Grandma's Marathon - June 19,2010

Grandma's Marathon is race number 6th in this year's MDRA Grand Prix schedule as well as my first repeat marathon having also run Grandma's last year.  Grandma's is known for being a relatively fast, generally flat course with minimal hills and a 130 feet elevation drop from start to finish.  Last year I ran 3:25:21, which was my personal best at the time until I ran 15 seconds faster in New York last November.  However last year's Grandma's was unusually hot and humid.  This year I was determined to break my PR and run under 3:20 weather permitting.

We arrived in Duluth on Friday, the day before the race.  A beautiful summer day except for a strong 20-25 mph west wind that made me cringe knowing we would be running directly into the face of it on race day if conditions didn't improve.  Race day forecast projected mostly cloudy skies with temps in the low 60's, and a west wind around 15 mph with gusts to 20mph.  Definitly an improvement from Friday, but one can't ignore a 15 mph headwind for 26 miles.  Race weekend Friday is always a fun time.  We attended the Marathon Expo at the DECC (Duluth Convention Center) in the afternoon and then took in the William K. Irvin 5k race at 6pm.  After the race we walked over to Canal Park for dinner before heading back to the hotel and some much needed sleep.    

Race morning came early with a 4:45am wake-up call, a quick breakfast and a 5:30am (26 mile) bus ride from the hotel to the starting line just west of Two Harbors, MN.  It was partly cloudy and cool as the bus left the hotel.  Along the way I began looking at the tree tops hoping I would see no movement, but the further we drove, the more I noticed tree tops swaying and leaves rustling.  I reluctantly realized the wind was going to be a factor, like it or not.  We arrived in Two Harbors about 90 minutes before the scheduled 7:30am marathon start.  My pre-race activities include drinking a 20 ounce bottle of water and eating a fresh banana about an hour before the race begins.  I also ate a cup of yogurt and a bowl of oatmeal at the hotel before jumping on the bus.  

Unlike shorter races, I don't run a few miles to warmup before a marathon.  Instead, I do spend a good 20-30 minutes massaging my leg muscles to get them warm and comfortable before the race which seems to work best for me.  There are always long lines for the many portable 'satellites' brought into the starting area at these large marathons.  I use one right when I hop off the bus, but also try to time it right so I can make one last stop about 10-15 minutes before the race starts.  It was now time for the national anthem followed by two Air Force fighter jets zooming low overhead which got everyone's adrenalin pumped up for the race to begin.

The early miles were a lot sunnier than I had hoped.  This was concerning as I had flash backs to last year when the sun warmed things up quickly, taking a huge toll on all the runners including myself.  As I ran past my family for the first time around mile 3, I asked them to pray for cloud cover!  To run under 3 hours, 20 minutes I would need to average a 7:37/mile pace, which is about 13 seconds faster than my previous best marathon pace.  I also try to build a small 5 minute cushion to work with by running slightly faster than my goal pace over the first half of the race.  This gives me a workable error margin in case something unfavorable should happen along the way (weather, injury, illness, etc.).  Out of the gate I was averaging 7:25/mile over the first 3 miles which is where I wanted to be.  I just needed the sun and wind to cooperate.

I could see faster runners up ahead who appeared to be running in shade most of the time, but like a mirage, I never seemed to reach the shade they were running in.  However things began to improve around mile 6 as cloud cover began to thicken, providing off an on shade which felt heavenly.  I reached the 10k mark in 46:04, still on a 7:25/mile pace.  The sun was no longer the primary issue, however the wind was.  It blew directly in our face the entire way with stronger wind gusts at times, particularly on stretches where the highway was relatively straight and the trees along the side were unable to help as a wind block.    

When the winds picked up I became concerned that the extra effort needed to maintain my pace would come back to haunt me at the end of the race when the legs grow weary and internal gas tank is running on empty.  After last year's heat I was careful to make sure I didn't drop a water cup or skip a water station along the way.  I also forced myself to take a bite of my energy bar every 3 miles or so.  I still struggle with a queasy stomach in the 2nd half of my marathons due to the never ending sloshing of water/nourishment inside my stomach.  It takes a beating in a race like this.  There is no alternative but to keep drinking and eating some form of appropriate nourishment along the way if you want to finish the race on your feet.  I've experimented with many different (easy to digest) foods recommended by running magazines (gels, energy bars, graham crackers, bananas, etc), but nothing seems to settle my stomach after I reach the midpoint of the race.

I reached the halfway point (13.1 miles) in 1:37:51.  With the gusty headwinds my overall race pace slowed a bit to 7:28/mile and the 5 minute cushion I was trying to build was now down to 4.  The good news?  We now had steady cloud cover for the remainder of the race which helped keep the temps in the mid 60's and also prevented the sun from sucking energy from my body I could not afford to lose.  I reached the 20 mile mark in 2:29:53 as my overall pace slowed to 7:30/mile.  At this pace my cushion was a little more than 3 minutes now.  Not a big error margin considering the toughest part of the race loomed ahead.

I reached the 20 mile mark faster than any of my 7 previous marathons and I was determined to reach my goal despite the fact I felt like I was going to vomit any minute from the constant sloshing of water in my stomach.  At mile 22 we reached one of the toughest sections of the course - Lemon Drop Hill.  It's really a freeway overpass, but instead of descending on the back side of the overpass, the road climbs for a bit longer more before leveling off again.

Halfway through mile 23 we turned left onto Superior Street which takes you on a straight shot west through the heart of downtown Duluth.  This section is about a mile and a half long, but I consider it one of the most difficult stretch in the race.  It's relatively flat but straight as an arrow and seems to go on and on, block after city block.  The spectator support is significant and very supportive along the downtown streets, but it seemed like the left turn onto 5th Avenue would never come.  Just before reaching 5th, I reached mile 25 in 3:09:49.  My race pace was now up to 7:36/mile.  I knew my cushion was all but gone and had to maintain my current pace over the final 1.2 miles if I was going to break 3:20.  Each of my mile splits were under 8 minute pace so far which was a first for me.  I knew if I could maintain a sub 8 minute pace the rest of the way I would achieve my goal, but I also think the fear of running out of gas so close to the finish outweighed the physical pain and exhaustion I was feeling at the time.

I finally reached the long awaited left turn onto 5th Avenue and one last hill to climb where 5th crosses over I35.  Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion like running in a dream, or was I actually running too slow and my dream was about to become a nightmare with less than a mile to go.  We crossed I35 and I took advantage of a brief downhill section onto Harbor Drive which loops around the south side of the DECC and then north again along it's east side.  About a half mile to go now, but we were running in the opposite direction of the finish line which seemed a bit defeating psychologically.  Next came a right turn on Railroad St for two short blocks before a final right turn onto Canal Park Drive and the home stretch. 

With about 400 yards to go I took a quick glance at my Garmin and saw I had less than 2 minutes to cross the finish line under 3:20.  Canal Park Drive is relatively straight but does bend slowly to the left so you can't really see the finish right away, but I could begin to see the large white and red balloon rainbows arching over the street up ahead and knew I was getting closer.  Bleachers lined the west side of the street packed with spectators.  One last glance at my Garmin and less than a minute to work with and less than 200 yards to go.  For the first time all race long my anxiety changed to the realization I was actually going to make it.  I could see the official race clock over the finish line which confirmed my time - I actually had an additional 17 seconds to burn as that's how long it took me to cross the starting line at the beginning of the race.  Thanks to racing chips on our shoes we are not penalized for the time it take sto cross the starting line.  With less than 50 yards to go I heard my name and home town read over the public address system which made everything seem official now.

I crossed the finish with an (official racing chip) time of 3 hours, 19 minutes, 40 seconds.  My goal was achieved and I pumped my fist into the air as I staggering through the finishers chute to received my medal and bottle of water.  Then I slowly meandered past other exhausted runners congratulating them as I made my way to the family gathering area to wait for my wife and daughter to arrive.  As happy as I was to achieve my goal, it never really feels as great as you think it will at the time.  The marathon completely drains you physically, mentally and emotionally and the initial recovery process takes 2-4 hours before I start to feel somewhat normal again.  I find that I enjoy the accomplishment much more the day after the marathon once I have regained my strength and my senses.

I finished 376th among 5,611 finishers and 22nd among 341 in my age group.  Regarding the Grand Prix, I earned 759 points in the race to boost my point total for the season to 3,777.  I also climbed into 7th place in the overall standings and first place in my age group.   I've run 5 of the 6 Grand Prix events so far, however a number of far more accomplished runners have only run 3-4 at this point.  They will make up the difference and then some as the season progresses.  Each runner can only count their top 10 race results among the 13 race events in the series.  This allows you to choose which of the 10 races you want to compete in if you can't run all 13.

My next marathon is the Medtronic Twin Cities in October.  This will be my 2nd Twin Cities Marathon and bring me full circle to where it all began for me back in 2007.  However I have several shorter races before Twin Cities.  The Boston Scientific Heart of the Summer 10k is coming up on July 24th and is race number 7 in the Grand Prix event series.

Race results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=1442&race=41

Brief video of my finish:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/videoResults?rid=1442&race=41