Dallas Marathon - Race Report

Part 1 – Pre Race
Saturday morning, Erin came out for my 4 miler with me. I wanted to run at race time, to get a feel for the hot weather predicted for the race. It was 72 and very humid. But hey!, that’s not even close to 88 degrees and 87 percent humidity we had in Chicago, so it was just fine with me.

We then set out and drove parts of the course to acquaint myself with the hillier parts of the course, and simply be familiar with the later miles.

Mid afternoon, searching the internet for local news sites, I discovered that the cold front was in fact well ahead of schedule and was going to hit early Sunday morning. Wow, was that exciting to hear. Larry, who had agreed to pace me for the 2nd half arrived just in time to join up dinner with other Austin runners. I was asleep by around 9:30, and woke up at 5ish ready to go. I felt great, and quite relaxed. Eventually, made it over to the start area, and hung out indoors on the floor with Clemmie, Carolyn, Larry, and Nedra for an hour or so. It was nice to sit around with friends to calm the nerves.

I headed out to the race start with 15 minutes to spare, swam my way to the front to place myself just behind the 3:10 pace group as planned. Ken was there too. The weather was right around 50 degrees, so it was perfect weather for a race. A quick glance at the giant TV screen for the weather forecasted showed chance of rain and decreasing temperature throughout the morning. No big deal though. It was cool, and foggy. Perfect!

Nedra, thank you. You once told me you pack every type of running gear available to you for every trip you ever take, and I thank you for that. Because of you, I decided to bring: running gloves, long sleeved shirts, hat, windbreaker etc. to a run that was “supposed” to be hot. Because of you, I was prepared for a cold run, and even had clothing to supply to Larry to get him through the day. You rock!

Part II – The Race
The gun went off, and my plan:
...Was to run behind the 3:10 group, slowly letting them run away from me.
Afterall, I just need a 3:15:59.
...Was to take a Hammer Gel at every 4th mile, through 16, then maybe add one or two inside of 4 miles if needed.
...Was to drink waters on the course throughout, and take 3 Thermolyte (sodium) pills 15 minutes before the start, then 2 pills every hour for cramp prevention.

Here’s a map of the course Dallas Marathon Course. The plan was to run conservative up to the lake, constant around the lake, make it up the hill without losing too much time, then taking advantage of the downhill finish.


First 9 miles took us through downtown, then up some nice neighborhoods. There’s always a concern for the first few miles while you settle in. “Don’t go out too fast”, they all say.

There was no way to slow down for Mile 3. I mean, sure I could have, but there was a really steep downhill, and everyone was running the same pace, and it felt impossible to slow up. Just too many people around. But then again, it didn’t feel too fast. I was surprised when I clicked my watch.

I was feeling really good for the hilly first 6 miles, and upon cresting the hill, felt like a million bucks. I’m not quite sure why I had a fast mile 6, but I may have been a combination of starting to run along with this guy, Stan, and the crowds were really good up there.

I made sure I didn’t go too fast down miles 8 and 9, and then got to the lake front. Larry joined in around mile 10 and a half or so.
At around Mile 14, I got the worst side stitch I’ve honestly ever remember having during a run. I think a combination of taking a Hammer Gel a bit earlier, water stop, and talking a lot. The side stitch sent me into a shitty mental spell, and I never really recovered fully. I was miserable, but both Larry and Stan kept telling me to just power through it, and it would eventually subside. It was a bitch, I was breathing deep breathes, lifting arms, breathing deep, anything I could. The side stitch finally left me 2 miles later or so.

Approaching the end of the Lake swing, I told Larry, I wasn’t feeling as strong as I felt I should. He did a phenomenal job of keeping me running, encouraging me to just forge ahead. I was told to focus on the good looking girl ahead and that she was the 3:15 finish line. Surprisingly, I managed to focus on staying 20 feet behind her for a good 2 miles, and eventually even past her. The focus on form and just running felt good, but it wouldn’t last. Eventually, my 3:15 dream girl ran away, just as we ran by the Hooters water stop at 18, and at this time, I started my walking.

We approached the Dollie Parton hills. Those little dips were really nothing, but by then, I was discouraged with my legs having simply given up on me. I had no legs left. They didn’t feel heavy, they weren’t in pain, BUT, they just felt light and dead. Like they didn’t have muscles in them. Just light, unresponsive legs. I’d never had that feeling before. I walked up the first little dip. I felt pathetic, as the guys dressed as Dollie Parton mocked me, but I didn’t care.

The hills came along, and I was in trouble. I tried running, but the urge to walk was too strong. I was getting a little dizzy attempting to run, and walking was best here and there.

As you see by the splits above, these run/walk antics continued for 6 miles much to Larry’s dismay. He tried and tried to talk me into running, telling me I was still on pace (which after further analysis was accurate). I’d run multiple 20 mile runs, LAB workouts, averaging under 7 min thirty pace with no problem, but today, my legs just weren’t with me.

I was actually quite at peace with my decision to bid farewell to Boston, but felt horrible for Larry and Erin. Erin was on the course at 8 different spots, and at the 20 mile marker, I slowed to a walk and told her I was done with my BQ, but was fine with my decision. My brain stopped functioning, and I couldn’t make sense of the correlation between my stopwatch, the mile markers and my pace band. I just couldn’t make any simple math on what my finish time COULD be if I held different paces. It’s really weird how your brain just doesn’t work. You just run forward, unconcerned about anything but moving forward.

The run/walk continued, but this induced a hamstring twitch, so I pull over and gave it a good stretch. That helped. Eventually, I reached the 24 mile marker, and I decided to stop being a Wuss and start running. I didn’t walk again after mile 24, but the pace I was going felt like a 10 min mile.

Part III – The finish
I was happy to be able to see the W hotel tower through the fog that had stayed thick all morning, as I knew it meant the end, and upon the last turn, I picked up the pace a bit. W hotel was farther than it should have been. I kept running, just telling my stop that I wasn’t allowed to walk ever again, and eventually between the foggy eyesight I’d developed, I could vaguely see the balloons at the finish line, but could not make out the time on the clock. Simply no clue, and simply didn’t care! Why would I care, I was already at full sprint running my 7:53/mile, and simply was unable to finish any faster!
I crossed the finish line, and saw Ken there. He told me he had run a 3:04. WOW. He missed his goal by 4 minutes, but WOW. 3:04. WOW. I can’t wait to talk to him to ask him how I looked, how he felt, how his run went, because all I could see was his face through a tunnel of clear vision, with blurr everywhere else.

Boy was I glad to be done.

Part IV – Post Race observations
Not the most exciting of race reports, but it hasn’t really sunk in that I ran a 3:21:06. I mean, it’s a great great time, but I still haven’t digested it, and obviously, I think the disappointment of missing my 3:15:59 may have something to do with it. After all, I’m just a tad competitive in life. ;)

Summary:
I ran what I feel was a good first 18 miles. I walked a good 4 to 6 minutes. I slowed up dramatically, and still finished with a decent time. I missed my flight to Boston by 5 minutes and 7 seconds.

What have I learned?
- I didn’t really go waaaay too fast at the start I don't think, although maybe running 7:30 for the first 10 miles may have worked in my favor.
- Marathons are tough, and you relly need a mantra to repeat when in tough times. I did have one, and it affected my ability to break through the tough times.
- I have a 3:15 in me. I really believe I do, but I think I need to get stronger in every facet: conditioning, fitness, physical, strength, mental. Everything.

The real good:
- Not a hint of a cramp throughout the entire run. Nothing. That hammie twitch, but I'm certain it was due to the run/walk. Some minor cramping afterwards, but that was fine.
- Hydration i think was good, but I need to meet up with Meredith (Nutritionist) and discuss.
- Food Intake: I was real good the entire week leading up, the 2 days before, and ate plenty during the race. Again, Meredith meeting needed to discuss.

Erin, Larry - Thank you again.