Race: Masters swim meet
Date: January 24, 2016
Location: Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Results: http:
We had another AMYMSA swim meet yesterday, this time at Duquesne University pool. The university women's swim team was there helping run the meet, and they had a great time cheering for all of us old people trying to be competitive. For example, the whole pool deck irrupted in cheers as Frank and Elaine, ages 83 and 78, respectively, raced in adjacent lanes during the 200-yard individual medley. The touch pad results indicate that Frank beat Elaine by 3 seconds, but all who watched the race saw that Elaine hit the pad before Frank (but she hit the top of the pad instead of the center, so it didn't register). In any case, it was a very close, slow-motion swim between husband and wife, and everyone celebrated. The 20-something university swimmers were definitely impressed.
My fellow swimmers all seemed to have good swimming times, so it was fun celebrating with them. Shannan Jones-Kellam had a wonderful day, beating her seed times in all 4 events she swam. "Where did that time come from?" she asked with awe and disbelief when she saw she dropped scores of seconds off her 200-fly.
My enthusiasm for my friends helped keep me in good spirits, even though my swimming performance was rather average in my 4 events. My first event was the 100-yard freestyle. Shannan tells me that my diving start was excellent, and I broke out well ahead of my heat. In the pool, I was preparing for a personal best by kicking hard, pulling hard with my arms, and minimizing surface breaths. But then at the 50-yard mark I began my flipturn too early and nearly missed the wall. This halted my momentum, and I saw that the other competitors had caught up. I angrily discarded my hopes for a personal best and tried to catch up to the other swimmers. I finished in 1:05.64, just missing my personal best by 0.15 seconds. I would have broken that record by more than a second if I hadn't messed up at the turn. One day later, I am still fuming a little at my mistake!
My second event was the 100-yard breaststroke, and this was also full of drama! My best buddy Daniel Pruzinsky was in the adjacent lane and some day I will beat him. Stepping up on the starting blocks, we were both wondering if this was the day (it wasn't). My strategy was to do a lot of gliding during the breaststroke. I think I'm good at that, and the alternative--increasing my stroke rate--doesn't do much for me other than tire me out. So I glided through the first 50 yards with Dan always there at my side. His turns seemed to be faster, and I was 0.58 seconds behind him at the halfway point. So on the last 25 yards of the race I took it up a notch and concentrated on pushing more water with my arm stroke and increasing my stroke rate a bit. This caused me to gain ground on Dan and I really thought I was going to win. In fact, that might have been my downfall, as I was celebrating in my head during the last couple strokes. Meanwhile, observers say that Dan gave it everything he had right at the flags, and he threw himself into the wall, out-touching me by 0.02 seconds! What?! Wow, what a good race. I don't mind he beat me. I had so much fun. Interestingly, competing next to Dan did not push me to set a personal best. My time of 1:21.39 did not beat my personal best of 1:20.78.
My third event was the 50-yard freestyle. I am trying to beat my 28.72 best, set last year. My time was 29.41. I felt like I had a great swim. I was a little surprised I wasn't closer to my best time, but upon further reflection, it makes sense that I didn't. My dive was a little deep, my turn not so quick, and I breathed 4 times instead of the 3 breaths I had planned.
My fourth event was the 200-yard individual medley. I finished in 2:52.38, which was 1.43 seconds slower than my personal best. I admit to having mixed feelings during the swim. During the backstroke and breaststroke, I started to push hard, then I'd pull back. I'd push a little more and then pull back again. I was weighing the amount of work required to swim fast versus how much discomfort I was experiencing, and I sometimes chose to minimize my discomfort. Races are not won by people who go the easy route. Analysis of my split times shows I have an endurance problem. After accounting for the dive in the beginning, my fly segment was 3 seconds slower than a 50-fly; my backstroke segment was 6 seconds slower than a 50-back; my breaststroke was 7 seconds slower than a 50-breast; and my freestyle segment was 8 seconds slower than a 50-free. In sum, I was getting slower and slower as the race went on.
I don't mean to end on a sour note. This was surely the most fun swim meet of my season. I've got some good swims ahead.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Sunday, January 10, 2016
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters swim meet
Date: Janury 10, 2016
Location: Grove City, PA
Results: http:
Just a quick report on my swim meet at Grove City YMCA last Sunday. I swam in 4 events and had fun. It's important to note that I had fun. I usually [have fun] or [work hard and swim fast]. I usually can't do both at the same meet. I wish I could! Anyway, here's my stats:
100 Breaststroke: 1:23.33 (2.55 seconds slower than my personal best)
50 Freestyle: 29.00 (0.28 seconds slower than my personal best)
200 Individual Medley: 2:55.93 (4.98 seconds slower than my personal best)
500 Freestyle: 7:17.52 (7.70 seconds slower than my personal best)
Essentially, I am stuck at my times from 2014. This may still be due to a lower swim training volume in most of 2015, but I started swimming more in November and December, and expected to be a bit faster by now. I will be patient.
Date: Janury 10, 2016
Location: Grove City, PA
Results: http:
Just a quick report on my swim meet at Grove City YMCA last Sunday. I swam in 4 events and had fun. It's important to note that I had fun. I usually [have fun] or [work hard and swim fast]. I usually can't do both at the same meet. I wish I could! Anyway, here's my stats:
100 Breaststroke: 1:23.33 (2.55 seconds slower than my personal best)
50 Freestyle: 29.00 (0.28 seconds slower than my personal best)
200 Individual Medley: 2:55.93 (4.98 seconds slower than my personal best)
500 Freestyle: 7:17.52 (7.70 seconds slower than my personal best)
Essentially, I am stuck at my times from 2014. This may still be due to a lower swim training volume in most of 2015, but I started swimming more in November and December, and expected to be a bit faster by now. I will be patient.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters swim meet
Date: November 22, 2015
Location: Greensburg, PA
Results: http:
Maybe I get too dramatic in writing these race reports, but the drama is truly going on in my heart and mind. Today I had a mountain to climb: the 200-yard butterfly. I've done it only once before, and it was at least a couple years ago. I decided to do it again this season to challenge myself. You see, I have been floundering in the water all summer and fall. I haven't been swimming as much as I want, but honestly, the source of this has been a lack of motivation rather than a lack of time. I went to dramatic measures to fix the problem, by forcing myself to do the 200-fly. This was more of a mental feat than a physical one. In practices leading up to today, I just couldn't catch my breath and stopped short of the 200-yard goal...every time. I have been dreaming for the last two weeks of delaying the 200-fly to a later meet, and that almost happened by accident. I left my swim bag at home and had to drive back to get it. I was almost relieved that I might have to miss my first event, but I alas, I got back to the Y with plenty of time to spare. The only harm done was I had no time for a warm-up swim. So now the actual event...
200-Fly: I finished in 3:19.57, lowering my personal best by 11 seconds. I had trouble believing it. But the swim really did go well. I was relaxed and having fun for the first 50 yards. I tried to go slow so I would still have energy for the end, but my split reveals a fairly quick 40.08 seconds. I always go too fast at the start. My second 50 yards surprised me because I didn't feel out of breath at the end. My split time was 45.68. I wasn't panicking like I had done in practice, but paused at the wall for a couple seconds anyway, just to regroup. The difference was that I was taking a breath with every stroke. I try not to so this (instead, I try to breath every two strokes), but I had just watched my friend Daniel Pruzinsky in the heat before, and he was breathing every stroke, so I though "hey, if it's good enough for him..." The consequence of breathing so frequently is that the legs don't generate a good kick, and at yard 160 or so, I felt my legs flutter around a bit. This would have disqualified me, but I fixed the problem rather quickly and the official didn't notice or didn't care. I paused at the wall at the 175-yard mark. It seemed like maybe 4 or 5 seconds. But I had just 25 yards to go, and my friends were there rooting for me, so I pushed off and tried to finish strong. My arms were finally tired but I felt so GOOD finishing this event!
Shannan Jones-Kellam asked me what my next event was and I said "it doesn't matter." Indeed, the 200-fly was the event that defined this meet, and I was so happy that (1) I finished, (2) I set a personal best, and (3) it was OVER. I looked at my entry cards and saw the rest of the meet would be easy--just 50- and 25-yard events.
50-yard freestyle: I finished in 29.39 seconds. This is 0.67 seconds slower than my personal best...not very good. When I got out of the pool, Jim F. said I could improve by doing two things. I said "I know the first thing you'll tell me is that my underwater segment after the dive was too deep and too long." He agreed. The second thing he noticed was that my arm strokes were too short--I didn't bring my hands back to my hips before taking them out of the water. I am sure this was true. I was doing a shoulder-driven freestyle (not hip-driven) my coach taught me, but maybe I have forgotten the proper technique for that. Lengthening one's stroke is never bad advice.
50-yard breaststroke: I finished in 39.19 seconds. This is 1.85 seconds slower than my personal best. Whoa, that's bad, but who cares! I had a good dive and pull-out. I think I was going quite fast during the first half, but then at the wall I did a strange turn. I touched the wall with both hands, then immediately let go of the wall, twisted around, and punched the wall with my feet to go in the opposite direction. It was the fastest breaststroke turn I've ever done, and for the rest of the race I was distracted by it. Did I touch the wall with my hands or just my feet (which would have been illegal)? I couldn't remember. I must have really slowed down as I thought about that.
25-yard butterfly: I finished in 14.98 seconds, which was 1.24 seconds slower than my personal best. I was trying to go fast, but just didn't have it in me. I still didn't care. I was still glowing with the success of my 200-fly.
Date: November 22, 2015
Location: Greensburg, PA
Results: http:
Maybe I get too dramatic in writing these race reports, but the drama is truly going on in my heart and mind. Today I had a mountain to climb: the 200-yard butterfly. I've done it only once before, and it was at least a couple years ago. I decided to do it again this season to challenge myself. You see, I have been floundering in the water all summer and fall. I haven't been swimming as much as I want, but honestly, the source of this has been a lack of motivation rather than a lack of time. I went to dramatic measures to fix the problem, by forcing myself to do the 200-fly. This was more of a mental feat than a physical one. In practices leading up to today, I just couldn't catch my breath and stopped short of the 200-yard goal...every time. I have been dreaming for the last two weeks of delaying the 200-fly to a later meet, and that almost happened by accident. I left my swim bag at home and had to drive back to get it. I was almost relieved that I might have to miss my first event, but I alas, I got back to the Y with plenty of time to spare. The only harm done was I had no time for a warm-up swim. So now the actual event...
200-Fly: I finished in 3:19.57, lowering my personal best by 11 seconds. I had trouble believing it. But the swim really did go well. I was relaxed and having fun for the first 50 yards. I tried to go slow so I would still have energy for the end, but my split reveals a fairly quick 40.08 seconds. I always go too fast at the start. My second 50 yards surprised me because I didn't feel out of breath at the end. My split time was 45.68. I wasn't panicking like I had done in practice, but paused at the wall for a couple seconds anyway, just to regroup. The difference was that I was taking a breath with every stroke. I try not to so this (instead, I try to breath every two strokes), but I had just watched my friend Daniel Pruzinsky in the heat before, and he was breathing every stroke, so I though "hey, if it's good enough for him..." The consequence of breathing so frequently is that the legs don't generate a good kick, and at yard 160 or so, I felt my legs flutter around a bit. This would have disqualified me, but I fixed the problem rather quickly and the official didn't notice or didn't care. I paused at the wall at the 175-yard mark. It seemed like maybe 4 or 5 seconds. But I had just 25 yards to go, and my friends were there rooting for me, so I pushed off and tried to finish strong. My arms were finally tired but I felt so GOOD finishing this event!
Shannan Jones-Kellam asked me what my next event was and I said "it doesn't matter." Indeed, the 200-fly was the event that defined this meet, and I was so happy that (1) I finished, (2) I set a personal best, and (3) it was OVER. I looked at my entry cards and saw the rest of the meet would be easy--just 50- and 25-yard events.
50-yard freestyle: I finished in 29.39 seconds. This is 0.67 seconds slower than my personal best...not very good. When I got out of the pool, Jim F. said I could improve by doing two things. I said "I know the first thing you'll tell me is that my underwater segment after the dive was too deep and too long." He agreed. The second thing he noticed was that my arm strokes were too short--I didn't bring my hands back to my hips before taking them out of the water. I am sure this was true. I was doing a shoulder-driven freestyle (not hip-driven) my coach taught me, but maybe I have forgotten the proper technique for that. Lengthening one's stroke is never bad advice.
50-yard breaststroke: I finished in 39.19 seconds. This is 1.85 seconds slower than my personal best. Whoa, that's bad, but who cares! I had a good dive and pull-out. I think I was going quite fast during the first half, but then at the wall I did a strange turn. I touched the wall with both hands, then immediately let go of the wall, twisted around, and punched the wall with my feet to go in the opposite direction. It was the fastest breaststroke turn I've ever done, and for the rest of the race I was distracted by it. Did I touch the wall with my hands or just my feet (which would have been illegal)? I couldn't remember. I must have really slowed down as I thought about that.
25-yard butterfly: I finished in 14.98 seconds, which was 1.24 seconds slower than my personal best. I was trying to go fast, but just didn't have it in me. I still didn't care. I was still glowing with the success of my 200-fly.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters Swim Meet
Date: November 8, 2015
Location: Clearfield, PA
Results: http:
I feel good about this meet. My times were still slower by about 3% from last year, but I think I'm getting closer.
200IM = 2:57.22 (personal best is 2:50.95). My butterfly and backstroke were strong but I lost fuel on the breaststroke. My triceps and shoulders felt fatigued and I don't know why. Jim F. told me I could improve with a better streamline off the walls.
50Free = 29.31 (personal best is 28.72); I've been doing a lot of 50s in practice, so it makes sense I'd do well here.
100Breast = 1:26.89 (personal best is 1:20.78) I found I couldn't glide as much as I wanted to. Just too fatigued.
100Free = 1:07.84 (personal best is 1:05.59) Felt good.
Date: November 8, 2015
Location: Clearfield, PA
Results: http:
I feel good about this meet. My times were still slower by about 3% from last year, but I think I'm getting closer.
200IM = 2:57.22 (personal best is 2:50.95). My butterfly and backstroke were strong but I lost fuel on the breaststroke. My triceps and shoulders felt fatigued and I don't know why. Jim F. told me I could improve with a better streamline off the walls.
50Free = 29.31 (personal best is 28.72); I've been doing a lot of 50s in practice, so it makes sense I'd do well here.
100Breast = 1:26.89 (personal best is 1:20.78) I found I couldn't glide as much as I wanted to. Just too fatigued.
100Free = 1:07.84 (personal best is 1:05.59) Felt good.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters Swim Meet
Date: October 25, 2015
Location: Greensburg, PA
Time:
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:
50-Backstroke: I wasn't excited to be at this swim meet because I knew I was not in top condition. I didn't want to see how bad I would be. My 50-back featured a turn that sent me to the pool bottom (I tried not to push off from the bottom, but I dragged my feet). Despite this, my swim didn't turn out too bad and I snapped out of my funk.
50-Fly: This went really well. I might concentrate a little more on my turnover rate, but I completed this race without even being out of breath.
25-Free: I hardly ever do 25-yard races but I wanted something easy this meet. I came close to a personal best today.
100-IM: My fly took me to the wall fairly fast, but then I messed up my turn. I ended up on my chest and took a freestyle stroke until I remembered I was supposed to be doing backstroke. I don't know why I got confused. I had played over the event for several minutes before this race to review what I had to do. Anyway, I briefly got discouraged from my mistake, skipping a full breatstroke pull-out, but I recovered and started speeding. I gained a lot on my opponents during the freestyle at the end, but my final time was still a couple seconds too slow.
I look forward to the next meet. I've got this now.
Date: October 25, 2015
Location: Greensburg, PA
Time:
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:
50-Backstroke: I wasn't excited to be at this swim meet because I knew I was not in top condition. I didn't want to see how bad I would be. My 50-back featured a turn that sent me to the pool bottom (I tried not to push off from the bottom, but I dragged my feet). Despite this, my swim didn't turn out too bad and I snapped out of my funk.
50-Fly: This went really well. I might concentrate a little more on my turnover rate, but I completed this race without even being out of breath.
25-Free: I hardly ever do 25-yard races but I wanted something easy this meet. I came close to a personal best today.
100-IM: My fly took me to the wall fairly fast, but then I messed up my turn. I ended up on my chest and took a freestyle stroke until I remembered I was supposed to be doing backstroke. I don't know why I got confused. I had played over the event for several minutes before this race to review what I had to do. Anyway, I briefly got discouraged from my mistake, skipping a full breatstroke pull-out, but I recovered and started speeding. I gained a lot on my opponents during the freestyle at the end, but my final time was still a couple seconds too slow.
I look forward to the next meet. I've got this now.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Pumpkin Chase 5K
Race: Pumpkin Chase 5K
Date: October 17, 2015
Location: Wilmerding, PA
Time: 25:17
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: 2 out of X
Results: http:
I pretty much knew after the first mile that this would be a tough run. I was more out of breath than normal. Had a good time with Dan, though, and we ended up being the second and third place winners overall. (Small race = not many fast runners)
Date: October 17, 2015
Location: Wilmerding, PA
Time: 25:17
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: 2 out of X
Results: http:
I pretty much knew after the first mile that this would be a tough run. I was more out of breath than normal. Had a good time with Dan, though, and we ended up being the second and third place winners overall. (Small race = not many fast runners)
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Air Force Marathon
Race: Air Force Marathon
Date: September 19, 2015
Location: Dayton, OH
Time: 4:54.47
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: 99 out of 183
Results: http:
This was my first full marathon. It was enjoyable enough that I think I’ll do a marathon again. I am so relieved! My main goal was to simply finish all 26.2 miles, but I did have a finish time in mind: 4:30:00. My actual performance was 4:54:47. I’m still very happy with this. Here’s the run-down:
Miles 0-3: I ran with Kendra. She was completing her first 10K race at the same time as my first marathon. Our routes followed the same path for the first 3 miles, so we ran together. I loved it. I am so happy to be her step-dad. Meanwhile, I felt strong on the first and only big hill of the route.
Mile 1: A man passed us by and apologized for drafting off my calves. He is not the first to tell me I have big calves. I took it as a compliment and ran a little stronger for the next half mile.
Mile 4: Another man asked me where my younger companion was. I explained Kendra was doing the 10K and her mom was doing the half-marathon. I was proud of my athlete family.
Miles 5-6: A smaller hill to climb. Others were saying “oh no, not another hill,” and I was thinking “I’ve trained in Pittsburgh; I’ve got this!”
Mile 6: I was running at a 9:48 mile/min pace, which was 3.5% faster than the median runner (male, female, young, old). In other words, I was running just above the average of 2,156 marathon participants.
Miles 7-13: There are official pace runners who hold signs telling others what time they intend to be finished with the race. I started the race with the 4:30 pace runner but steadily gained on the ones ahead of her. It was at mile 7 that I came up behind the 3:55 pace runner I decided to slow down and run with her (and a bunch of others doing the same thing). She was chatty and optimistic and doing a great job of keeping people in good mental and physical condition. I did begin to tire of hearing her say “don’t forget to hydrate!” after the 47th time.
Miles 8-10: These were the most fun miles because the course ran down the main street of the town of Fairborn, Ohio. Lots of people cheered us on, including lots of kids holding signs that read: “Touch here for power!” I made an effort to touch every one of those signs and high-five everyone who held their hand out. This energized me. I also felt very safe, given that snipers were on rooftops and giant snow plows were positioned at crossroads to keep terrorists from entering the town. Gees!
Mile 13: I was running at a 9:54 mile/min pace, which was 7.5% faster than the median runner . In other words, I was running slightly slower than before, but a little faster than average; everyone was slowing down, but I was slowing down less. And I was starting to feel it. It was becoming hard work to keep up with the 3:55 pace runner and I decided at mile 12 that I would ease off the gas at the half-way mark (13.1 miles). The chatty woman’s conversation faded into the distance as I drifted farther back.
Miles 14-16: I was starting to feel fatigued. I had been going too fast early in the race and now I was paying for it. (I do this on every race!). On my long training runs during the previous weeks, I had always found it necessary to walk after some distance past mile 14. I wanted to run the entire 26.2 miles today, but I knew that was unlikely based on past performance. I reasoned with myself that I should be able to do at least another 5K past the half-way point. So I went on, passing a surprising number of people who had started to walk at this point, including a striped-shirted young man who has sped past me at mile 6.
Mile 17: This was the point where I had given myself permission to start walking, but I felt I had another mile in me. I kept running.
Miles 18-20: At mile 18 I stopped to walk for 2 minutes. I was not out of breath. My heart rate was elevated but not abnormally so. I was well-hydrated. I was eating energy gels, bananas, and Stinger waffles, but still hungry…in fact, very hungry. I frankly don’t remember why I needed to stop running and walk for two minutes. Maybe it was the knowledge that I had 8 miles to go (uggh!). Or maybe it was the pain in my left foot that was getting progressively worse with every step. Regardless, I walked for 2 minutes and then started again. The first few running steps after walking were painful throughout my legs. It felt like a sputtering engine trying to get started again after months of inactivity.
Miles 21-22: At mile 21 I stopped running and walked another 2 minutes. I should have been thinking how close I was to the finish line (5 miles isn’t that much, relatively speaking), but instead, I calculated in my head how much time it would take to cover the distance (possibly more than an hour! Uggh). At this point I was running at a 10:37 mile/min pace, which was 8.8% faster than the median runner. In other words, I was running a lot slower now due to the walking intervals, but still faster than average; most runners were integrating walking segments into their runs, and I was doing so a little less than average.
Miles 23-24: At the mile 23 marker I stopped to walk for 4 minutes. At mile marker 24 I stopped to walk for 5 minutes. People were dropping like flies. They were stopping to stretch, walk, and commiserate. A husband told his wife “You beat me. I won’t make it. I’m sorry.” Another person lay on the ground, completely beaten. The stripe-shirt guy and I were alternately passing one another as he would start walking while I ran past, and then he would pass me when I stopped to walk. It was hard to keep happy at this point.
Mile 25: At this point my leg muscles (calves, thighs) were starting to cramp and I lost flexibility in my stride. I was barely running. At least in my mind, I was running for 5 minute periods and then stopping to walk for 5 minutes. Maybe my body was going at the same speed during my walk and run segments, but I was somehow proud of myself for at least attempting to run each time. I remember Kendra had told me to start running before the finish line to give the impression I was still going strong. Fortunately, when I saw Shannan, Shannan’s dad, and Kendra alongside the course before the mile 26 marker I was in the midst of my 5-min running segments. I smiled at them as I “ran” past. My body was really hurting, but it doesn’t take much effort to smile. My mind was still calm and collected.
Mile 26: I knew I had made it when I got to the Mile 26 marker. The finish line was in view and there was just 0.2 miles left. I was “running,” but this amounted to just a shuffling of cramped-up legs. Emotions hit me and I became aware of great pains in my body. I muttered aloud to myself “Ignore it! Ignore it!” I started to get tears in my eyes and as I tried to hold them back, the angst had to go somewhere and it lodged in my lungs, causing me to have the most serious bout of asthma I ever remember having in adulthood. At the finish line, I was not looking for Shannan. Instead, I was looking for a medic to help me breath. But then Shannan was there with a great smile and my asthma disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Emotions are such a strange thing, so integrated with the body’s physiology!
Finished! I finished in 4:54:47 with a pace of 11:16 min/mile. This was 4.9% faster than the average runner, but 5.1% slower than the average male in the 40-44 age group (I ranked 99 out of 183). All things considered, this was a great first attempt and I now have a personal best to try to break the next time.
Date: September 19, 2015
Location: Dayton, OH
Time: 4:54.47
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: 99 out of 183
Results: http:
This was my first full marathon. It was enjoyable enough that I think I’ll do a marathon again. I am so relieved! My main goal was to simply finish all 26.2 miles, but I did have a finish time in mind: 4:30:00. My actual performance was 4:54:47. I’m still very happy with this. Here’s the run-down:
Miles 0-3: I ran with Kendra. She was completing her first 10K race at the same time as my first marathon. Our routes followed the same path for the first 3 miles, so we ran together. I loved it. I am so happy to be her step-dad. Meanwhile, I felt strong on the first and only big hill of the route.
Mile 1: A man passed us by and apologized for drafting off my calves. He is not the first to tell me I have big calves. I took it as a compliment and ran a little stronger for the next half mile.
Mile 4: Another man asked me where my younger companion was. I explained Kendra was doing the 10K and her mom was doing the half-marathon. I was proud of my athlete family.
Miles 5-6: A smaller hill to climb. Others were saying “oh no, not another hill,” and I was thinking “I’ve trained in Pittsburgh; I’ve got this!”
Mile 6: I was running at a 9:48 mile/min pace, which was 3.5% faster than the median runner (male, female, young, old). In other words, I was running just above the average of 2,156 marathon participants.
Miles 7-13: There are official pace runners who hold signs telling others what time they intend to be finished with the race. I started the race with the 4:30 pace runner but steadily gained on the ones ahead of her. It was at mile 7 that I came up behind the 3:55 pace runner I decided to slow down and run with her (and a bunch of others doing the same thing). She was chatty and optimistic and doing a great job of keeping people in good mental and physical condition. I did begin to tire of hearing her say “don’t forget to hydrate!” after the 47th time.
Miles 8-10: These were the most fun miles because the course ran down the main street of the town of Fairborn, Ohio. Lots of people cheered us on, including lots of kids holding signs that read: “Touch here for power!” I made an effort to touch every one of those signs and high-five everyone who held their hand out. This energized me. I also felt very safe, given that snipers were on rooftops and giant snow plows were positioned at crossroads to keep terrorists from entering the town. Gees!
Mile 13: I was running at a 9:54 mile/min pace, which was 7.5% faster than the median runner . In other words, I was running slightly slower than before, but a little faster than average; everyone was slowing down, but I was slowing down less. And I was starting to feel it. It was becoming hard work to keep up with the 3:55 pace runner and I decided at mile 12 that I would ease off the gas at the half-way mark (13.1 miles). The chatty woman’s conversation faded into the distance as I drifted farther back.
Miles 14-16: I was starting to feel fatigued. I had been going too fast early in the race and now I was paying for it. (I do this on every race!). On my long training runs during the previous weeks, I had always found it necessary to walk after some distance past mile 14. I wanted to run the entire 26.2 miles today, but I knew that was unlikely based on past performance. I reasoned with myself that I should be able to do at least another 5K past the half-way point. So I went on, passing a surprising number of people who had started to walk at this point, including a striped-shirted young man who has sped past me at mile 6.
Mile 17: This was the point where I had given myself permission to start walking, but I felt I had another mile in me. I kept running.
Miles 18-20: At mile 18 I stopped to walk for 2 minutes. I was not out of breath. My heart rate was elevated but not abnormally so. I was well-hydrated. I was eating energy gels, bananas, and Stinger waffles, but still hungry…in fact, very hungry. I frankly don’t remember why I needed to stop running and walk for two minutes. Maybe it was the knowledge that I had 8 miles to go (uggh!). Or maybe it was the pain in my left foot that was getting progressively worse with every step. Regardless, I walked for 2 minutes and then started again. The first few running steps after walking were painful throughout my legs. It felt like a sputtering engine trying to get started again after months of inactivity.
Miles 21-22: At mile 21 I stopped running and walked another 2 minutes. I should have been thinking how close I was to the finish line (5 miles isn’t that much, relatively speaking), but instead, I calculated in my head how much time it would take to cover the distance (possibly more than an hour! Uggh). At this point I was running at a 10:37 mile/min pace, which was 8.8% faster than the median runner. In other words, I was running a lot slower now due to the walking intervals, but still faster than average; most runners were integrating walking segments into their runs, and I was doing so a little less than average.
Miles 23-24: At the mile 23 marker I stopped to walk for 4 minutes. At mile marker 24 I stopped to walk for 5 minutes. People were dropping like flies. They were stopping to stretch, walk, and commiserate. A husband told his wife “You beat me. I won’t make it. I’m sorry.” Another person lay on the ground, completely beaten. The stripe-shirt guy and I were alternately passing one another as he would start walking while I ran past, and then he would pass me when I stopped to walk. It was hard to keep happy at this point.
Mile 25: At this point my leg muscles (calves, thighs) were starting to cramp and I lost flexibility in my stride. I was barely running. At least in my mind, I was running for 5 minute periods and then stopping to walk for 5 minutes. Maybe my body was going at the same speed during my walk and run segments, but I was somehow proud of myself for at least attempting to run each time. I remember Kendra had told me to start running before the finish line to give the impression I was still going strong. Fortunately, when I saw Shannan, Shannan’s dad, and Kendra alongside the course before the mile 26 marker I was in the midst of my 5-min running segments. I smiled at them as I “ran” past. My body was really hurting, but it doesn’t take much effort to smile. My mind was still calm and collected.
Mile 26: I knew I had made it when I got to the Mile 26 marker. The finish line was in view and there was just 0.2 miles left. I was “running,” but this amounted to just a shuffling of cramped-up legs. Emotions hit me and I became aware of great pains in my body. I muttered aloud to myself “Ignore it! Ignore it!” I started to get tears in my eyes and as I tried to hold them back, the angst had to go somewhere and it lodged in my lungs, causing me to have the most serious bout of asthma I ever remember having in adulthood. At the finish line, I was not looking for Shannan. Instead, I was looking for a medic to help me breath. But then Shannan was there with a great smile and my asthma disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Emotions are such a strange thing, so integrated with the body’s physiology!
Finished! I finished in 4:54:47 with a pace of 11:16 min/mile. This was 4.9% faster than the average runner, but 5.1% slower than the average male in the 40-44 age group (I ranked 99 out of 183). All things considered, this was a great first attempt and I now have a personal best to try to break the next time.
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