Baystate Marathon Race Report

I don't run marathons that often. In fact this was only my 4th one and my 1st in nearly 5 years. I was blessed to have run a BQ on my very first marathon attempt in 2002 at the Vermont City Marathon (3:12). My two follow up attempts have pretty much sucked and I easily changed my mindset to "I hate the marathon". I don't even think it's the distance. I think it has more to do with the specialized training with so much focus on miles and of course the taper. Any other time of the year I just run. I don't specifically 'train' for anything. I enjoy running. But a marathon changes that. It seems every run you do has a purpose and everything is about training. I no longer just 'run', I train. Screw that. Hence my dislike for the marathon.

So what the heck am I doing signing up for another one you ask? Easy. It's all about goals. I always thought I was capable of running a sub 3hr marathon given the right conditions. Well the planets aligned this year. I've had a great running season, been injury free and I always wanted to run a fall marathon (better weather conditions for me). So Baystate was the obvious choice. It is only about 1/2 hr from home, fairly inexpensive and probably most important, flat.

Finally, the report:
Sunday was a beautiful day, sunny but a little on the cold side. Temps at the start were near 30 and I doubt it ever got much above 40 throughout the race. That's ok by me since I much prefer cold temps to warm temps any day. The wind is the biggest x factor on a course like Baystate though. Running up and down both sides of the Merrimack River doesn't provide a lot of shelter from the wind. This proved more than true later in the race.
I parked right at the start in the garage which was nice. I stayed nice and warm (and relaxed) in my car right up to the start of the race. No warm up for me either. I figured the pace would be easy enough (initially) that it probably wasn't required. The early miles would get my legs warmed up.
My strategy was as simple as it gets. In order to run a sub 3hr marathon I'd have to average 6:52 min/mile and since the course was relatively flat I figured a consistent pace was at least doable.
For the first 1/2 of the marathon I ran with various runners with similar goals (3:00 to 3:05 goal). We did a decent job of sticking to the pace and racked up one 6:52 after another. If we had a 'fast' mile we'd scale it back on the next. If we had a 'slow' mile we'd pick it up on the next. It was a very comfortable pace and I was feeling pretty good. Deb and the kids were at mile 8ish on the first loop and at mile 17 on the second loop. I'm glad they came out to watch. I took off my long sleeve shirt on the first loop and stuck with the tank top for the rest of the way.
Although I was running with a pack I never let them dictate the pace (at least not my pace). I stuck to my plan running consistent miles and let a few runners go who would pick up the pace. I would reel them in later. I also started to drop a few. By mile 15 I was pretty much running alone and that was unfortunate. The wind was picking up and I had no one to shelter some of the wind. It was a screwy wind too. It 'seemed' to be a headwind on BOTH sides of the Merrimack. Definitely stronger on the East side heading back towards Lowell. It was brutal during the last 4-5 miles and was really depressing. No shelter, legs are tired and a stupid headwind to beat you down. I did not let up though and continued to at least try to maintain the pace. The effort increased dramatically but I knew I was on pace or better for most of the race. I never assumed it was in the bag though, not even with 1 mile to go. My calves were sore and cramps were still a real possibility but I continued to push the pace. In fact the last mile was my fastest of the day (6:31 pace).
It was an awesome feeling entering the stadium, knowing I was well within my 3hr goal. I crossed the line at 2:58:34 (gun time) for a 2:58:29 net time. I was tired but all things considered I felt great! I spotted Deb and the kids in the stands and they were very excited I had met my goal as well. This was the best I've ever felt after a marathon. I could not have scripted this any better (other than the friggin wind at the end). Everything went exactly as planned. A near perfect race.

My spits: (with 5 mile times as well)

mile 1 6:46
mile 2 6:38
mile 3 6:53
mile 4 6:52
mile 5 6:52 (34:01 5-mile )

mile 6 6:54
mile 7 6:53
mile 8 6:46
mile 9 6:52
mile 10 6:51 (34:16 5-mile)

mile 11 6:49
mile 12 6:44
mile 13 6:52
mile 14 6:33
mile 15 6:57 (34:54 5-mile)

mile 16 6:43
mile 17 6:57
mile 18 6:39
mile 19 6:47
mile 20 6:49 (33:54 5-mile)

mile 21 6:52
mile 22 6:56
mile 23 6:49
mile 24 6:57
mile 25 6:56 (34:29 5-mile)

mile 26 6:31
mile .2 1:23

FINISH: 2:58:29
1st half: 1:29:24
2nd half: 1:29:05

Complete results can be found here -->Baystate Marathon Results

Baystate Marathon 2:58.29!!!

Just a quick note about my marathon this morning. Everything went PERFECT!. My average pace never changed by more than 2 seconds throughout the entire race. Just a really consistent effort so I was VERY pleased.

1st half: 1:29:24
2nd half: 1:29:05

The weather was pretty good but we had a horrible headwind during the last 4-5 miles of the race. Other than that, no complaints about the day.

More later...

Xterra Merrimack River 10M Trail Race

When I got up Saturday morning it was pouring rain and I told myself I wouldn't race in the rain (any excuse to give me a way out since my legs were still tired). A couple checks of the weather though indicated the rain would most likely clear up by race time so I headed on down to Andover.
The race is an out and back 10m race along the Merrimack River. The trail follows the river pretty closely for the first 2-3 miles and is relatively flat. I couple of water crossings (ankle deep stuff) and a little mud but generally decent single track trails. I hit the 3 mile mark at 20 minutes even. The next 2 miles were considerably harder with several water crossings (one which was nearly knee deep for about 20-30 ft), lots of mud and roots and some pretty steep up and down crossings of ravines where brooks and streams feed into the Merrimack. We also climbed a pretty steep section at the power lines which had you sucking for oxygen by the time you got to the top. At the 5 mile mark I snagged a cup of water and made a u-turn and returned on the same trail, trying to avoid the slower runners still coming out. On single track, this isn't always that easy (but it was fun). More than a few runners took some spills. The mud was slick, the hills were slick from the rain and the bridges felt like they were iced over at times. I was able to navigate all the hard stuff but couldn't figure out how to get through a mud puddle without hurting myself. At mile 7 I was running through one of the muddy, wet sections when I stepped on a board and rolled my right ankle all the way over (and yes, this is the same ankle I've been having problems with). I kept on running (with a slight limp) but my ankle was really sore. I managed to complete the last 3 miles in about 20:30 and finished with an overall time of 1:13:49, 28th overall out of 183. It was a good effort and I felt pleased with my results. I ran the 5 mile out and 5 mile back in nearly the same times (+/- 30 sec or so).
Video of the Start

I kept thinking if this was an easy one the other ones must really suck! You definitely have to be sure footed when it comes to trail running, taking much more mental effort than road racing. I was constantly looking where the next step would be, all while running nearly as fast you can go. Overall, it was a good time and look forward to the next trail race. Race summary reports can be found at the Xterra site and on Coolrunning. Time to ice my foot...