Pre-Race
It was cool and comfortable as folks gathered for the Minneapolis Marathon on Sunday, June 3. My brother, Andrew, and I arrived in plenty of time, and we found a parking space a couple of blocks away from the start line. I went through my usual pre-race routine (clif bar + water, stretch, etc.) without any issues at all. I trained extensively for this race, so I wanted to set a new personal best, which I hadn't done in the marathon distance since 2008. I also wanted to impress my brother and his family. :)
Off We Go
For the first time in an organized race, I carried an iPhone with headphones in addition to my Garmin Forerunner 305 and heart rate monitor. The main reason I did this is that I used a GPS-enabled application called Runmeter that would automatically post an update on my blog (via e-mail) and to Facebook every mile. Anyone commenting on a Facebook post made by Runmeter would be read to me (via my headphones) as soon as it was submitted. This was wonderful, as I received encouragement from family and friends both near and far away.
It also helped that my headphones had a built-in button to answer calls. Whenever Andrew arrived at a spectator point, he called and let me know where to look. Thanks to him, I will have some pretty nice video footage to share soon.
The marathon course stayed pretty close to the Mississippi river. After about a mile heading southeast, we turned and headed northwest for a couple of miles, and then we turned again and headed southeast for thirteen miles before one more turnaround that led back to the finish. The course wasn't pancake-flat, but it wasn't too difficult with the exception of one hill. More on that later.
With my previous personal best pace at about 8:30/mile, I wanted to set a pace somewhere between 8:00 and 8:20, and I did just that in the first five miles, averaging about 8:11 over that interval. I was feeling tremendous.
Staying Strong
I continued to set a great pace through the first half of the race. Besides mile 10, which featured a quick pit stop, all of my splits were better than previous PR pace. I clocked my thirteenth mile at 7:49, which is the fastest mile I have ever run during a marathon.
The aid stations on the course were well-stocked with water and Powerade. I also had a couple of bottles of Accelerade that Andrew handed to me at key points during the race. Solid fuel wasn't a problem either, as I had sport beans and accel gel, and some of the aid stations had hammer gel.
The only thing that caught me off guard was that the gel was handed out at the tail end of the aid station rather than the beginning. My usual practice is to grab the gel, rip it open, slog it down, and then follow it with two cups of water. With the gel at the end, I clumsily filled up one cup of water as much as possible, grabbed the gel, stopped to set the water down so I could open and take the gel, then picked up and drank the water. In fact, my hands were too wet to rip open the gel the second time I attempted this 'dance', and a very nice spectator opened it for me.
In any case, thanks to careful preparation, my brother, well-stocked aid stations, and a kind stranger, I had plenty of fuel to keep me energized on the course.
Making the Turn
As I neared the turnaround point (mile 16), Andrew called and said he was at the 14-mile point, which was where he was waiting for me. Normally that would be a bummer, but not this time, since I would soon see him around mile 18. I had only the slightest bit of fatigue as I reached that point. Andrew was in great spirits, and he actually ran alongside me for a short time.
Then I received one of the biggest surprises of the race. A big hill. During mile 19, there's a very significant climb in elevation, as the course separates just a bit from the usual out-and-back format. I'm estimating a 10% grade for about 0.3 miles. Again, I wasn't too tired, so I tried to charge up the hill. However, I slowed to a walk before reaching the top, just like pretty much everyone else. I wasn't the only one who was surprised. Some folks were pretty angry. I was annoyed, but I figured what goes up must come down, and I made it through without too much of an impact on my pace.
With 20 miles complete, I was about four minutes ahead of my personal record pace, and I was confident that I could keep it together for the final 10K.
Fighting the Heat
The weather, which had not been a factor up to this point, was suddenly on my mind. Temperatures climbed into the 70s and may have reached 80 at the finish. I was drinking more fluids at every aid station. Since things were going so well, I took some extra walk breaks in the final four miles in an effort to conserve energy. Perhaps I could have found a way to battle through the soreness that was building up in my legs and keep running. We'll never know. :)
At mile 22.5, I reached the point where half-marathoners, who started an hour after me, were turning around and heading toward the finish. This created a bottleneck of sorts, as I had to weave around slower runners for the rest of the race. It didn't take me long to move to the right side of the road so that I had a mostly clear path ahead. It wasn't nearly as bad as the Sunburst Marathon two years ago, where marathoners, half-marathoners and 5K walkers all finished at the same time.
Mile 23 was my slowest of the race at 8:47. During mile 24, I received word that Jenelle and Eliana, my wife and daughter, were waiting for me about 1.5 miles from the finish, along with Holly, Ella, Lily, and Kellan (Andrew's wife and kids). The thought of seeing them put a spring in my step, and I endeavored to wait until I reached them before taking another walk break.
Inspired By Family
That strategy worked pretty well. Everyone was smiling, waving, and cheering for me as I passed by. Even though I slowed to a walk, it seemed to go by very fast. I saw Holly first, who got a great picture of me, and then I saw Jenelle carrying Eliana. Eliana had a HUGE smile on her face, and she was reaching out to me with one hand. She was either waving or wanted to touch me as I went by. Ella and Lily were cheering as well, and Kellan looked pretty happy in his stroller. In hindsight, perhaps I should have taken out my iPhone and recorded them as I went by. They were all so happy to see me. To have a big group cheering for you as you are so close to your goal -- it's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
Getting it Done
At this point, a personal best was certain as long as I didn't trip and fall. I took one more short walk break at 25.2 miles. After that, I was focused solely on the finish. In my mind, I broke up the remaining distance into .05-mile intervals, counting down from 20 until I reached the line. I wouldn't say I was flying at the finish, but I was moving along well. I spotted my brother, who got some video of me crossing the line.
My chip time was
3:37:30, which means that I took five minutes and thirty-six seconds off my previous personal best. Sweet success!
Post-Race
I don't drink alcohol much at all, but all the runners got a free Finnegan's, so I enjoyed about a third of it before sharing it with my brother. There were plenty of finish line goodies, including Muscle Milk, potato chips, bananas, and salted nut rolls.
I called others soon after the race, including my parents back in Wisconsin, to let them know of my personal record performance. They were thrilled and very excited to hear the news, as they had been cheering me on from afar since the race began.
I was eager to get home and celebrate with family, which included pizza from Old Chicago. Yum. It was a truly awesome day.
Race Statistics:
| Miles 1-5 | 8:05 | 8:14 | 8:12 | 8:20 | 8:03 |
| Miles 6-10 | 8:11 | 8:23 | 8:19 | 8:10 | 8:42 |
| Miles 11-15 | 8:22 | 8:13 | 7:49 | 8:06 | 7:57 |
| Miles 16-20 | 8:11 | 8:00 | 8:24 | 8:25 | 8:36 |
| Miles 21-25 | 8:19 | 8:19 | 8:47 | 8:22 | 8:37 |
| Miles 26-End | 8:40 | 1:44 |
- Finish Time: 3:37:30
- Average Pace: 8:18/mile
- First half: 1:48:09 Second half: 1:49:21
- Fastest Mile: #13 (7:49) - Fastest mile to date during a marathon
- Slowest Mile: #23 (8:47)
