Twin Cities Marathon 2019 - Race Report

So I don’t usually do race reports anymore, but now this is my second in as many months. I thought this one would be important, however, given that I had so much support and so many people donate to my Team World Vision fundraiser. I thought about doing an abbreviated report, but I decided to just lay it all out. So many people helped motivate me along this journey of training for and racing the Twin Cities Marathon, so I wanted to give a detailed report of how my race went.

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The night before the race went like many pre-race nights. Since high school, I’ve struggled with getting to and staying asleep before a big race. It took forever for me to fall asleep as I anticipated Twin Cities Marathon, and once I did fall asleep, I woke up several times.

Despite my poor sleep, I felt pretty good once I got out of bed. Laura was already up, so after I made my coffee, she helped me tape on my bracelet with the names of everyone who’d donated to my Team World Vision fundraiser and the miles I was dedicating to them. 

After getting dressed, I gathered my things and drove over to the Fort Snelling Park and Ride. I’d never taken the light rail to the start of a Twin Cities Marathon or 10 Mile before, but when I do the race in the future I will probably do it again—it was very convenient and stress-free.

When I got to the start I felt like I was there a little earlier than I wanted to be. I found a bench against a building and drank some Generation Ucan and finished my coffee. I still had plenty of time to use the Port-o-Potties (twice). Before the start I ran into several running friends and a former coworker. It was nice to see some friendly faces before the race.

I stayed in my warm clothes as close to the start as I thought was wise, then stuffed them in my drop bag, dropped off the bag, and headed to the start.

In the starting corral I took off the long sleeve shirt I was wearing and put it in one of the Goodwill bins along the side of the corral. I kept on an old pair of gloves and a stocking hat that I planned to toss off once I was feeling warm enough. 

As I started, I felt like I had to pee. It wasn’t bad, but I was afraid I’d have to stop to pee during the race. 

Like many big races, I felt boxed in at the beginning. There was a big crowd, and a lot of people moved at inconsistent speeds or weaved in and out of the crowds, cutting off other runners without a care. After a few miles, however, the crowd thinned out a bit, and I was able to get into a rhythm. And that’s where I started running not very smart. 

My “A” goal was to run under 3:05, but I was feeling pretty good. My right ankle started bothering, but it didn’t seem to be affecting my stride, so I decided I could go faster than I had any business going. Fortunately, the feeling of having to go to the bathroom passed, but the idea of running too fast stayed.

Through 30K I was cruising easily at a sub-3 hour marathon pace, but I was starting to feel like that pace was no longer sustainable. My legs and my body were starting to feel it, and I began doing the math of how fast I needed to run to break 3:05. By mile 20 it was clear I wasn’t breaking 3:05, and I took my first walk break, and then more walk breaks at miles 21 and 22. I knew I was coming up on Laura and Calvin around mile 23. I decided I’d make sure I was running then, and I ran as fast as a could, which happened to be about a minute per mile slower than I’d been running.

It was a big pick-me-up, and after taking one more short walk break after seeing them, I decided I was going to run the rest of the way to the finish. The race up to the point where the pace started to feel too fast had felt really good. I’d dedicated a mile to each person who’d donated to my Team World Vision Fundraiser and reading each of their names on the bracelet I’d made gave me a good feeling each mile.

I was able to run the last mile and a half without any walk breaks, and after getting passed again and again for the previous few miles, in the last mile I was able to do some passing myself.

I finished in 3:07:45, missing my “A” goal by about three minutes, but making my “B” goal by almost 8 minutes.

At the finish line I ran into a few old friends—I’ve always enjoyed the small world of running.

I had an unpleasant surprise when they couldn’t find my bag at the bag drop. There wasn’t much I could do about it beyond leaving Laura’s phone number (my phone was in the drop bag) and hope they called me.

Then, I headed to get a massage, then to the Team World Vision tent to have some pizza. Afterwards, I met up with Laura and Calvin, took a few pictures, and headed back to the Team World Vision tent so we could all eat.

We then went to the beer garden and I enjoyed a nice Summit beer. Before we left, I walked back to the drop bag area to check one more time, and thankfully they had the bag. Apparently I’d dropped it in the wrong spot and it went to the VIP area. Whoops.

Despite running a not-very-smart race, I’m pretty happy overall. I beat my “B” goal by a lot, and I surpassed my goal of raising $1310 for Team World 000Vision by over $200.

Now, I need to figure out what to do with the winter season. I have an idea of a race I’d like to do this spring, but first I’m hoping some new exercises I got from physical therapy will help clear up my nagging injuries. Once (I hope) that happens, I’ll think more seriously about training for a spring race.

Thanks for reading.

Twin Cities Marathon: It’s Goal Time

This has been one of the worst training cycles I’ve had for a marathon. Second worst in fact, and after the worst training cycle I ran just a hair under 3:21.

With such a lousy, injury-riddled training cycle, I’ve thought a lot about setting a goal. Part of me thought I’d just run at an easy pace, give high fives, and eat and drink anything and everything passed out on the course. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought about how that wouldn’t actually be that fun for me. Maybe some day, but right now I like to race. I like to push my body to its limit, and while just “running for fun” doesn’t sound like a bad idea, I honestly don’t think I’d enjoy it that much.

So, I’m going to race. It might be stupid and I might blow up and be miserable, but I’m going to try it. Here are my “A,” “B,” and “C” goals.

“A” Goal:

Run a Boston qualifying time, meaning under 3:05. This might be a really bad idea as I’ve missed a few long runs and haven’t done any fast-finish long runs that would normally give me confidence to run at race pace, but I’m going to go for it anyway. The past couple weeks, a 3:05 pace has felt easy, so who knows? Maybe it’ll happen.

“B” Goal:

Run under 3:16. That was the time of my first marathon, so it’d be nice to run faster than that.

“C” Goal:

Run under 3:21:46. My slowest time racing a marathon.

So there they are. I’m going to be aggressive, so there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to get ugly at the end. 

Thanks to all who have supported me in training for Team World Vision. Thanks to you, I’ve surpassed my fundraising goal of $50 per mile. I’ve got a wristband for tomorrow with the names of all those for whom I’m dedicating a mile.

If you’re interested in tracking me, you can download the Twin Cities in Motion app. My bib number is 3450. Here’s a link to get the app:

https://live.sporthive.com/event/4269/App

Team World Vision Training - 1 week to go

It’s almost here. On Sunday, I’ll be running the Twin Cities Marathon for the second time—ten years after my first marathon, also the Twin Cities Marathon.

This training cycle has been tough. It started with a lot of promise. The ankle and foot injuries I was dealing with both cleared up, and for most of the summer I was running injury-free. Then, one little thing after another started bothering me—quad, calf, ankle, ankle in a different spot. Overall, I’d say this is the second worst training cycle I’ve had for a marathon.

That said, I got some encouragement this week. For the second time, a physical therapist did dry needling on my strained quad, and it seems to have helped. With the quad feeling better, I ran a little faster last week, and on one run was cruising at a 3:05 marathon pace with minimal effort. Also, although I’ve had some aches while running, I’m feeling cautiously optimistic that my injuries will stay at bay during the marathon.

Some goals are starting to coalesce in my mind, but I’ll save those for another post.

Thank you to all who have supported me in this marathon journey. A special thanks to those who’ve donated to Team World Vision in order to help bring clean water to communities in need.

You can still help make a difference in bringing clean water to communities in need. Donate through my Facebook Fundraiser, or my Team World Vision donor page.