My Detroit Marathon experience

Something happened between Sunday and now...I got busy and couldn't find time to write this.

Anyway, the marathon went great! I got to Detroit around 5:45am for the 7:15am start so that I could be sure to find a parking spot as well as get myself situated and not have to rush. Everything went smoothly, save for the long lines for porta potties but that's the case with any race. Eventually the gun sounded and we were off and running. I tried to take it easy in the first three miles (around 7:05-7:10 pace) but those ended up being 6:57, 7:00, and 6:56. Not too much faster though, but still faster. That's where it got iffy....right after that was the Ambassador Bridge into Canada, but there was no mile marker on the bridge. The next mile marker we saw was for mile 5, so I split my watch at 15:06. Divide by two and that's 7:33 for miles 4 and 5 - understandable because we spent some time going up a steep grade on the bridge. Mile marker 6 came unbelievably fast, 3 minutes and 49 seconds later. Damn, I'm running at break neck speed and I'm not passing anybody! It was funny because all the guys around me were quiet and then we all of a sudden just looked at each other like "WTF was that??" Our theory is that the Canadians marked their portion of the course in kilometers and not miles. Mile marker 7 came 8:09 after that and mile marker 8 was 8:50 after that, so now we were just searching for a good explanation. It sucked because we couldn't get a clear gauge of what our pace was and how consistent we were running. And we sure as hell weren't running THAT slow. The pace I was running at felt good, so I just kept at it.

The end of the 8th mile and the beginning of the 9th mile took us through the underwater bridge back into the Detroit and the USA. Somewhere in there, this kid named Jimmy pulled up alongside me and asked if I knew if the exit of the tunnel would be the last big hill. I said yea, probably, and we started running together. It was great because we were both gunning for the same time (better than 3:10) and he just happened to be a senior at MSU too! Small world, huh? We were both getting pretty frustrated with the mile markers, and neither of us saw the 9th one. At mile marker 10, I split a time of 14:52...divide by 2 and that's 7:26/mile, a little slower than we we wanted to be. Miles 11 and 12 were the same way, we didn't see mile marker 11. Those two miles were 14:02, divide by two and get 7:01/mile...this is better. It just sucked so much because the miles weren't clearly marked at all. They were pretty much just little signs on the sidewalk maybe twice the size of a "Caution - Wet Floor" sign. There wasn't a sign at mile 13, as they took our time at the halfway point of 13.1 miles. We passed those 1.1 miles in 7:50 for a total first half of 1:33:46. Not bad...on pace for a 3:07 marathon.

The first half was great because the wind really wasn't a factor, and it was nice and sunny out so it gave me the confidence to run well. All during the week before, I was worried about what the weather was gonna be like, especially the wind, but it wasn't bad at all. Also, I shed all my unwanted layers by mile 6, so I didn't have to worry about any extra baggage or whatnot. I was able to run comfortably both mentally and physically.

Second half! We hit mile marker 14 in 6:13, but that was for .9 miles. Mile 15 went by in 7:03...sounds like we're running smooth, but WAIT! Last Sunday I wrote this post and commented near the end about how I twinged my knee and had to take care of it, then eventually it felt better. Well...at this point in the marathon, it came back. I was still running with the same kid since mile 8, and just talking to him took my mind off the crazy pain coming from the outside of my right knee. I also never said anything to him because I feel that talking about pain is like admitting defeat. So we kept on trucking.

Mile 16 was 6:51 and mile 17 went by in 7:05...this is where it really got tricky. The beginning of mile 18 took us onto Belle Isle, a little island that struck me more as a park than anything. And there was absolutely NO protection from the strong winds coming off the river. It sucked, we were running into the teeth of the wind and felt like we weren't going anywhere. That mile (18) somehow happened to be 7:19 (we thought we went slower) and the next mile (19) went by in 6:47 with the wind at our backs. Coming back across the bridge from Belle Isle into Detroit brought us back into the teeth of the wind. I made the comment of "This is Mother Nature's way of making us tougher." and Jimmy was like "Well, forgive me if I don't thank her!" That mile, number 20, was 7:35. We were going into the wind a little longer than the 18th mile, so that explains why it was a little slower. Mile 21 was with the wind, but I was starting to really fatigue. I felt like I was cruising but I passed the mile marker in 7:20. It was also about this time that Jimmy announced that he had to slow up because he had a cramp. He told me to go on ahead, I told him to finish strong if I don't see him, and that was that.

Now I was on my own for the last 5.2 miles. I was tired, my leg muscles were starting to become heavy, and my knee was absolutely killing me. I thought to myself, this is gut check time - how bad do I really want it? I didn't train for the past 16 weeks for nothing, so I went through every positive thought in my head that I have ever heard. I was also concerned that I was slowing up a little...I knew I was close to 3:10 marathon pace, but I wasn't sure how far ahead of that I was. I couldn't read my pace band that well either, it had become faded from spilled water and gatorade. The 3:10 pace guy never passed me, but at the same time I was afraid that the wind might have held him back a little. Mile 22 went by in 7:17, so that calmed my feelings a little because a 3:10 marathon is 7:14 minutes per mile. If I was ahead, I wasn't losing any significant time. Mile 23 went by in 7:40, so now I was really getting worried. I knew I shouldn't have been, but it still made me want to finish REALLY strong.

Everything after this was straight into the wind, mostly down Lafayette Ave. Everything I had was also due to adrenaline, because I had absolutely nothing left in the tank. Mile 24 - 7:17, mile 25 - 7:20. I can feel it now! The crowds were getting bigger and louder and some of my pain seemed to go away. Mile 26 went by in 7:43...which gave me a total of 3:07:21, so I knew I had clinched a Boston berth! I saw my parents right around the point, so that gave me a boost of happiness too. The last .2 miles passed in 1:11 for a finishing time of 3:08:32 based on my watch, but 3:08:29 based on my chip. HECK YES! Good for 16th in my age group and 129th overall out of 3875 finishers.

So that's my marathon story. If I learned one thing, it's to take more fluids during the run because I was unexpectedly more dehydrated than I thought I would be. I took a bunch of fluids during the run, but apparently it wasn't enough. That can be chalked up to experience.

Also...you may wanna know about my knee. It still hurts, I can't walk without hurting. I saw the doc this morning, and he pretty much confirmed my prediction - IT Band syndrome. The pain is where the tendon attaches to the tibia and fibula on the outer side of my right knee. It may not be the best picture, but this side view of the right leg kind of shows where it is (ITB = Iliotibial band)...

So yea. A couple weeks of rest and ice and all that good stuff is in store for me. Oh, and MSU fired the football coach. I won't rant about that, this post is way too long. Oh, and Jimmy unfortunately finished in 3:13:26 and missed qualifying for Boston by 3 minutes. He sent me a Facebook message the next day to say congrats, and I responded to thank him for helping me get thru the pain. It's crazy how you meet people sometimes.