Marathon #2

We all have them, we all remember them. They are the memories of experiences in our lifetime for which we have never experienced before, or as I will call them your “Firsts”. They may be your first date with your wife, your first love, your first job; your first day of school, your first day of driving, and the list goes on forever. What’s significant about each of them is that you never forget them. They are special and important, to each one of us; sometimes good and sometimes even bad. When a “First” is experienced with others close to you; each individual takes away something different from that experience. Let’s not look at a first, but compare a second to a first.

On Sunday February 15, 2009 I embarked on running my second marathon. I signed up for this marathon to keep myself busy before I began my training for the Ironman. I followed a slow build up of long runs from 13 miles all they way to a 22.5 mile long run. I did this from the middle of November to the last week in January, with a two week taper. I limited my running to 3 times per week. After all the training was completed, I felt like I had a really solid base and would be very successful in my marathon.

The big difference between the first and second marathon was the fact that prior to this race, I was completely ambivalent and didn’t have any worries. Last year I was really quite nervous and had a great deal of mixed emotions. I was really excited about running in the marathon and this year not as much. What I was excited about was how my experience would be different from last year. How would a year of endurance sport training help me on the course? How would being a year older and wiser help me? Would these things boil down to a better time or more enjoyable experience? This is what I wanted to find out. What I noticed during my training the most was that I recovered from my long runs much more quickly. This is very interesting to see how the body can adapt and replenish itself. I was hoping for the same outcome at the marathon.

I was fortunate to schedule a meeting on Friday morning in Austin with one of our projects. It just so happened that I scheduled this meeting the same weekend as the marathon, wink, wink. Scheduling these meetings this way allowed me to have my company pay for my flight to Austin. The day was a good day and checked into the hotel in the early afternoon and just kicked up my feet and relaxed. When Saturday rolled around we did absolutely nothing but eat lunch go to Lance Armstrong’s new bike shop, and relax. Come Sunday morning I arose early and went thru my normal routine. It would be a warm day so shorts and a t-shirt would be all I wore.

I started off running with the 8:23 per mile pace group or the 3:40 marathon pace group. It was nice to see that the pacers were the same folks from last year. Last year I tried to run a 3:40 marathon but ended up hitting the wall and ran a 3:44. This year I wasn’t concerned with the time but more with having a solid race. With no pomp and circumstance, the gun went off and we waited for our usual 3 or 4 minutes till we could actual run. Just like that the race began. The miles ticked away, one after another. It was a good group of pacers. The woman pacer had a kazoo and kept blowing it chanting: “Austin to Boston…. The 3:40 train is coming thru”. The reason for that quote was for is that for women ages 18 – 34 the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon is 3:40. We had a good time running the miles and chatting. I recall at one point in the race saying to myself, “Are we really already at mile 17? It feels like we just started.” I guess having these thoughts or comments are a good thing, and that I am getting really comfortable with running long distances. The miles continued to pass by. An interesting thing about the race was an individual named Ryan, who was signed up for the half marathon decided to run the full marathon on a whim. He kept running with us at mile 11 instead of breaking off and finish with the rest of the Half Marathon participants. Ryan was a Marine and was now in flight school down in south Texas. All I have to say about that is he is pretty hard core, to be running a 8:23 pace for almost 26 miles without even training for it. Needless to say the course would get the best of both Ryan and me around mile 24. Right at mile 24 is where I broke off from the pace group, it was interesting because a few others did as well. I felt on the verge of a few cramps and even a little light headed. At this point the heat of the day was beginning to play a factor and if I would be out on the course any longer it would have been adverse. So I decided to walk for 30 or 40 seconds then run for a couple minutes. Both Ryan and I would finish the race together. I congratulated him and went and promptly found my pacers and thanked them. I ended up finishing in 3:43:34. I was quite pleased with this performance. My pace per mile was 8:31.

After finishing the race I wasn’t as elated as I was after my first one, but a different feeling set in, a feeling of continued accomplishment. I felt that day and for the few days after, that I was really a runner. I felt like a real runner and an accomplished runner at that. I had completed my second marathon. I knew at that moment, I would run many more of them and they would only get easier each time. The lady that helped pace me thru the race had completed 35 marathons. I stopped and thought for a second, that I hope someday I can say the same thing. I figure if I run 2 or 3 a year by the time I’m 40, I could feasibly have ran over 45 marathons. That’s pretty damn impressive, and that’s just by the time I’m 40. I am sure I will be running well into my later years too. That’s what this race meant to me, it was a continuing of my endurance sport career. It was continued accomplishment.

In other news coming off the heels of this race I felt the urge to do another marathon. So I acted, and signed up this week for the Chicago Marathon. I will be running the Chicago Marathon on October 11, 2009. This is one month after my Ironman. My thoughts are that I really won’t even have to train for it either. Just a bit of recovery and some 18 milers and I will be ready to go. So often we take for granted things we do everyday, let us stop for one second and while doing something, try to stop and remember the first time you did it and see if you can remember it or compare it. Chances are that it may evoke some interesting memories. Cheers!

Brett