Liz and I rolled into Eugene Saturday afternoon and headed straight to the expo for Sunday’s Marathon and Half Marathon. We were both registered for the half, but Liz is just coming back from an injury and decided not to race. It was pouring rain when we arrived; with a forecast suggesting it would be raining all weekend. I’d been feeling tired for weeks, and the wet weather did not perk me up at all.
As the afternoon progressed, though, the skies cleared somewhat and Liz enjoyed a lovely run late in the day. The course for this year had been changed in the section along the river near our hotel, and she ran that section to see what was new. I stayed in the room and took a nap. Liz returned with an upbeat report, and mentioned that the bits of rain she encountered were actually quite refreshing. My nap, the change in the weather and her comments all contributed to a slight improvement in my mood. But I was still not sure I was going to enjoy the race.
Not long before bedtime, I was looking through the goodies we got at the expo, and I noticed a sample of something called Vitamin Water. Well, I was a bit thirsty, and vitamins seem like a good thing, so I opened it and started sipping. It was pretty tasty. Between slugs I was reading the label. With one gulp left in the bottle I happened to reach the end of the ingredient list, and discovered I was consuming caffeine. Oops! I immediately wished I’d read the entire label before I started sipping. We went to bed early and I managed to drift off, but my eyes snapped open and I was wide awake shortly thereafter. Sigh. I often lie awake with race jitters, but this was something else entirely. The clock slowly churned its way to 1:00 am before I felt drowsy again. It seemed only a few moments later it was 4:45 and I was awake again. The alarm was set for 5:00, so there was no point in hoping for more sleep. I got up and looked out the window to see pouring rain and big puddles. Ugh.
We went through all the steps of getting ready, but I was pretty sure I’d wimp out if the rain didn’t let up at least a little. Liz wasn’t very excited about standing around in the downpour just for a glimpse of me trudging past with furrowed brow. I normally like to arrive at the starting line with lots of time to spare, but I was dragging my feet. Our hotel was about a mile from the start, and I figured I absolutely had to leave by 6:20 to have enough time to deal with warm ups, clothing drop and so on. The rain seemed to be letting up a little as the deadline approached, so we decided to jog to the start in case it kept getting better. I was even getting psyched enough to consider running in a pretty hard rain. Race day magic was finally getting to me.
The closer we got to the start, the lighter the rain became. The temperature was in the upper 40s, but I was pretty comfortable in short sleeves and shorts. I decided to gamble and did not wear gloves and did not carry my rain shell. It was uncharacteristically brave of me – I do not like to be cold! I did wear a hat to keep the rain off my face, though.
There was no apparent way to enter the start area, so I followed a line of guys climbing over the fence to get in. My plan for the race was to try for 1:25. I lined up a ways in front of the 3:10 marathon pace group, as that was the fastest pace group offered. There was just enough rain to be bothersome when I removed my cap for the national anthem. Shortly, though, the cap was back in place and we were off and running to a shout of “GO!”
Despite a bit of nervousness that I’d lined up too far forward, I ended up having to pass many, many slower runners in the first quarter mile. I tried not to worry about being blocked in for a few moments, and didn’t spend too much energy getting through. I saw Liz as I climbed the first hill. She was, as always, the best supporter I’ve ever seen. That hill and a couple of turns helped string out the crowd, and we were settled into an orderly line well before the end of the first mile. The first mile went by in about 6:20. That seemed a little fast, but I was feeling great and my heart rate was right where I wanted it, so I didn’t worry. I did ease up a tiny bit, though, just to be cautious.
During the second mile I saw Max and Kari. Max runs the Tuesday Night Performance Running Group in Bend and is an amazing – really amazing – runner. I suspect he was in Eugene to support someone he coaches. Kari is one of the regulars at Tuesday nights, but she’s been sidelined for weeks and weeks with a hamstring injury. It was fun to see familiar, motivating faces. The second mile clicked by in 6:06. Whoa! That’s definitely too fast! I eased up a little more and was supremely comfortable for the next few miles.
The rain was light to non-existent, I was feeling great, and I was comfortably holding a pace I was very happy with. I was having a delightful run. As we headed back toward Amazon Park, we were exposed to a noticeable headwind. I’d been tucked in behind a small cluster of guys, but they were slowly dropping me. I gave a little surge and caught them again for the benefit of the wind break, but they slowly gapped me again. It felt just a little too hard to stay with them. Better to face the wind by myself I decided.
In Amazon Park I saw Max and Kari again, and that was a good boost just as I was starting to feel the effort. There was a big, noisy crowd at South Eugene High School. That was a great distraction, too. I’d forgotten that my bib had my name printed on it, so I turned my head a few times to see who had shouted out “Good job, Dave.” It didn’t take long to realize I couldn’t possible know that many people in Eugene, and I remembered the bib.
Next came another hill, and I knew to look for Liz somewhere near the top. When Liz spotted me I was still ahead of pace for a 1:25, and I could tell she knew! The woman next to her had a nice camera and was obviously taking pictures of me. I learned later that they’d had a nice talk and Liz’s new friend had decided to take some pictures of me and email them to us. The big smile on my face makes it obvious how much I enjoy seeing Liz along the way!
Happy to see Liz - despite a hill and some rain!
My legs were getting a little heavier, but I still felt great otherwise. Even with the hill, the 9th mile went by in 6:40. It seemed I was holding pace.
After cresting the hill I tried to relax into an easy cruise down the other side, but found I was getting a little tight. When it flattened out I was no longer supremely comfortable. My legs got more sluggish – it took more effort to keep them turning over – and a nagging discomfort was building. It was different from previous races, though, in as much as I felt like I could keep going. At the end of the 10th mile I was still ahead of goal, but I decided to quit looking at my watch. If I was going to fade I didn’t want to know about it. I focused on the last 5K and tried to make it as fast as I could. I could hear my feet slapping a bit, so I concentrated on form. With about a mile to go, a couple guys came by and I tried to stay with them. The first guy opened up a gap, but the second guy didn’t manage to get away. It really helped to have him to focus on. My legs felt like they were in water, it was so hard to turn them over. But I knew I was almost done and I didn’t want anybody else coming by. The guy I was chasing caught the guy ahead of him, and they clearly energized each other. They both looked a lot stronger and smoother than I felt! I saw Max and Kari a third time just before turning the corner for the final, flat tenth of a mile to the finish. I saw Liz waving and jumping along the rail a bit before the finish. I was still too far away to read the clock, but I guessed from Liz’s excitement that I had a shot at 1:25. When I was close enough to read it, I saw I was going to finish under 1:25!
My chip time turned out to be 1:24:08, and I am delighted. Max’s Tuesday night workouts have made a big difference. When it got uncomfortable, I had a new level to dig into and I was able to hold pace at a level that seems somewhat incredible to me. Thanks, Max!
A 50 year old guy finished in 1:19:46, so I was not the fastest in the 50-54 age group. But the fast 50 year old turned out to be the 2nd place master, and got a plaque for that achievement. That took him out of the age group awards, so I got a nice plaque for 1st place in my age group. It’s one of the last races I’ll run before I turn 55, so it was especially fun to bring home some hardware!
After an inauspicious start, it turned out to be a great day for a run!
