so close to that 50 miler. He said “Allen you are doing great, go get em’ and finish strong”. I think this is about when I decided I had enough fun and now it was time to race. 

Last 10K, 6.2 miles 51:16 (8:16 pace) 
Running through the park I started passing tons of many people. I had only slightly picked up my pace but at the same time people around me started dropping like flies. A few of the people that I passed chased me down and suddenly I was leading my very own pace group. I was the expert on the course and marathoning. I was asking how people felt and letting them know what was around the next corner. Our group continued to run low 8:20’s for the final few miles passing people like crazy. We lost a few people in our group along the way and near the end we were down 3 strong runners. They kept saying “don’t let us hold you back if you need to go then go”. I told them about my day and my crazy year of races, they were both running their first marathon and very impressed that I was even running this race. I asked them if they felt good and that we should start our kick even though a big hill was right in front of us. We ended up running mile 26 in 7:59 even with the big hill. At the top of the hill we took about 2 minutes to recover before I said “it’s all downhill from here lets go now”. I left the group behind and ran the last .42 miles @ 5:57 pace!!! (.42 mi because I ended up with 26.42 mi). At the finish line I waited for my mini pace group to finish. They both said that because of my kick they also pushed themselves to have awesome finishes. 

Post Race: 
Even with the hard effort over the last 10K I felt great at the finish line and then at home the rest of the day. My foot pain never really got worse or better from about mile 4 mark. Monday at school I didn’t really feel sore except in my back a little. 

This wasn’t the first time I collected runners and formed a pace group in fact it seems to be happing more and more often. I set out to have a fun day and I did just that but even better I helped make some others day a little better. 

2012 Rock n’ Roll Denver Marathon Race Report

3:26:55 – PR’d by 32 seconds
Really tough day
The significance of this race to me was huge

My Record at the Denver marathon
2009 – Full marathon: 5:19, First full marathon but painfully below expectations
2010 – Full marathon: DNF. My only DNF ever which really hurt and made me take an honest look at myself
2011 – Half marathon: 1:30, I did feel like I got some redemption with this fast half but still I felt like I need to get that solid marathon done.

Early on 0-10 10 miles in 1:17:40 (7:43 pace)
I came into this race with really high aspirations, I was thinking that I could run 3:15. I ran the first 2 miles in 15:03 with some very cranky Achilles. It was about mile 3 or 4 that I saw the 3:15 pacer run by (a friend of mine). After letting the idea of 3:15 go it wasn’t long before I was letting 3:20 go out the window as well. I just thought to myself “let go get a PR”. I slowed my pace to coincide with this new goal. I was really starting to get down on myself thinking that I had blown the whole race in the first few miles. Did I just mess up this race again? I kept setting small goals like “let’s get to 10 miles and see how we feel then” which really helped break this huge task into manageable pieces.

Middle Chuck 11-20 10 miles in 1:19:39 (7:58 pace)
Once I slowed down a bit my Achilles stopped complaining but my calf’s still felt off. It felt as if they could have seized at any moment. This course had a lot of rolling hills and each time on the up I felt as if I was about to go into the red for good but I always recovered just enough on the down hills. I could tell that I was riding the edge on my threshold the entire time. Heading towards mile 20 was my darkest time with miles 19 and 20 being my slowest of the race (8:11 and 8:12). I was really thinking that I had gone out to fast and now I was spiraling towards that dreaded wall. This race was different in one way, I had advertised much more than in the past. I knew that my family, friends, classmates, fellow lost it ‘ers and my cross country team were all pulling for me. It was my invisible cheering section. I couldn’t let everyone or myself down.

Last 10K in 49:36 (8:00 pace)
Mile 20 was about where let go of that pain threshold. That didn’t mean speeding up any but it did mean stopping my gradual slow down that had been going on since mile 3. Later looking back at my HR I could see this moment, up until mi 20 my HR was pretty constant increasing slowly from 150 to the high 160’s. After 20 my HR increased a lot every mile, during this time I felt out of breath like in a 5k. The end of the course had some really long straight that I could bare to look at (I got that far to go still) so I just put my head down and ran. I ran mile 26 in 7:57 with an average HR of 180, which was really good considering they tossed in a nasty hill during the last mile. I wouldn’t say it didn’t hurt but every one of my long runs was on tails with lots of hills so it could have felt worse. Somehow I did have a small kick and managed to run the last 0.2 in at 6:35 pace (all downhill).


Completing my original goal and looking back at 2009 vs 2012
The Denver marathon is very special to me for a couple of reasons. It’s quite literally in my backyard with the nearest section coming within a mile from my house. It’s also where I ran my first marathon in 5:19 which was really below my expectations. But most importantly it’s my anniversary of when I really started to pay attention to my health. The failure of the 2009 Denver marathon started the discussion with myself that I had a weight problem. The next year I lost 10 lbs but got a DNF which drove the point home, I joined lose it 3 days later. Without these failures I would probably still be in denial about my health. Every year at the Denver marathon I assess my goals and look back at my health progress. The year after my DNF (2011) I had lost another 30 lbs but had to settle for the half marathon because of business travel the week of the race. It’s been really frustrating not being successful on this course.

The weight loss was only half of my major goal that I set out to accomplish with the other being successful at the Denver marathon. Well I finally got my redemption this year and ran that same course as 3 years ago in 3:26:55 (the 40+ lbs. I lost along the way helped a bit). While running the course I kept drawing back on that 2009 experience. At mile 14 I was thinking “this is where I had to start walk last time”. At mile 19 “this is where you sat on the curb for 5 minutes”. As much as I hurt this weekend I knew that it was never worse than what I felt back in 2009.

So now I can finally say is all in one sentence:
In the last 3 years I have lost 42 lbs. and taken 1:52:00 off my marathon time.
This has been my goal for the last 3 years, 3 years is a long time.

This isn’t the end of the story, just a chapter. I still dream big and it’s time to set a new 3 year goal.

Here I am after I finished, only photo I have this year


And for the other data junkies out there…


If you’re interested in reading the race reports from those failed previous years
2009 (5:19) http://allenrunsfar.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-denver-marathon.html
2010 (DNF) http://allenrunsfar.blogspot.com/2010/10/2010-denver-rock-and-roll-marathon.html

2009 Denver Marathon

I started about 3 minutes after the gun went off, so as I crossed the starting line I was 3 min behind my 4:30 pace group. I ran kind of hard and caught up with them in about 2 miles (probably wasn’t a good idea). Once I was with the pace group I ran with them comfortably for a while. Around mile 5 (I think) started having this feeling that there was a rock in my shoe under the ball of my foot and my heel was starting to rub a little on one foot. I had worn cotton socks for all of my training runs but I was currently wearing my nicer running socks (probably wasn’t a good idea). Each hill even though small got me out of breath early on, I would recover about a minute later but each one after I had a little longer recovery time. Until our pace group hit a decent size hill and I never recovered while running with them. As we approached the half way mark it became clear to me that I wanted to finish a marathon and not run 4:30 and I let the pace group go (probably wasn’t a good idea).

I thought it would be easy to let them go but it was a huge physiological blow and a mile later my foot hurt 10 times worse and 2 miles after that I was walking. I had completely crashed by mile 16 and I wasn't sure how I would complete the final 10 miles. I walk/run 50% heading into Washington park where the family was waiting for me at mile 18. I stopped them and gave them all hugs and then went on threw the park. Not long after I saw them again at mile 20, those last 2 miles seemed like an eternity. Amber asked me if I was going to finish and I said "I don't think so". She convinced me that I was too close to quit and that I could make it, if she wasn't there I don't think I would had finished. I took some time at mile 20. I sat down on the curb and took off my shoes and made sure there wasn't a rock and then got up and continued the race. Thinking back on this I shouldn’t have sat down, I am lucky that I decided to get up. But I couldn't give up in front of my kids and I couldn't let my wife who was encouraging her crazy husband down either.

I knew I had to finish even if I had to walk those last 6 miles. Mile 20 was the worst, my feet felt as if I were walking across coals. I walked all of mile of 21 there were times that I thought I couldn't even walk another step. 22-24 I got back into the 50/50 walk jog and it really hurt but I was so happy when I saw mile 24 I knew I could make it now only 2 more to go. I was even happier when I saw mile 25, by now the temperature was about 80F and it felt hot. Not as hot as my burning up feet. My toes felt like they were going to pop off. Mile 25.5 the course went near the finish line (mean) we still had a few blocks out and back to finish. Mile 26 I ran into the shade of the buildings of downtown and it felt so good.

There was a slight downhill for a block and then a final turn. Around that corner I could see the finish line 2 blocks away and a pretty big crowd cheering runner into the finish. I floated those last two blocks not thinking about how much my feet hurt or how tired I was. Crossing the finish line was something special, I had done it I finish a marathon. I was pretty tired and my time was horrible but I finished a marathon. Instead of quitting back at mile 16 and going home a loser I finished and went home a hero.                                                                            


Mistakes I will learn from (yes I am going to do another one, although I don’t know why)

Train harder – I only got up to 18 miles in training, I need a 20 (maybe 2 20’s).

Train harder part 2 (weekly mileage) – the weeks when I was running good I only put in 25-30 miles and more than half of that was on the long run.

Don’t run in socks you haven’t trained with – don’t know why I changed it up on race day.