Austin Marathon: 2009

Sunday, February 15, 2009
7:00 AM, Austin, Texas
http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=50501213&rsID=75103&pubID=3

My Goal:

• Wanted: <>
• Did: 3:51:23
  

My Rankings:

• Overall: 1076 / 4053
  
• Gender: 791 / 2459
  
• Division: 107 / 334
  

Ever have one of those days where you wake up and feel as if you could conquer the world? You feel as if you could parachute out of a jet, land on a surfboard surrounded by great whites while holding a bucket of chum and ride the fiercest wave back to shore! This race morning was definitely not one of those days. Wednesday I ran 12 miles and the knee pain, I suffered through, at Bandera had begun to return around mile 11. With two weeks off due to injury and still lacking a long run since Bandera, I realistically didn't have much hope of finishing this marathon. Despite believing my chances were slim, I still wanted to run part of it... too at least cross the starting line amidst the electrifying energy of thousands of anxious runners. I decided that my timing chip was to remain at home because I would rather have a DNS (did not start) than a DNF (did not finish) on my record.

But then I saw something that changed my mind... a video of David Goggins talking about his first 100 mile ultra-marathon. David ran his 100 miler on a 1 mile track and by mile 70 he had broken, most of, the bones in his feet. To make matters worse, he even had to take a shit on himself because he couldn't make it to the bathroom! With broken feet and crap crusted shorts he then ran the remaining 30 miles to the finish! Talk about determination. I may never reach that level of determination but I want to come closer too it, not only for the sake of my running but for my life in general. Running this marathon without my timing chip will only make it easier for me to quit when that little voice inside my head is yelling at me to do so. If a person can run 30 miles on cracked feet, surely I can run 26 miles with sore knees. I'm no David Goggins but... baby steps. With that I decided I would wear my timing chip and complete the race.

My brother and Matt were also running the race so they stayed over, at my place, the night before. We woke up early, stretched and ate a breakfast which consisted of oatmeal, cliff bars and bananas. We made it to the race early, with enough time for two restroom breaks. It was fairly cold that morning so it was a relief to take one of our breaks in the nearby warm hotel. So many runners were packed into the toasty lobby, of this hotel, passing the time that I'm surprised they didn't start kicking people out. The second restroom stop was at a porta-potty and I remembered to bring a roll of toilet paper but ended up not having to use it. Supplies were already running low though, in the stall, so I kindly left my roll for the winding line of people.

We positioned ourselves close to the 3:30 pacers and waited for the race start. If I remember correctly, the race started 10-15 minutes late but it didn't bother me a bit. The upcoming hours promised pain and for now it was nice to relax, talk and bask in the sunrise amongst the thousands of other racers. Last year I remembered an ebullient fireworks display at the onset of the race. Fireworks normally crown the end to a celebratory event and yet here they seemed to be highlighting the start. In a way, it was a celebration of all the training, resolve and courage it took to even be standing here. Months of preparation and sacrifice had led up to this day and now all I had to do was simply run it. For whatever reason I didn't see the fireworks today but I imagined them and felt my legs get a little lighter...

The miles went by quickly; me, Ty and Matt stayed together and were running about a 7:20 to 8:20 minute mile. Occasionally I would do a knee check to see if the pain had returned but nope... no pain, not even in the slightest. Around mile 15, Ty and I stopped for a restroom break while Matt kept running. We thought we could catch back up to Matt but it turned out that that was the last time we would see him during the race. I brought two gu packs along with me and ate one of them at mile 17. I should have brought more to eat because my stomach was roaring by mile 23. Luckily, Ty had brought a pack of shot bloks, which he shared with me, and I stole some oranges from the nice people on the side of the road. Love those oranges on a run, wish I could find a good way to pack some along so I could eat 'em when I need 'em!

Ty had been having some quad pain which started around mile 16 and by mile 23 it was really bothering him so we stopped and walked at a couple of the aid stations. Walking during a race is very uncharacteristic of Ty so I knew the pain had to be pretty substantial. Though I could have forged on, I also stopped and walked the aid stations with him. On one hand I stopped and walked for support and on the other I'm still a pansy that can't pass up a good excuse at a chance to walk after already running 23 miles. With a few more bouts of running / walking the finish line was in sight and we bolted for it, crossing in a sub six minute pace.

Ty and I finished in 3:51 which was roughly three minutes faster than my previous marathon. Matt finished with an outstanding time of 3:39. For my next marathon, I'm going to try my hardest to ensure that I'm committed to doing as well as I can in it. These past two marathons were essentially "on the side" races that I did just to get some marathon experience under my belt. My first marathon was hindered by an injury I received from running a half-ironman the weekend before and this one was hindered by an injury I received at my first ultra-marathon. I considered both the half-ironman and the ultra-marathon more important than the marathons and it shows in my results. Given my current fitness level I believe I can achieve a marathon time of less than 3:30 and possible less than 3:15 if I really push it. Next marathon season, I hope to put this theory to the test but for now, I have some triathlons to train for!