Trailbreaker Marathon recap

On vacation for a while starting 3/30 so probably no updates until after I'm back.  

Running:
First a recap of the Trailbreaker Marathon 3/27.  Here is a link to the race results.
My time for the race was 3:36:18 which put me 19th overall and 3rd in my age group.  I got an award for 2nd place because the person who finished first moved up to grab the Sr. Masters award.  For those who don't know this award is given out to the first runner 50+ years old in some races. 

I knew going into this race my speedwork had been lacking.  My time for the race shows this.  The 3:36:18 is my worst marathon time ever out of 16 tries.   I can't feel real bad about my time as it is within minutes of where I thought I would finish and this race is a very difficult one.  Another comforting thought is that probably 80% of all marathon runners of any age on any course wish they could run 3:36.  About 6 miles in the middle of the race are on very rugged trail with lots of roots and rocks and some portions are very steep.  The turn around point is the top of the Lapham peak tower which is 60 feet tall and yes, you have to climb to the top.   I met my main goal of finishing with a decent time and uninjured.   

The day of the race everything started pretty well.  I did feel a slight tweak in my calf which had me a little concerned.  I spend a bit of time with the foam roller and rubbing it out before I left the house.  Never turned out to be an issue which I'm real happy about.  I had all my stuff laid out the night before so I didn't need much time getting ready.  Got through my usual pre-race eating and drinking routine and headed out a little after 6am.  The race started at 8am.  Got to Frame park plenty early and got a close parking space.  Checked in and ran into my friend and coworker Bill.  We talked for a bit then headed to our cars for final preparation. 

The race started a few minutes late.  They just started giving information and then signing the national anthem at 8 so it was at least 10 after before we started.  My goal for the race was to try and run 7:3x pace on the way out, do the best as possible on the trail portion, and then see what's left for the return trip.  I tried to keep the 1st mile under control, but still ran 7:10.  From here I backed off a bit and hit the target pretty close for a while.  I hit 4 miles right at 30:00, hit 8 miles in 1:01:xx, and 13 miles in 1:41:xx.  In the 14th mile is the steepest part and the tower climb.  This mile took me 12:31.  Returning to the Drumlin trail and the blacktop after the trails is a difficult transition.  The legs just start to scream at you.  There is a drop bag location at the aid station right after returning to the trail.  I stopped for about half a minute to examine the condition of my  shoes and decided to not change them or my shirt.  I grabbed an additional glass of water and just kept going.  After eventually getting used to the transition and feeling consistent again I noticed my pace was much closer to 8 minutes than 7:30.  I knew this was about as good as it would get on the way back.  I tried to pick it up for a while, but didn't feel comfortable.  I decided to just dig in and see what I could do.  At the half marathon turn around point (approximately 6 miles left) I started passing the half marathon runners.  I was still running pretty good, but starting to have to dodge and weave through runners got to be annoying.  You just want to keep your head down and run straight and focused not zigzag and pass.  Looking back at my watch I did pretty well until 23 miles.  My last few miles were in the 8:50 range.  Didn't crash or hit the wall, just couldn't pick it up.  It was after mile 23 where the guy who eventually finished 2nd in my age group passed me.  I figured he was as old as me and I tried to respond.  I'm disapointed I couldn't keep up.  You'll see from the results if I could have finished 1 minute faster I would have been 1st.

After the race I ran into several other runners I knew.  Many of them ran the half marathon.  Congrats to Bill who finished 9th overall and first in his age group and to my friend Jerry who ran a pretty good half marathon and also received an age group award.  It was good to see him and share a couple beers over the stories.  All in all it was a pretty good day.  

Hunting:
Finally after 3 years, 3 months, and 16 days I have my deer head back from the taxidermist.  It's a beautiful job, but absolutely ridiculous it took that long.  If anyone wants to know where not to go for this service let me know. 


Gardening:
Spent some of Sunday out in the yard cleaning up the flower beds.  It felt good on the legs to be out doing something.  Lot's more to catch up on when I return from vacation.