Spring 2008
Be where you are and be okay with that -
Jennifer Grunstad,
February 26, 2008
Marathon 18: St Louis Strikes Back
I have a love hate relationship with Marathons. When I'm training for a marathon, I love that I can pretty much eat whatever I want, but I hate that I am tethered to a training schedule that requires running 4-5 times a week. At parties I love that I get bragging rights to say I run marathons, but hate that I sometimes have to leave that party because I have to get up early the next morning to run. I love Race-Day Magic and Marathon Miracles that lead to new Personal Records (PRs), but I hate that sometimes it just isn't your day.
It seems I have a love/hate relationship with Missouri too because I once again signed up for the Go St Louis Marathon, which was held on Sunday, April 6, 2008. This is my third time running that race and once again I stayed with college friends Julie and Brian, who were kind enough to move into the same subdivision of Wildwood, MO so that my visitation is streamlined.
There were three other people from Chicago that I knew who were running this race: John, who carpooled with me. Swan, a friend who ran her first marathon in the fall, and Andrea who was working on her fourth marathon. We met at the Expo and posed for the picture to the right. I had spent the previous week in sunny Miami for work and caught a late flight back Friday evening. John and I left Chicago as early as we could Saturday morning for a six hour drive straight to the marathon expo in downtown St Louis. Not the most ideal conditions to endure the days before a 26.2 mile trot through the Peril of the Midwest, but it could not be helped.
My ultimate marathon goal is to get into the ever elusive Boston Marathon, which requires a 3:15 marathon finish time for males ages 35-39. As my PR is a 3:29, it hasn't happened yet but I keep at it and every marathon I try to come up with a new strategy to get through the 26.2 miles. For this race I decided to think of it in terms of four quarters that were a little more than 10K (6.55 miles each actually) runs. The plan was to concentrate on simply completing each "10K" in about 46 minutes which would have put me on pace to finish with a 3:15.
First Quarter (Miles 0-6.5)
The race start time is 7 am and the temperature is about 48 degrees, warm enough
for me to run in shorts. We arrived about an hour before in order to make
sure I have enough time to check my gear, acclimate to the temperature and line
up at the starting line. I run into John at gear check and we wish each
other luck. At the starting line I run into Andrea, she's practically
naked in her racing clothes and I feel like such a wimp since I'm still wearing
the long sleeve shirt I intend to litter the streets with a mile or two into the
course once I finally warm up. No sign of Swan. I run faster than
these
friends so there was no expectation to line up together for any part of the
race. If I meet any of them on the course, I know that I'm having a bad
day.
The race officials changed the course this year to make it "faster" and eliminated the run through the Anheiser-Busch Brewery. So no Clydesdales this year. Instead, we run around this small park which goes downhill and then up again back in the direction of the start line. I find myself drafting off these three runners who seem to know each other. One girl is wearing a sign on her back that says she is running for Bridgette Schultzman. From their conversation, I hear that they are trying to achieve a 3:30 and are running too fast so they are gonna pull back. Part of me thinks I should stay with them, another part thinks I should pull out while they drop back, which I do.
The course reverses and we head back toward the starting point. If only we could call it a day, although I feel strong and good. As we run west on Market Street, I think about looking for Brian, but I know better. He's back at Union Station waiting in line at the Starbucks.
End of 1st Quarter time: 46:30
Second Quarter (Miles 6.5-13.1)
At Mile 8 I look at my watch and
realize that I've covered 8 miles in 1 hour. I'm still on pace to achieve
a Boston Qualifying (BQ) time. I look over to my right and see some of the
faster half marathoners coming in. They have 2-3 miles to go and I realize
that in two or more hours, I will also be running on that side. The
incline that I'm running down will seem like a mountain when I come around and
run/walk/crawl up it.
We approach Forest Park and I am running
on pace but starting something. Assuming it's energy drain, I take my
second gel.
End of 2nd Quarter time: 1:39:08
Third Quarter (Miles 13.1 - 20)
At the halfway point (13.1 miles), I was right on pace but starting to feel
fatigue in my legs. Within two miles, I fell behind pace. For the first time in
a while, I really wanted to just bag it and go to lunch early. But that's not
who I am, so I played the mental game of telling myself just to make it to mile
20 (checkpoint #3). While the last 6 miles of a marathon are certainly the
hardest overall, the second to last 6 miles is hardest because you have as much
distance left to run as you just ran. It can seem very daunting to feel like you
are finished physically but know that you have another half marathon to go
before you can call it a day.
This is where the Running Demons show up. There's the Run-Another-Day Demon who tries to convince you to bag it now and save it for your next race. There's the Give-Up Demon who tries to convince you to stop running altogether. Then there's the more sly demon known as the Just-Resta-Minute demon. While you can ignore the first to demons, Just-Resta requires more diplomatic tactics.
Along the way, there is a band on the course and they are between sets,
probably taking a break or checking their sound. I call out/sing to them
"Please don't stop the music," ala Rhiania and the lead singer laughs.
The girl with the Bridgett sign on her back passes me and she looks like she is
cruising.
End of 3rd Quarter time: 2:38
4th Quarter (Miles 20 - 26.2)
With six miles to go and the knowledge that I won't BQ today, I keep
chugging along. I'm proud that I've only walked for the sum total of a
minute or so and know that I should finish under 4 hours, maybe even under 3:40.
The only problem is the hills are getting steeper and the Just-Resta Demon is
getting louder.
On the course there was this little girl holding bottled water. I asked if that was for anyone and she raised her hand and I grab for the bottle but it slips out of my wet gloved hand. She gasps and the look on her face tells me that she feels responsible, like she let me down. Another little girl, most likely her sister charges over and hands me another bottle. I give them the best smile I can muster at this point and say "thanks, you've probably saved my life."
I make it through the last 1.2 miles with a new goal: I'm not gonna be beat
by someone who can't commit to a hair color! When I cross the finish
line, one of the volunteers checks to make sure I'm okay. Brian would
later tell me that the girl wearing Bridgette Schulmann honor collapsed about
100 ft from the finish line, but was helped over it.
End of 4th Quarter time: 3.45:37
The Silver Lining:
After I get some hydration, a banana and a beer, I sat down on a bench that was
occupied by another runner. I asked her if she was happy with her results before I noticed her
racing bib, indicating that she had run the half. She said she was and
asked me the same. "I'm never satisfied," I replied with a smile.
There are three stages of post-marathon recovery: physical, mental and spiritual/psychological. By Tuesday I'm 95% recovered on the surface. Stairs don't bother me and I can walk with my usual fast pace. The micro-factures in my muscles will take longer of course, but I'm not planning on any runs anytime soon. I do have the Volkswagen Prague Marathon in 6 weeks but I said from the onset that that one is for fun. I plan to take my camera along and snap pictures of the city of Prague while leisurely running and walking (as need be) the course. Then it's training time for Chicago where I can make another attempt at qualifying for Boston.
Girl on bench says to me, "you should be proud of what you did today."
Mentally, I had my moments of disappointment with this race and quickly
recovered by the time my friend met me at the finishers corral.
Out of 1615 total marathon finishers I placed 385. Out of 1048 males who crossed
the finish line, I came in 324th. In the Males35-39 group I placed 56 out of
148. Those are pretty good numbers for a 38 year old who spent the weekend traveling from Miami to Chicago to St Louis in a 24 hour period. I'm not
making excuses but a more rested Michael might have put up an even stronger
fight.
The four of us represent the essential stages of marathon runners.
John just
wanted to finish was was pleased to have done so. Andrea set a new PR and is
happy knowing that if the course were flat, she might have done even better. She
gets to look forward to a flat Chicago course and hopes of breaking 4 hours and
maybe even BQing. Swan did better than her first marathon but not good enough to
BQ so she was naturally upset. Her time was 3 minutes shy of what she needed to
BQ but that doesn't tell the full story. She had a
good pace going through 75% of the course and then the wheels came off. At
that point all a runner can do is scratch, crawl and drag themself to the finish
line so that their time is only a 3 minute difference instead of the 30 minutes
it could have been had she listened to the voices in her head telling her to
give up.
As for me, well I missed my BQ target again and seriously questioned why I keep subjecting myself to this vicious cycle. But having more marathon experience than the others combined, I've made my peace with it knowing that my 3:45 is a time many of my running friends would kill for and may never achieve.
* Jennifer Grunstad, February 2, 2008