Eat Drink Run Woman

A few weeks ago a fellow runner and I were talking up the Tunnel Marathon on a runner’s forum.  After reading the course description, another forumite commented, “Arrrggh, my quads!”  I assured him while there’s a 2200 foot elevation loss, the decline was gradual.  I’ve run the final five miles of the course several times, and felt it “wasn’t the quad-killer I anticipated.”

Obviously I was smoking crack rock when I wrote that statement.  (Actually, perhaps I should smoke it now; it may alleviate the INTENSE PAIN I’m feeling!!!)

Anyhoo, on to the report.

With North Olympic, my one and only goal was to BQ.  Looking back I wish I had come up with a couple of secondary goals as that may have spurred me on when the going got rough.  With the Tunnel Marathon, my bottom tier goal was to beat my North Olympic time, my middle tier was to BQ, and my top level goal was to run a sub 4-hour marathon. As previously mentioned, I didn’t feel my training was adequate in the weeks leading up to the race.  But during my taper a serene calm descended over me, and I KNEW I’d BQ.  Sounds crazy, but it just felt right (even though I probably broke every cardinal running rule).

As most marathoners do, I started checking the weather forecast 10 days out.  Seattle was hit with a record-breaking heat wave, and each day the projected race day temperature rose higher and higher.  Three days out they projected a high of 90 by noon; RASSENFRASSEN!  However, this ensured I took in enough fluids.  I probably drank about two gallons of water on Saturday, proudly updating my darling on the clarity of my pee.

Saturday night we dined on turkey burgers and spinach fettuccine with feta while watching the women’s Olympic marathon.  While the event inspired us, we were heartbroken to see Deena pull out and Paula run a less-than-stellar race.  But we were in awe of Constantina Tomescu-Dita; I thought there was no way she could hold on to the lead for so long.

After a relatively restful night, we awoke at 4:45 a.m. to the sound of thunder and the pitter-patter of raindrops.  Normally that wouldn’t be a welcome sound, but we knew that would mean cooler temperatures.  We ate our standard breakfast of steel cut oats and berries, each downing a couple cups o’ joe to get things moving through our systems.  I had hoped to be on the road by 5:45 in order to catch the 6:30 bus to the start, but we dawdled too long.  We pulled in to the parking lot at the finish just as the bus was heading out.  No worries — another bus was scheduled to leave at 7.

I had just enough time to visit the port-o-potty to see the next bus pull up.  It filled within minutes and we were heading out at 6:50 for Snoqualmie Summit.  Approximately one mile from the summit (and three miles from the start at Hyak) we started hearing a beeping noise.  By now the bus was moving at a crawl and we all started looking at each other nervously.  Mind you, should the bus break down what better group to handle the trek than a busload of marathoners, but I personally wasn’t looking forward to a forced 3-mile warmup run.  However, we soon crested the summit and the beeping stopped (I think the bus had started overheating).

By the time we arrived the early starters had taken off, but there was still a group of at least 100 runners milling about, several wearing Marathon Maniac gear.  We picked up our bib numbers and drop bags for our headlamps/extra clothing for the tunnel (a volunteer was stationed at the end of the tunnel to collect our bags and bring them to the finish) and took one more bio break.  My darling thought it funny he was bib #13 (queue foreshadowing music).  At 8 a.m. the race director called us to the start line, reminding us about the self-serve water stations at roughly three-mile intervals, as well as the staffed aid stations at miles 13 and 21.  At 8:06 we were off.

After a quarter mile or so we entered the tunnel and I immediately knew I made the right decision to leave my rain jacket in the car.  While certainly cooler, it was still quite muggy.  However, my 3-LED clip-on light barely cut through the darkness, and I was grateful to have another runner at my side with a much more powerful headlamp.  We paced each other through the tunnel, chatting as we ran.  Once you get a few hundred feet into the tunnel you see a small light at the very end.  We ran, and ran, and ran, and RAN, yet the light didn’t get any bigger.  While being in the tunnel didn’t bother me, I would imagine it would be torture for someone who’s claustrophobic.

About halfway in our collective breaths turned into a small patch of fog that lay just in front of our faces.  The temperature increased, and it felt like I was wearing a wet blanket.  But soon I could see the light finally became bigger, and within minutes we were exiting the tunnel, depositing our bags at the station.

Knowing it would be a hot race, I decided to risk things and start off a bit faster than my marathon race pace, thinking it would buy me a few seconds during the hotter portion of the race.  The pace for a 4-hour marathon is approximately 9:12 minutes/mile; my goal was to run 8:55s for at least the first 7 miles, slowing to a 9-9:10 minute pace until mile 20 if need be.  Then, assuming I was feeling strong, I’d increase my pace to 8:55 to finish in just under four hours.

Since I couldn’t read Garmin in the tunnel, I didn’t have a clue as to my pace.  Upon exiting I looked down to see I ran my first mile MUCH slower than anticipated: 24 minutes, 57 seconds.  I knew I had to speed up if I were to BQ, so I ran my second mile in 1 second (Constantina eat your heart out).  That felt a bit TOO fast, so I slowed my pace for mile three, logging in a 1 minute, 55 second pace.  (Hmmm… now that I think about it, perhaps the tunnel interfered with Garmin’s reception) 🙂

After the tunnel I turned on my iPod and settled into a steady pace, running each mile between 8:43-9:00.  Although I carried three bottles of Heed in my fuel belt, I knew stopping a few seconds at each water station would buy me several minutes in the end.  Besides, the stations were set up to get us in and out quickly.  Each one had two coolers of water and one of Gatorade with spigots for fast filling of our cups (which were provided in buckets by the coolers).  After eight miles my bladder started feeling full, but since I was well ahead of pace, I figured I could afford a potty break.  Despite stopping, I still managed to run that mile in 9:18.

At mile nine I encountered the only “hill” in the race.  It’s no more than a blip, in fact, I thought the freeway overpasses at the Disney Marathon were far worse.  The temperature started to increase slightly, and I became worried when the sun poked its head out behind a cloud.  But fortunately I soon hit a shady spot, although I started taking my salt tablets at mile 13.  (I also was carrying a package of margarita-flavored Clif Shot Blocks which provide 210 grams of sodium, compared to the 70 grams in other flavors).

As I approached mile 14 I saw Garmin’s reception was wonky, registering a 7:50 pace for mile 13 (there’s no way I was running that fast).  Once I ran over the mile 14 marker I hit the lap button so that my mile splits would be accurate for the rest of the race.  I stopped once again to potty at mile 17, running that at a 9:20 pace.

While the section between miles 14 and 21 were still downhill, the grade was so gradual it seemed flat.  This was probably the toughest section for me, but I decided I’d take that opportunity to slow myself down, knowing I’d benefit from the downward momentum during the final five miles.  However, even though it seemed I was running slowly, I still managed a sub 9-minute pace.  As I hit each mile mark I looked to see how much time was left before the 4-hour mark, thrilled to learn I could slow to a 10 minute/mile pace and still reach my goal.  Of course, I didn’t want to get cocky; I knew things could quickly turn should I push myself too hard.

Just before mile 21 I was elated to see the Cedar Falls sign, as I knew that was the turnoff to Rattlesnake Lake and the final descent.  I stopped once again at the mile 22 aid station, but quickly soldiered on.  Running such a familiar portion of the trail was comforting, as I knew what to expect.  As I neared mile 24 I started thinking I could possibly finish in under 3:55:00, but again, I didn’t want to get cocky.  At about mile 25.5 I got strollered by a runner not in the race, but since he yelled out words of encouragement, I didn’t hold it against him.

Once I started hearing the sounds of I-90 I knew the end was near.  I passed under the freeway, turned the corner and saw the finish line.  While I couldn’t muster up an all-out sprint, I did pick up my pace and finished strong, yelling “I’m going to Boston!” as I crossed.  My final time: 3:54:34.

I hobbled over to my darling, eager to hear his good news.  Alas, his “lucky” bib number didn’t come through for him, as he missed his BQ time by merely 18 seconds.  Although bummed, he was thrilled for me.

Despite feeling as if I had taken in plenty of fluids during the race, I downed several glasses of grape juice and water.  I was happy to see people enjoying the Rice Krispie treats and chocolate chip cookies I made, and after a few minutes I helped myself to each of one, along with an Alaskan Amber beer (we also shared a few of those with some very grateful runners).

We run our next race, Skagit Flats, in three weeks.  While I’ll probably run/walk it, my darling will try to BQ once again (he’s even asked me to come up with his training plan).  Keep your fingers crossed for him!