….and My Story Runs On….

I have learned that I have to write these within a few days of the event or I lose the event mojo 😉  Like my normal race reports, I’ll break this down into a few sections so you can skip through the parts you need to know about depending on why you are reading this.

Why run this race….

On Sunday I ran my 8th marathon which just tied with my 8 50Ks that I’ve completed (still mind blowing considering I said I would never run more than a 5K #neversaynever).  I normally don’t do marathons anymore because they are typically all on road and I prefer trails, especially for longer distances.  I found out about volunteer opportunities which helped lower the cost of the race and decided to do this with a few friends.  I really debated between the half and the full marathon.  I needed to do 22 miles on Saturday and 10 on Sunday for my 50K training so I figured lumping it together would be a good idea.  My biggest concern is that the race was mainly all downhill (REVEL races are known for their fast, downhill and beautiful mountain courses which usually start at altitude).  I was able to get a few longer training runs downhill and added more hill repeats in my regular training schedule but not enough. This was also their inaugural race in Tucson.  It was either 26.2 or 13.1 miles down Mt. Lemmon.  These courses are also known for PRs (personal records) and BQs (Boston Qualifiers).  I decided to go for the full marathon because I wanted to get my training miles in. My A race next year is Black Canyon 100K (I had to drop last year to the 60K) which will be my first 100K celebrated 2 days before my 47th birthday.  Although this is trail, it’s also mainly a downhill course so I figured the marathon would be good for training purposes.

Learning Lessons:

Remember it’s “only” a training run.  It was so easy to get caught up in the excitement of possibly PRing my marathon time (I had to beat a 4:58 which was an 11:23 average mile pace).  My goal was not to PR but hey, if I did, cool.  Well I probably focused on that more than I should’ve.  I already wrote a blog post about why not to PR a race and a few of these still rang true.  I did however have it the back of my head that it would certainly be cool if I could.  I did not PR and had the realization at mile 24 that it wouldn’t happen (more on that in the race report below).  I also have to remember that I did not treat this marathon like my A race.  Since it was a training run, I did not taper the week before (I ran 43 miles the week before including a 16 miler on trail) and had run 17 miles the week of the marathon. So,  I decided to do a facebook live as I crossed the finish line though 😉

Technique is so important: I mention this in the facebook live but I know I would be so much more miserable right now if it weren’t for ChiRunning. Downhill running has a bad name (well, running period does because everyone says you’ll hurt yourself…it’s not running that cause pain but HOW you do it).  Most people think they’ll blow out their knees…which I guess can happen if you are not focusing on form.  I reached out to Danny Dreyer, the founder of ChiRunning, for last minute advice. I already knew what I had to work on but some of his tips were:

“I would DEFINITELY use active pelvic rotation when you can. Go in and out of it, so you’re not doing it the entire time, but use it often to reduce the loading to your quads. If you’re still loading too much just slow your speed down and do passive PR……keep your low abs engaged for as long as you hand handle it. I’m sure you’ll have some sore abs when it’s all said and done… which is a good thing… just relax your whole body and allow your cadence to pick up just a bit. …Wear the most cushioned pair of shoes you own… hopefully a zero-drop cushioned shoe. Keep your breath rate relaxed and rhythmical… 4:3 or 3:2 count.”

I kept all of this in mind almost the entire time.  Of course, I was wearing my newest favorite Altra shoes: the Torin 2.5 (which have a zero drop as Danny recommended.  I’ve been wearing Altra’s since I started ChiRunning and I have 4 pairs!  Two for trail: short/long distance and two for road: short/long distance)  I have been working on passive/active pelvic rotation and cadence but again, not for that long of a distance.  I knew I was not overstriding and heel striking because I could always feel my feet slightly behind my center of mass. I looked down repeatedly to make sure I couldn’t see my shins (if you see your shins when you run, you are overstriding).  I could feel my abs and obliques which is always a good sign!  Seemed like I could feel my glute medius muscle more than normal too but maybe because I was focused on keeping my pelvis level.  What surprised me the most was when I start focusing on the breathing count. I went for the 3:2 count with my cadence and it was a big aha moment at how much it relaxed me.  Everything felt easier when I was doing it and I could literally visualize the oxygen going deeper into my muscles. When I fell out of this pattern and reintroduced it, I could body sense the difference!

Pacing is everything. I really tried to control my speed knowing I had a long way to go. The first 4 miles were mainly uphill so I decided to power hike the hills as I wanted to conserve energy.  According to my TomTom, my fastest mile was mile 5 averaging a 9:24 with a cadence of 179 so I didn’t do a good job of pacing.  It became evident to me after I hit the 13 mile mark as I could start feeling my legs get heavier even though I was trying to let my core and gravity do more of the work.  Apparently my ego was still trying to PR and I knew this as it was happening but kept telling myself I would be OK.  What I didn’t remember was that I didn’t get much downhill training in and that was running more and longer than I normally do (on trails I tend to mix it up between hiking and running so not as much continuous running). So I was prepared for the mileage, the time on my feet but NOT the downhill training required for the course.

Race Report

This was my first Revel race and I was impressed!  I admit that I really like to run local races and support local racing companies but once in awhile, I’ll venture out and do a “corporate” race.  It still had a smaller race feel since it was an inaugural but there were about 900 people total (30% full and 70% half approximately).  I volunteered at bib check in and it was a very easy process.  The race was well organized, the aid stations and volunteers were amazing, the course was beautiful, free race photos and great race signs…I have to honestly say I have no complaints! I would definitely do another one of these races (just more downhill training for it!) Well, if I had one suggestion, they should have a beer at the end. They had pizza and pie but I would’ve taken a beer over both of those!

We had to get a bus drive up to the top of the mountain. I got on the bus at 4:30am for the ride up. I normally will chat it up with people around me but not this time…not sure why but I was the only one of my friends doing the marathon so I just rested my eyes for the ride up.

We had some time to kill at the start.  We all had gloves and a Mylar blanket to keep us warm (in our swag bag!).  We sang the National Anthem and took off at 6:30.  Here is the elevation of the course. We started at about 8,000 ft so I was feeling the elevation change but not as bad as I thought (I’ve been working on exercises from The Oxygen Advantage book).  The first 4 miles were mainly uphill so I power hiked and my slowest mile was #4 averaging a 16 minute mile. As I mentioned above, as soon as it turned into a downhill, I started going for it a little sooner than I should’ve.  Interestingly enough I felt like I was holding back! My fastest point was at mile 4.31 with an 8:16 pace. I would freak myself out a bit because I was going faster than I normally do but it didn’t feel like I was going as fast as my watch was saying so it was more effortless for sure…I was holding back (or thought I was) because I didn’t want my legs to tire out and I knew I had a ways to go.

At this point I decided to put my ChiSchool lessons on shuffle.  I don’t get to run alone a lot, but when I do, I love working on my technique. I know, I’m a geek about this stuff but it’s so fascinating to me to have my mind and body in tune with each other. I did this from about mile 4-13 and had some of those aha moments listed above.

I didn’t stop at most of the aid stations by this point because I had my hydration pack and carried my own stuff.  Aid stations can be a good place to waste a lot of time. The volunteers were very encouraging every time though. I love it when races put your name on your bib because people will root for you using your name which is always a nice touch.

By mile 13, I could start feeling my legs get heavier so I took some walk breaks to do some different movement.  They were short but I kept looking at my watch knowing I had to be better than an 11:23 to PR.  It was still looking possible at this point so I ran more than I normally do.  I had the energy, I was feeling good mentally, it was just my legs that were getting heavier and heavier.  I decided to turn the ChiSchool off and got into the scenery.  The scenery was beautiful!  I had never been up there.  Here are some cool pics I took along the way:

I ran out of water but they had aid stations every 2 miles (which was awesome!) so no worries there.  I decided to listen to some music for a different level of motivation that I was needing at that point.  At every mile marker I was checking my watch knowing it was getting closer and closer. At mile 24, I would’ve had to average a 10 minute mile for 2 miles to PR. This would normally be possible but my legs were so heavy at this point I new it would be way close so I decided not to worry anymore about that PR. This allowed me to relax a bit more and I decided to take more walk breaks. It was also getting warmer as we descended the mountain and at this point I was almost hot.  I threw some water on my neck to cool off at the last aid station. 

At mile 26, I decided to do my facebook live from The Running University page so I could bring my peeps along with me. My friends were cheering me on as I walked and finally ran through the finish line all while live on video.  That was fun!

All in all, I’d have to say that was probably the hardest marathon I’ve done technique wise.  With a time of 5:07:42, that was my 2nd fastest marathon so I’ll take it!

Every race is always a new experience and I love being in new places.  I’m glad I did this one! There were several times during the race that I was wishing I had done the half marathon instead as I would’ve surely PRd. But my original goal was to get the mileage and work on downhill technique and I got that for sure!

A few more pics….

 From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)