M'kay

Capital City Marathon

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Location:

Eatonville,WA,USA

Member Since:

Nov 01, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

Short-Term Running Goals:

Regain consistency.

Build up slowly and come out strong.

Regain "speed" (relative)

Finish WR50 again.

Improve at Cascade Crest. 

2013 Races:

  • Capital Peak Mega Fat Ass 17M (1/19) - 2:48:48
  • Yakima Skyline Rim 50K (4/21) - 7:16:20
  • Grey Rock 50K (5/13)
  • White River 50M (7/27)
  • Cascade Crest 100M (8/24-25)

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Find my true running potential, then exceed it.

Favorite Blogs:

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Race: Capital City Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:08:48, Place overall: 11, Place in age division: 4
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.0026.20

Fried. That's how I feel after today's race.

Woke up to nice cool 50 degree temps without the promised clouds. Since the sun was up by 5:30, I knew the 7am start time wouldn't save us from the sun today. Got to the start fairly well rested, hydrated, and feeling ready to go. I was secretly still hoping a sub-3 was in the cards but figured I'd slow when the heat started hitting and was aiming to get beneath a 3:05. Thinking back, the fact that I was milling around at the start in shorts and a t-shirt comfortably was not a good sign.

Splits according to Garmin. Most were a bit short from the actual markers it seemed.

  • 1 - 6:44 - downhill start onto the flats in the city.
  • 2 - 6:55 - out of the city to slight uphill
  • 3 - 7:12 - more upill
  • 4 - 7:02 - welcome to the rollers. They continued to the end.
  • 5 - 6:55
  • 6 - 6:56 - Despite dumping water on my head at the water point, I'm still warm
  • 7 - 6:56
  • 8 - 6:53
  • 9 - 6:47
  • 10 - 7:25 - Took in an accelerade gel. Legs aren't feeling too peppy already. Not good.
  • 11 - 6:46
  • 12 - 7:10
  • 13 - 6:54 - Grateful I've reached halfway. Wondering how I'm going to run another 13 like this. Legs just aren't responding.
  • 14 - 6:56 - Shade of the front half is nearly completely gone. Direct sun the rest of the way.
  • 15 - 7:02
  • 16 - 7:07 - 2nd Accelerade gel, needed badly.
  • 17 - 7:17
  • 18 - 7:31 - Lost some focus here...feels like 10 min miles but I'm not looking at my watch. Just trying to press hard enough and still survive.
  • 19 - 7:17 - Passing some half-marathoners felt good. Most were walking :)
  • 20 - 7:20
  • 21 - 7:20
  • 22 - 6:57 - Steep downhill. Couldn't even hit my 6:50 pace. Personal cheering section here (Dianna).
  • 23 -7:33 - Start of the long final uphill. Adopted the gasp to scare people out of the way.
  • 24 - 7:56 - Finally too the top. Through some neighborhoods where folks sprayed us with hoses. Felt wonderful.
  • 25 - 7:32 - Trying to push with whatever I've got left
  • 26 - 7:18 - Nice downhill grade. Unfortunately my legs were so wobbly by now that the left cant to the road made taking full advantage nearly impossible.
  • 26.2 - 2:55 - Did managed a flailing sprint to the end, made easier by the downhill. Another finish where the volunteers watched with worried looks for a few minutes.

So, not the sub-3 finish I was looking for. Not even the 3:05 I'd set as my backup. It was a 3+ minute PR from last November and my placing was about where I figured it'd be based on the last couple years results assuming a 3 hr finish time. I've no clue what any of that means right now. I do know I don't run nearly as well in heat, and as I write this I can literally *feel* the sunburn (despite the sunblock...must've been the water showers I was taking!). Also, the hills were just brutal. Okay, maybe just brutal to me. It felt like the first 16 miles or so were just up and down. Honestly, but just after halfway I was just trying to hang on and it was a long slog to the finish.

Best part of the day? The slice of ham and pineapple pizza I had at the finish area! Oh, and the Top 20 shirt was a nice touch too.

Adrenaline 8 - 210.59 miles.

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 1.50Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Comments
From josse on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 20:25:11

Sub-3 will come just be patient. As for the blurry vision, I think it has to do with blood sugar. But I was surprized to get it so early in the marathon. As soon as I drank some power aid, which I don't normally do, my vision came back. But I never felt quite right. I don't know why it does this in some marathons and not others. I am still trying to figure it out myself.

Great job on the flailing finish:)

From Adam RW- on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 21:03:58

Nice top-20 finish and I like the pic with the pizza, that's the way to finish!

From Dave on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 21:24:53

Congrats on the top 20. We were cheering for you in VA.

From Emery on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 21:39:37

Very nice. 11th!! Impressive! Your hard work paid off! Can't wait to see what the fall brings!

From nfroerer on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 23:13:16

Thanks for the comment. Looks like you had a sweet run yourself. I might need to incorporate the gasp tactic.

From Kelly on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 23:14:15

Woot! Way to power through the heat to still get a PR.

I kept looking at my watch this morning wondering how things were going. Even went so far as finding the marathon website hoping they would have some splits posted.

Pizza looks good.

From MichelleL on Sun, May 18, 2008 at 23:50:41

Mmmm. Pizza.

Congratulations on the PR in much tougher conditions. It sounds like the course was much harder than last October's marathon and the heat was bad. I don't have my sub-3:00 yet either. It just makes me hungry for more. I had a personal escort for a while after my marathon. I guess I look like a wreck when I come in.

From Ian on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 01:17:41

Well done Dale, a PR in heat conditions! Your training was sound, just unlucky with the one factor you couldn't influence. This is now another step towards that sub-3 I know you can achieve.

From Jon on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 09:36:45

Sub-3 is in your reach. Just have patience. Barriers like that usually need good conditions, not the heat like you had. Still a good PR and yummy pizza!

From Michael on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 09:48:16

Sorry you didnt have the more common cloudy day in Olympia. Good race - hope you get that sub 3 hour next race

From Sean on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 11:24:14

Who would have thought the Capitol City marathon would have come on one of the hottest Sunday's ever in the month of May. Heat is a big deal especially for those of us who live in cooler areas like the NW. Too bad there really isn't a flat marathon in the Seattle area. You should try the Seafair half marathon in July. You should also run the 10k I'm putting on in Snoqualmie in August. It promises to be fast. As for your Fall marathon, consider Twin Cities. It's the US Marathon Championships this year so the competeition will be as good as ever.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 12:32:09

3 minute PR on a hot day and a rolling course is great. You should try Top of Utah in September. I think you can get sub-3:00 there.

Interestingly enough, I used a similar technique to clear my way at the end of Ogden on Saturday - moaning. Killed two birds with one stone. People got out of the way, and it helped me go faster. I came up on one guy, the half and the full started at the same time, so he was probably going around 12:00 pace, and I moaned. This must have really startled him - he goes out loud, "What the H..?", except he completed the sentence. Hmm.. PG-13 entertainment at mile 24.

From Dale on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 12:58:39

Thanks all for the support. A day later and I'm pretty satisfied with the effort on a tougher course in what for me is warm weather. 70F doesn't sound too warm compared to some folks but I wilt in the heat (a big reason I live in the NW). I've compared the year-over-year results for a few of the top-20 runners and discovered an average 8 minute slowdown so I'm pretty sure the heat was a big factor. I also know I didn't leave anything out on the course which is about all we can ask of ourselves.

Glad everyone liked the pizza pic. It was definitely yummy!

Josse: I've had the fuzzy vision thing a couple of times but never in races....both times in easy runs. It's so weird that I was startled to see you describe it so aptly in your report. I'll watch the blood sugar thing.

Sean: Assuming I'm in town in Aug, I'm in for the 10K. Or even as a volunteer if you're in need (but of course I'd prefer to run :)) Twin Cities is a bit scary with all the talent.

Sasha: Actually the gasp trick was based on your report, so I owe you one. I was desperate for some help up the hill and that did the trick. I know I scared several runners and even some bikers who I'm sure figured I was getting ready to expire. Unfortunately, TOU is the same weekend as a cousin's wedding I'm trying to attend, but I'm looking out for a flatter course for the fall.

Kelly/Emery/Dave: I really appreciate the support from my co-workers....you guys inspired me to continue suffering when I really wanted to quit. Plus, I knew I'd never live it down :).

Thanks again all.

From Tom on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 14:48:02

Dale I think you did great considering the conditions. My worst marathons have all been in the heat and you certainly fared much better than I have under these type conditions.

Have you decided on a fall marathon yet?

From Dale on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 15:08:25

Thanks Tom. I feel a bit guilty for complaining about 70 deg temps given that many folks run in much hotter weather than that, but I really do melt in the heat.

I'm still thinking about fall marathon choices. Sasha's suggestion of TOU was an interesting one, but that weekend seems to be a perfect storm of events for me, and I'll likely be drawn and quartered if I miss another cousin's wedding. I'm thinking about the Tri-Cities in Richland, WA or the Victoria BC in October, or Seattle again in November as a fallback. But everything is still up-in-the-air and I'm waiting for the perfect race to fall in my lap.....please!

From josse on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 15:16:30

I don't think there is such thing as a perfect race. The distance make that just not possible. But we can have perfect weather on a good course and the stars and moons can align just right to perform to our best ablility on a given day. I hope that happens for all of us this fall.

From josse on Mon, May 19, 2008 at 20:32:09

Dale-Jon on the blog pointed out something interesting about the burry vision thing. And I remebered I have a hard time with salt balance. Any way you can find the link to the articles that talk about it on my comments in todays blog.

From jtshad on Tue, May 20, 2008 at 10:35:34

Good race and good job on the PR. Sometimes things just don't work out as planned, but this shows you are still improving and will have some more great races in the near future. That sub-3:00 will be here soon.

From smally on Tue, May 20, 2008 at 15:39:07

Your awesome, great marathon. We both had great days.

Lets get that sub 3 now!!!

Todd

From dave holt on Sat, May 24, 2008 at 14:12:51

Great job - that sub 3:00 is just around the corner, go get it!

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