Philly Race Report

This race report is long overdue, which I'm sure kept everyone on the edge of their seats. So...without further adieu, my Philly Marathon Race Report.

Yeah...Philly didn't go quite as planned or hoped. I'll start at the very beginning, walk through the race, and then summarize where I think I could have acted differently to improve for next time.

My sister and brother-in-law (Mark) got down to Delaware on Friday afternoon. Doc and I were so happy to see them! The next day, we took it easy and got into the expo around noonish. It was bonkers - tons of people! But, we got squared away well enough and got our stuff. Mark and I even got gel belts at good deals, which we needed for the race the next day.

After the expo, we walked through Reading Market for a bit, but it was insane, so that didn't last long. We headed home, but made a quick stop at Ikea in South Philly so my sister could get her fix.

This is where I think I went wrong #1 - dinner was pizza from Margarita's in Newark. Normally, I LOVE Margarita's, but in retrospect, I don't think the pizza sat very well. Too much fat, grease. Which, I realize, I should have known. It's not like this is my first time on this roller coaster.

We left on race morning around 5 a.m. and got to the start around 6 a.m. It was PACKED! So many people. We found a parking space relatively easy and pretty close and then started seaching out portapotties. We did our business and then it was just time to get into corrals, so perfect timing. We said our goodbyes and went to the start line.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn't wear a watch in this race. This is partly because all of my watches were broken, and partly because I wanted to see what it would be like to do the race on RPE. It was kind of moot through, because there were clocks every mile, so even if I wanted to I couldn't avoid knowing what the time was. That experiment didn't work really well, and I don't think I'll re-visit it. I'm a data geek - I like my stats and numbers.

The first five miles or so were seriously crowded. I couldn't really run 'my' pace until mile 6 or 7. I felt good and was keeping up a 8:30-40 pace, which was a little slower than I wanted, but within the margin of error. Miles 6-8ish are through downtown, when it's impossible to feel bad. There were SO many people!

Nutrition was doing good - I did a gel every five miles (thanks to my trusty new gel belt). I wasn't taking on too many fluids which was ok; I didn't want too much stuff sloshing around and with the gels so frequently I was ok for fuel. The weather was nice - it was in the mid-40's at the start and eventually got up to the lower 60's toward the end of the day.

I think the wheels started to come off once we got into the park, around mile 10. Then, I knew it was going to be a long day. I can't really explain it - it was just that yuck, my legs feel like lead feeling. I think my nutrition leading up to the race played a big role in it. It's hard when people are visiting, but I can plan better for next time. I didn't think I needed to pay that much attention to it, but now I know otherwise.

I got to the split, then the half marathoners went to the finish (lucky ducks!) and the marathoners continued out Kelly Drive for the out-and-back to finish the race. I was feeling ok on the way out, not great, but ok, but then once we made the left turn into Manayunck, I totally hit the wall (around mile 17!). It was miserable. The remaining miles were a total slog fest to get to the finish. My legs hurt, my hips hurt, everything hurt. I couldn't walk because once I stopped running it hurt to start up again!

I was in a world of hurt - more hurt than any race I've ever done. So...I did the only thing I could and just got to the finish as quickly as I could. My final time was 4:10:03, which was slower than I wanted, but still a PR (by about 2-3 minutes).


After the race, my sister and I hung out and waited for Mark to finish (yea Mark!!!). We went home and after a nice nap, had a celebratory dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

The next few days were painful. PAINFUL. I've never been this sore after a race. It was Wednesday before I could walk normally again. The Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving was out because I was just back to walking, let alone running. I took all of Thanksgiving week off and got back into the swing of things the week after.

These are my 'lessons learned' from Philly:

1. Race week nutrition is so, so, so important. It can't be done halfway and can't be done without planning. That said, it's also very difficult because you're out of your normal routine.
2. Marathons hurt. Use them sparingly.
3. There is no substitute for long runs. I thought my HIM training would get me farther than it did, but I could tell my lack of long runs was part of the reason for my totally epic bonk. The larger picture is that there's no short cut on race day, so the next time I do a marathon I need to allow time for long runs.

I'm not sure when I'll do a marathon again. I know I'm doing Poconos 70.3 next year, which is at the end of September, so I would be in the same situation again. Instead, I might try the half and try to break 1:45. I don't know if I can get myself geared up for that pain again...it seriously hurt. But, I still have a dream of qualifying for Boston, so I'll be back at it again. Just not sure when...

Musselman HIM Race Report

The quaint town of Geneva, New York

Because I'm a little behind on my blog posts, I thought I'd summarize 2011 in race reports for my big events. So...here goes the story that is Musselman!

Background
I have always wanted to do this race, but the timing has never worked out. It happens the third weekend in July, which is the weekend before IM Lake Placid, or last year, four weeks after IM Coeur d'Alene. Since this was my year free of IM, I could finally get it into the schedule. Yea! The race was on Sunday, July 17 - Half Ironman distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run).

Geneva is about 1.25 hours from Pennellville (home of Ma and Pa Woodruff), so a bit of a hometown race. The event is staged out of the park in downtown Geneva, the heart of 'wine country' in Central New York (Finger Lakes Region). The swim is around Seneca Lake, which can be a little choppy, and even in mid-summer was wetsuit legal, as it's the deepest of all the Finger Lakes. The bike course goes south down Seneca Lake to start off (for about 15 miles), then cuts over to Cayuga Lake, south down that lake, then cuts back over to Seneca Lake and back to the start. It goes past about 7-9 very tempting wineries along the course. The run is out of the park and then up and around Hobart and William Smith Colleges, winding around some neighborhoods in Geneva. Overall, the bike is not too hilly - it's more WINDY. Boy, was it windy. The run is challenging, but not horrible. There is one big hill around mile 8 that can take the wind out of your sails pretty quickly.

I came up over Memorial Day weekend and went out to Geneva to ride the bike course, but...directions are not my best suit. I managed to do the majority of it, but just along Seneca Lake. The rest was a surprise. I did get a good workout, though!

Pre-Race
My plan for my season was split into two: aerobic base for Musselman, then after focus on speed/tempo for the Syracuse/Poconos double later in September. In retrospect, I should have just gone for it with Musselman, as I have enough endurance built up over the past three years of IM racing so that it wouldn't be too much of an issue. So, I was prepared for Musselman, but my threshold and speed work was limited, so I didn't have a lot of pop. I was also probably a little tired from volume.

Seneca Lake

Swim (36m, 41s)
I actually thought I had a good swim - it was probably the highlight of my race! The beginning was a little weird because it was shallow for awhile out, so people were wading long after the start gun had gone off - what's up with that?! I started swimming ASAP, as I can freestyle swim MUCH quicker than I can wade through thigh-level water. Seneca Lake tends to be a bit choppy, which suits a strength swimmer like me. I had to get used to breathing with the waves, so after awhile I got into it. The choppiness almost distracts me from the intensity of the swim, which I think is good for me. I can put my focus into bridging the waves versus gauging my intensity factor.

The only spot that I wish I could forget was running into a dead fish. I thought I had hit someone, so I looked up and saw...a big floater. HUGE. Grody.

Transition 1: 2m, 22s
I really can't remember too much of this. The one memorable thing that stands out is that the night before I had frozen all of my drink bottles, thinking they'll thaw out on the bike and I'll have (slightly) cold beverages. Yeah...ALL my drink bottles, even the one that was supposed to go into my aerobottle to start the race. I discovered this in Transition in the AM when setting up my bike. So, I had a Perform Slushie for a bit. No harm no foul...it worked out fine, but not something I'd like to repeat. Rookie mistake - I should have been more focused than that.

Bike: 3h, 13m, 50s
Like I mentioned earlier, the bike isn't so much hilly as it is windy, because you're going up and down all the lakes. My goal going into the bike was to watch my watts and stay around 170-190 watts the entire time. In retrospect (again), that was a mistake. I doubt I will race with watts again. I really think I was too conservative and left a lot of time on the bike course. I was worried because it was hot and I wanted to save stuff for the run. As such, I wasn't aggressive, which is not my racing style. I like to be aggressive and RACE THE BIKE, not lay up. Part of this could have been my inexperience at the HIM distance (I think I have done more IMs than HIMs at that point!), so I wasn't sure how to pace, but now that I have more experience, I know how aggressive I can be.

The bike course was really great, for the most part. The first fifteen miles are pretty much all against the wind, going south down Seneca Lake. The end of it was on a bike trail, which I didn't enjoy all that much, to be honest. The path wasn't very smooth and it was pretty rough. It was hard to maintain a good speed because you were all over on the bike. The bike course was not bad and all together, was good, it was just that portion that I wasn't crazy about.

Nutrition-wise, I did ok. I went through lots of fluid and my three gels, as I thought I should. It was getting hot out and was up to the mid-80's (and sunny) toward the end, so I knew hydration would be an issue. I believe I took some E-caps, if I remember.

Transition 2: 2m, 13s
I also don't remember too much about T2, but from my times, it looks like I didn't dawdle that much. Yea me!

Run: 2h, 19m, 21s
So...this is where the meltdown began. Literally.

me on the run at Musselman

Ah...the run. Let me set the stage: 85 degrees, sunny, little shade. It was humid, but I don't remember that being the big issue. For those who know me, you know...I don't do heat well. I'm a big girl with more muscle mass than the average, so I do not do well in these conditions. They are a nut I have yet to crack.

I knew it was going to be a struggle, which is part of why I regret not being as aggressive on the bike as I should have. If blowing up on the run was inevitable, then why not go for broke on the bike to gain some time? Hindsight is 20/20.

Thankfully, the aid stations were loaded. I took all the sponges and ice I could shove down my shirt - loved it! By mile 3, I was full-on struggling. I was seriously wondering if this would be a DNF and thought I had no business being out there. Somewhere around mile 4, I found my HTFU and got into a groove. I was running aid station to aid station and walking through those, loading up on ice, coke and sponges. Lots of residents out in the streets had sprinklers out, which I took full advantage of.

That good juju lasted until the hill around mile 8.5. It's back on some private property and a gravel road. On a normal training run, it's not a big deal - it's challenging, yes, impossible, no way. But, at that point in the race, I walked. Not something I'm proud of, but I did. That hill, and the one after it, slowed me down a lot. I probably lost about 5 minutes between the two of them.

After that, I was really just ticking the mile markers off and figuring the fastest way back to the car was on course, so might as well stay on the straight and narrow! I did a walk/run thing the rest of the way, usually running for 8-9 minutes, then walking about 30-45". I tried my best to stay focused and keep my eyes up, as that helps me feel better usually.

The end: 6h, 14m, 17s
The end was the FINISH LINE, me meeting my family and my aunt, uncle and cousins who had made the trek to Geneva to see everything. I was so happy they came - it was so fun to see them! It was even better to have my cousin there to schlep all my stuff out of transition so I didn't have to carry a thing!! Thanks again, Matt!! I was so happy to be done.

I learned a lot out of this race. Even though the time was not what I was hoping for, I learned a lot of lessons that I think helped me during Syracuse/Poconos, and will help me next year. I probably learned more during this race than any others.

1. Be aggressive - B - E AGGRESSIVE! This is my new mantra during races. I need to stay aggressive and go for broke. If I get to the breaking point, I can wrangle with how mentally tough I am. I have not reached my breaking point yet, but eventually I'll find it. Until I do, I should keep pushing myself to give more, go further. I have proven that I can do it and won't break.
2. Race by RPE from now on. I will still train with watches/watts, but I'm done racing with them. They give me a false sense of security, knowing what my cushion is. I need to race scared, having a fire under me. With the watch, I lose that because I immediately know that a) I'm out of it, or b) I have a cushion I can use. I don't want to know either of those - I want to push until I can't push any more.
3. I have lots of endurance built up from years of endurance training. My limiter at this point is not endurance, so I don't need to spend hours upon hours upon hours training in Zone 2. I need to spend time at Zone 3, 4 and 5, increasing muscle strength. Then, I can put muscle strength on top of the endurance I have, and be FAST!
4. Stay focused the days before. I added stuff to my schedule the few days before that I shouldn't have - I need to keep things in line and shut down during then. On the day before the race, I need to be shut down, ready for bed, bags packed, etc. by 5 p.m. the night before. I was distracted at this race, which is why I had a Perform Slushie for my aerodrink to start off. Now, I'm turning stuff down the day before and purely focusing on race prep activities.
   

I will do this race again, once the stars align for timing. I got a ton of STUFF - water bottles, socks, nutrition (real nutrition - not just samples!), race belts and on and on and on. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. I have nothing but good things to say about it and would recommend it to everyone. The course is a great mix of challenging sections and parts you can really fly on, and the town and facilities are top notch.

Until next time - happy training!