SURPRISE!

Tybee Island Marathon
February 2, 2008
NEW PERSONAL RECORD
3:49:05

Here's the full recap:

Getting There
To get away from the snow and ice that comes with every Wisconsin winter, Jenelle and I booked a quick weekend trip to Tybee Island, Georgia. Our original flight plan had us leaving from Milwaukee, connecting at Chicago O'Hare, and arriving in Savannah on Friday night. Because of the near-blizzard conditions throughout the morning hours on Friday, the MKE-ORD flight was canceled. Thankfully, we were able to get a ride to O'Hare, and there were no problems with the ORD-SAV flight, and we landed around 11:00 p.m.

After stopping at a Kroger to pick up two 20 oz. bottles of Accelerade, we arrived at the Ocean Plaza hotel in Tybee Island. I laid out my race uniform and all of my gear so that I would sleep better. I was asleep by 1 a.m.

Rise and Shine
Jenelle and I got to the race site around 6:30 a.m. I picked up my race number and snapped it in to my blue & white RaceReady singlet. I attached my timing chip to my left shoe -- standard for me, since I always wear a Road ID on the right shoe. I relaxed and stayed loose and warm in the Tybee Gymnasium until 7:20, at which point I made my pre-race pit stop. I ate a Clif bar at 7:40 with some water, and I was ready to go!

The horn's broken -- okay, everybody go!
The start was actually a bit funny. First, a lady had accidentally entered the 5K corral (heading north) rather than the half / full marathon corral (heading south). She could be heard shouting, "Where's the start?" -- apparently, the 1,600 people about to barrel down the street was just circumstantial evidence. Anyway, she made it into the right corral just in time. Then, the race horn didn't work, so the guy on the loudspeaker just said, "Go!", and we were off.

Am I crazy?
I've been in a lot of marathons lately. I ran Rock N' Roll Arizona in January, setting a PR of 3:49:45 (about 8:46 pace), and I'm going to run Austin in a couple of weeks. For whatever reasons, I decided to only tell a few people about this trip and the race. Maybe it took some of the pressure off.

There were a lot of factors that had the potential to work against me at the race. I had run a PR-setting marathon about 20 days prior. I had my big pre-race meal at lunchtime the day before, since I was on a plane in the evening. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep the night before the race or the night before that. With these concerns in mind, I ran the first mile in 9:27, gradually increasing the pace to around 9-minute miles.

Early Happenings
With the way the course loops around several times, it was easy for Jenelle to see me several times and only have to walk a block or two in between visits. I saw her at mile 3, where I gave her my throwaway long-sleeve shirt and my winter hat, trading them for a bottle of Accelerade and a baseball-style mesh cap.

The course made it possible to see some exciting racing. As I was heading north on the "main drag" (Butler Ave.), which was mile 9 for me, I could see the half marathon leaders zooming south toward the finish line. I didn't see the winner cross the line, but I did see the female leader less than 200 yards from the finish. There was a young lady on a bicycle, perhaps a race official, pedaling alongside her. I think the cyclist looked more winded than the runner. :)

Accelerade, GU / Sport Beans, Water -- Repeat As Needed
The aid stations were about two miles apart. I used that develop an extremely solid hydration and fueling strategy. I took two gulps of Accelerade at the completion of mile 9. At the 10-mile mark, I took a Strawberry Banana GU and washed it down with a cup of water from the aid station. And so on. Here's a good summary of everything I ate / drank:

Pre-Race: Clif Bar + water
Carrying with me: Three GUs, 1 pack sport beans
Mile 3: Picked up 20 oz. Accelerade from Jenelle
Miles 4-8: Some accelerade, some water as needed (not too much)
Mile 9: Accelerade
Mile 10: Strawberry Banana GU + water
Mile 11: Accelerade
Mile 12: Orange Jelly Belly Sport Beans + water
Mile 13-14: Accelerade
Mile 15: Lemon GU + water
Mile 16: Accelerade
Mile 16.1: Picked up another 20 oz. Accelerade, 2 GUs, and 1 pack sport beans from Jenelle
Mile 17: Vanilla Bean GU + water
Mile 18: Accelerade
Mile 19: Orange Burst GU + water
Mile 20: Accelerade
Mile 21: Tri-Berry GU (last one!) + water
Mile 22: Accelerade
Post-Race: Orange Jelly Belly Sport Beans, water, and the rest of the Accelerade

It really helped to have Jenelle around. That way, I didn't have to carry all this stuff right from the start!

The First Half - Preparing for the Second
I used my Forerunner 305 to pay close attention to my heart rate throughout the race. In Phoenix, I averaged about 164 beats per minute during the first half. At Tybee Island, I was averaging 155 bpm. So, around mile 11, I decided that I was going for a negative split. I knew I had more energy, but I kept it nice and easy. As half marathoners went to the right to complete their race, I went to the left to begin my second loop. My first half was just under 1:58:00, an average of about 9:00 / mile.

I opened up the throttle, gently at first and more forcefully as the race went on. Mile 14 was an easy 8:55, and then I pushed my heart rate into the 160s, churning out splits of 8:40, 8:32, and 8:37. I feared I might be pushing it too much, but I felt great, and my heart rate stabilized in the 162-164 range. I was now passing other runners on a regular basis. With about 400 marathon participants, they were few and far between, but whenever I passed one, I could usually see another in the distance. As long as I was making up ground on those in front of me, I knew I was doing well.

Smashing the Wall
Tybee Island was my 14th marathon. I've been around the 26.2-mile block enough times to know what "hitting the wall" feels like. However, I was feeling something completely different today. After consuming my last gel at mile 21, I flew around the north section of the course, picking off runner after runner. One of them jokingly said, "At least make it look hard when you pass by!" I nodded my head and proceeded to wobble about for a few paces, as if I was on my last legs. Of course, I wasn't.

Becoming slightly worried about over-hydrating, I eased back on the Accelerade in the last few miles, and I saved my second pack of sport beans until after the race.

The Final Miles
With two miles to go, I did some quick math. A sub-3:50 finish, which seemed impossible after a 1:58 first half, was suddenly in range. If I could log two sub-8:30 miles, I could beat my PR. My heart rate was now in the low 170s, but I still felt okay. I zoomed through the last aid station with a "Thanks, anyway!" Before I knew it, I was back on the main drag and on the final stretch to the finish. I passed more runners and lapped some walking half-marathoners. I was speeding up. I zoomed by Jenelle, who was slighly surprised to see me so soon. I shouted, "PERSONAL RECORD!" and sprinted to the finish.

I finished the race in 3:49:05. Though it was only forty seconds better than my performance in Arizona, it felt a million times more exhilirating.

Post-Race Fun Times
Jenelle and I relaxed at the hotel for a couple of hours after the race, enjoying a pizza from Cousin Vinnie's and some other tasty treats. At around 2:30, we ventured to North Island Surf & Kayak and spent a couple of hours kayaking along Lazaretto Creek, which borders Tybee Island on the west side. We paddled by a lighthouse and saw lots of local wildlife, including a few dolphins.

We were back at the hotel by 5 or so, both exhausted from the day's activities. After dinner at the Dolphin Reef restaurant in the hotel, we had no trouble getting a great night's sleep.

On Sunday, I woke up around 8, and I felt good enough to take a 3-mile stroll along the beach at about 10:00 / mile. It's true that running the day after a marathon is not always a good idea, but I wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather while I still could.

On the way back to the airport, we drove through South Carolina just for kicks. We made it back to Wisconsin in time to catch the last half of the Super Bowl. It was a quick weekend, but it was an amazingly wonderful time.

Race statistics and trivia:

Miles 1-5	9:27	9:02	8:51	8:54	8:53
Miles 6-10	9:00	9:06	9:09	9:08	8:44
Miles 11-15	8:48	9:00	8:51	8:55	8:40
Miles 16-20	8:32	8:37	8:32	8:37	8:33
Miles 21-25	8:27	8:27	8:15	8:24	8:23
Miles 26-End	8:25	1:25

• Average Pace: 8:46/mile
• First half: 1:57:52    Second half: 1:51:13
• Fastest Mile: #23 (8:15) Slowest Mile: #1 (9:27)
• The second half was nine seconds FASTER than my half marathon PR, which I set last April.
• I mowed down the last .22 miles in 1:25, which averages out to 6:26/mile pace.
• My Forerunner measured a maximum speed of 11.5 mph (5:13/mile pace) in the final sprint.
• More pictures at http://ibenj.shutterfly.com