Missed it by...that much...

Nice cool morning for a race, my fav temperature by the way.  Got there with plenty of time to spare and go through all the normal pre-race rituals.  It’s been about 4 years since I ran a standalone 5k (e.g. not part of a DU), so the rituals were a little different, including 5 minutes of strides, the last time I ran a 5K was only the 3^rd race I had been in, so it was just about making it across the line.

The goal was to PB with a time under 25 min., got to the start line with 30 seconds to spare and plenty warmed up, weaved my way through the crowd to get to a spot where I could run my pace without breaking my stride, and was feeling pretty good about the pacing and energy reserves, found it odd that after only 1.5k we were heading back to the start since the race director had stated it was a single loop course.  On the way back from a turnaround at about 2.5k I was really beginning to question what was going on as the start/finish line was in sight again, and there was a crowd of people standing there.  Turns out the lead runners ran past one of the volunteers at a key corner early in the race and missed the actual course route.

The race director apologized profusely and offered refunds, but also offered the option of running the full 5k race as they had managed to stop about 2/3 of the participants after the 1.5k loop.  So with about 1 miute of rest (after about 3k on the first attempt) the race was re-started, I decided since I was already out there, I may as well take advantage and get 2 races for the price of 1.

I had to weave through even more people to get to the spot where I could get into my own pace this time out. In hindsight, I started the second race a little too fast, and at around 3.5k, my legs were feeling really heavy and my breathing was laboured, but I just kept the runner ahead in sight, 3 other runners passed me but I could not keep pace.  Fortunately for me, I’ve been running a lot of down hills and there was a sharp but short decline just before a gradual incline to the finish, which meant I could really get the legs turning over and finish with a strong (to me) kick.

I finished in a time of 26:08, about 20 seconds slower than my PB, but I will get another chance at it in a couple of weeks at the Santa Shuffle, so I’ll just keep going with the speed work and trust that it will pay off on a course that hopefully will have no routing issues J

Long time no blog

The last time I wrote, I was heading into the Marine Corps Marathon focused on having the best race I could on that day and leaving behind the goal of a 4:30:00 finish.  The weekend brought a few interesting twists.  It took me over 10 hours to get to DC due to airline issues and the day before the race there was snow, leading to lots of speculation about what race day would hold, in spite of a forecast that called for 13, and sunny. 

Race day was not one of the challenges, all of the normal pre-race rituals were followed, I even got out for a short walk/jog to test the clothing options I had selected and got to the start with time to spare. 

One thing that must be said for the Marines, before, during and after the race, those folks knew every detail, if you had a question about anything race related and you asked a Marine, they knew the answer, no hesitation, no asking around, they knew their mission!

Running the race was an incredible experience, the scenery was beautiful, the monuments spectacular and every step of the route had something interesting to see.  Crowd support was the most amazing I have ever experienced.  At dinner the night before the race I met some folks who had run MCM before and they told me “If you are wearing your name on race day, you will feel like a Rock star!” They were absolutely right.  Every 10 feet someone was cheering me on by name, the crowds were 3-4 people deep for most of the course with Marines at every water station always ready to respond to a runners shout of “Ooorah Marines” goose bumps every time! On the final climb to the Iwo Jima memorial, the crowd support was over the top, people were screaming names and encouragement at the top of their lungs, bells ringing, horns blowing, hands clapping, it was surreal!

I crossed the finish line with a chip time of 4:32:50, a third PB for the year at a third distance.  What an incredible feeling!  To then be greeted by a Marine, who thanked me for running and supporting their mission and awarded me with the finisher’s medal, which is the Marine Corps emblem, was truly humbling!

Shortly after crossing the line I was able to meet up with my running pal Jane, who although she started in a coral behind me, finished the race ahead of me, proving once a for all that she is the running MACHINE we have all known she is for some time.  I also got to meet up with her husband Chris and his buddy Prav both of whom were running their first marathon, and they DID it in style!! Hanging out with the three of them post race was the icing on the cake.

If you’re looking for a great destination race, or if you’re looking for an incredible first or next marathon, I HIGHLY recommend the Marine Corps Marathon, I hope to be back for their 40^th edition assuming I’m still moving forward relentlessly at that point.