_goal
A: 4:29:20 Oprah Winfrey marathon time (1994)
B: 4:34:40 PB Hachie 50 (2022)
C: 5:00:00 this would be a long training run for Hachie 50M
_highlights
Legs somewhat rested.
Only 2 lb heavier than ideal weight.
_lowlights
Limited training after Houston Marathon 6 weeks ago.
I rolled an ankle a week before race. Adizero Pro 2 is less stable than perceived.
Arrived start line 10 minutes later than planned.
Failed to utilize pacers against head wind.
Garmin GPS fail.
_pacers
I was stoked to learn Rob would pace 3:50 marathon group near 8:45 pace. Almost perfect for my A goal.
_plan
Start 3 minutes behind Rob.
Keep Rob in sight by mile-9 bridge.
Tuck behind him by mile-21 headwind.
Hold 8:37 pace through mile-27 U-turn.
Dig deeper for 4 miles.
8:37 pace would give me 4:32:53 finish. The 3-minute-late start puts me at Oprah Line.
No after party. I minimized social due to COVID, which was killing a big part of these events I loved.
_later than late start
Parking changed this year. This led to significant delay. Then I was misdirected 3 times to the bag check-in. I wasted more time waiting for the checked bag for the forgotten sunglasses.
By the time I got to the start, Rob’s pacing group was long gone.
“No problem, I’ll just reel him in by mile 21.”
_pacing
GPS told me I was going slower than I felt. It reported each mile longer than the mile marker. The trend reversed at mile 5, I was losing ¼ mile at each mile mark. Yeah, I lost satellite signal and had to pace by feel. 4.5-hour finish was unlikely without precise pacing—glad it wasn’t an “A” race.
I caught Kan Meng’s 3:55 group at mile 9 climb. To bridge Rob by mile 21, I’d need to go faster than 8:30. It was difficult to crunch numbers without electronic devices. I accepted having to be my own windshield.
"A” goal wasn’t completely out of question at this point. I just needed to
1. Reach Rob around mile 25
2. Maintain sub-9 pace for the final 5 miles.
As much as I desired negative split, I did have my historical data.
“Just fxcking enjoy this beautiful present, you dumb ass!”
_Pacer Rob
Rob burst out of a porta potty within spitting distance; I accelerated to match but gave up after 5 seconds; he was too fast. I desperately wanted to be behind him before the turn.
I could see Rob holding the pacing sign entering the river trail, 60 seconds ahead. I was closing < 15 seconds / mile. There’d be no wind blocker for this run. So close yet so far.
_losing time
I looked for but failed to spot the sign for full-ultra marathon split. I shouted the question to the sole volunteer; she ignored me. I yelled louder and closer. She finally took her eyes off her phone and point at the fork I missed. 20 seconds lost. I was bitter.
Gradually muscles refused to work together. Alphaflies made it clear my timing was off but compensated for my poor form.
“Thank you, expensive Nike.”
I was very aware of the $1/mile shoe cost.
North wind was getting old at this point. But air was dry, sun beautiful, course familiar. I soaked up the discomfort and reminded myself, “you asked to do this.”
Cramping started. I reminded myself how blessed I was to have this struggle. I urged the legs to do what they could. Things got easier after I reached the north tip of the river trail.
I had learned to project finish time without GPS by now. I would beat Oprah’s time by holding Oprah pace for the final 5k. I encouraged every ultra runner entering the out-n-back extension.
Life was good.
#’s
official:
chip time: 4:27:03
pace: 8:37 min/mile = 5:20 min/km
distance: 31.069 mi = 50k
splits
10K 8:16/M
15K 8:19/M
13.1M 8:22/M
18M 8:28/M
22M 8:31/M
26.2M 8:32/M
50K 8:37/M
racer count:
half: 4,924
full: 939
ultra: 174
[Garmin Forerunner 630 said I climbed 2000 ft at mile 9. Haha.]
[Javier finally won this event; photos from FB]
[Madie Stier was only seconds behind Javier]
