As well as producing the CD, Mike played every instrument on all the tracks that made it into the final cut (minus the strings).Okay, enough on that. As far as being sore and tired that day, that was a busy weekend. We went out for Cinco de Mayo, I ran the steps at Red Rocks, went on the Coors Brewery Tour, play urban capture the flag in downtown Denver and then played Ultimate on Sunday. I was beat. Aside from the first and last item, that was all Saturday, and I was starving all day. CTF was pretty crazy. It was just some thing this guy decided to do as an "art project" (no idea). So there were probably like 200-400 people there playing CTF in this huge area in downtown Denver. I'm surprised no one got hurt because I know when I was chasing some people in our territory, they ran into the streets and almost got hit by cars. Anyway, I had to stop later on, because I just couldn't sprint around anymore without some food.
So alright, the real reason I'm posting ... For those of you keeping track at home (anyone? I didn't think so), this weekend was the Colfax Marathon in which I was running the half marathon with my friends John Martin and Marc (D bailed even though it was his idea in the first place). My friend John Jost ran the full marathon. Yea, he's a machine. So it kinda crept up on me, and I was getting a little nervous about my training. I would've liked to have done another 10-11 mile run, but it was too late. I needed to start resting. So the 10 miler that I chronicled back in March was the longest I had done, and that was 7 weeks ago! I got some new running shoes last week that I'm actually going to dedicate to running, and some people got me worried about that since I hadn't broken them in for a few weeks. I had read that you didn't really break in running shoes, so I figured I'd be fine, but still that was another thought on my mind. But, the worst part is on Tuesday, I had a sore throat.
"Noo! This can't be happening," I thought. I started loading up on vitamin C to make sure it wouldn't get to a full-blown cold. I wanted to do a short run Tuesday, but decided against it because of my throat and also because my right leg was kinda sore (from what, I'm not sure). Wednesday was okay, but I still had a nagging sore throat. Most of the people from work took off early Wednesday to go to the Rockies game (my first MLB game). As I always said, baseball sucks ... but it was an excuse to hang out (and it was fun!). I was fine until that evening, and I started feeling worse. I think I had a fever that night. The next few days the sickness just kinda stuck around. Sometimes I'd feel okay, sometimes not. It never really got that bad, but it was enough to have me worried about the race. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise (ha, I can't even say that with a straight face) because I pretty much did nothing but sit at home those last few days. So, I was able to rest, and being at home made it easier to stay hydrated and to carbo-load. I was drinking over a gallon of water (which may not sound like much, but is 3-4x my norm) and eating 4-5 carb-rich meals a day (somehow I created a new meal in between lunch and dinner).
So it's Saturday night. The race starts at 6 the following morning, which means I have to set my alarm for 4:15 to get there with ample time. Ugh. Meanwhile, I'm still amazed at how much mucus one human can produce. So I hit the sack at 9pm and of course, it's a hot day, so I'm fidgeting until probably 10:30pm. And here comes race day. I've carbo-loaded, I've stayed hydrated and I've rested, but how much will this sickness counter-balance those things? It sure seemed like all the energy I was supposed to be storing up was being sucked out of me by the cold, and all the water I was drinking was just coming out onto my Kleenexes! And I couldn't do my last training run either, but on the other hand, they'd have water stops along the way (which I never had in my training). And I also had my comfy running shoes now. I got to the starting line earlier than I expected at 5:10. I check-in my bag (which will be taken to the finish line), and go for the Port-A-Pottys. I didn't want to waste any time during the run (and I knew that these last few days, I'd been having to go to the bathroom what seemed like every 5 minutes). So I stretch and wait around for Marc and John M. It's approaching 6 and still no sign of them. At this point, I need to go to the bathroom again, but the line is huuuge, so I knew I'd have to just go during the race. I finally meet up with John, and the race starts.
It was actually a really nice day (as they all are in Denver, it seems). This early in the morning, it was in the 50s and was supposed to get to the upper 60s by around 8am. All in all, a good temperature for a run. We start in the middle of the pack. It takes us a little bit to actually cross the starting line which is apparently when your timing starts (we had these little chips that we wore around our ankle that recorded when we passed checkpoints). So we're going pretty slow to start (to warmup and because it was hard to maneuver through the crowd). So I keep up with him for about the first 3 miles before he starts and pulling away. John's done a full marathon before, so I had no intention of keeping up with him. So now I'm on my own. Two things are on my mind at this point: how's this bathroom stop going to work, and how am I going to handle the uphill that the race ends with. Let me start with the latter; while I was checking out the course profile that weekend, I noticed that the last 8 miles was a steady climb into Lakewood. I even compared the ascent using Google Earth to hills I've climbed in my training runs. Conclusion: this was going to be a rough finish. How in the world am I going to handle that at mile 10? 12?! As for using the bathroom, they had Port-A-Pottys every couple of miles, but I didn't want to waste a lot of time, and the first few stops had lines (albeit short ones). So, I kept going. At one point, one emptied right before I got there, and for whatever reason I didn't stop. I could've been in and out in 20 seconds. A couple of stops later, I had to stop before it started affecting my running. I had to wait little bit, but it wasn't bad. I wasted about 90 seconds, I figure. Okay, enough about me and my urination problems.
So they also had water and Gatorade every couple of miles. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get a handle on drinking and running. It sounds stupid, but it's not easy. I actually read an article the other day saying that you should practice grabbing the cup and drinking while running. I got the handoff part just fine, but I just couldn't drink without slowing down considerably. I think I skipped only one water stop even though I had so much trouble getting it down. I'd end up running with my empty cup until I came across a trash can (which most of the time wasn't until the next stop). Everyone else either drank theirs really quickly and tossed them into the trash cans shortly after the water stops, or they just threw it on the ground. Even though I knew they had volunteers to cleanup, I just couldn't litter! So okay, as I'm running, I'm coming up with new goals for this race. I came in with: 1) first and foremost, just finish the 13.109 miles, and 2) don't walk any of it (i.e. run/jog the whole thing). Above all, I just wanted to finish, but I also figured it wouldn't be expecting too much to not walk any of it. Next, I decided a 2:15 time would be a modest goal to shoot for ... slightly above 10 minute miles. Then, the next goal was a sub-2-hour time, which was more of a dream more than anything. That's a pace of 9 minute miles, which is not really that fast, but considering my longest run was 10 miles with a pace of 10 minutes, I didn't really expect to do a full 13 with a pace of 9 ... especially with the aforementioned uphill at the end. And lastly, I decided it'd be nice to beat one of my friends, Marc or John ... which again, I didn't really expect. Though Marc hadn't trained that much for this race, he had done a half before and had ran a lot when he was in school. And as I had mentioned, John M. had run a full marathon before and seemed to run pretty consistently. So in summation, I had:
- Finish!
- No walking!
- Finish in 2:15 or less.
- Finish in 2:00 or less.
- Beat Marc or John!
I honestly only hoped to achieve 1 and 2, though. I guess a 6th goal was to not get lapped by a marathoner, but I would've had to done pretty poorly (or there had to have been a world-class runner running it) for that to happen. They had these signs at every mile marker showing the time (though it was from when the first person started; i.e. not when I crossed the start line). I didn't have a watch, but with these signs I was able to quickly approximate my pace, and I saw that I was doing really well, averaging a 9-minute mile pace. And considering these times were a little high, I was feeling good.
So now I'm at mile 7ish, and I'm starting to question whether I'll be able to run the rest of the way. Either I'm slowing down, or everyone else is speeding up (or both) because I'm getting passed by a lot of people. Around mile 8, Marc shows up! Apparently, he had been in line for the restrooms when the race started, so he started about 3 minutes late. We talk briefly before I tell him to feel free to go on ahead. He's got his watch and is doing the splits and says he's been doing 8.5 minute miles. Now, I'm waiting for this climb that I've been fearing (I knew it started after I-25), and we were well past that at this point. There had been some small hills, but nothing bad. In fact, I started passing a lot of people around this area. Again, either I sped up or others slowed down or both. The climbs started getting more challenging later, but it was nothing like what I had imagined. Most had flat areas afterwards that served as a respite. And when I thought about slowing down, I just thought about my training and how long I've been waiting for this day (though, I'll be the first to admit that my training was less than impressive ... regardless, it kept me motivated). It sounds corny, but the people cheering along the course really helped too. Sometimes, even early in the race, it just brought a smile to my face which was enough to keep me going. The next few miles went by, and I decided if I could get to mile 12 without any trouble, I'd be fine for the last bit.
It was around mile 12 that I started getting a little dizzy. I didn't really notice it at first, but things were definitely getting hazy (in my head and my vision). With less than a mile to go, I knew there wasn't any way I could slow down now. Besides, the last time I saw was under 2 hours, so through some miracle, maybe I could finish in under 2 hours! I could start to see the Colorado Mills Mall where the race ended, and the people were cheering us on. They kept saying, "You're almost there" and "...just one more hill," etc. Knowing that I was almost done was the only thing that kept me going. After every turn, I was waiting to catch a glimpse of the beautiful finish line. Unfortunately, it was a big tease as we kept on running! Surely that last mile had to be complete by now! Finally, I went around a curve and saw it ... a site for sore eyes, although by this time, things had gotten so blurry in my mind, I was just hoping I didn't fall over. I heard John cheering me on at the finish, and I think I looked at him (although in all honesty, I could've been looking at a dog dressed in a pink bunny costume). I willed my way to the finish and somehow mustered a smile for the photographer. That's probably going to be the weirdest looking smile ever!
So I cross through the finish, and they wrap this mylar cape around me. I didn't know what it was; the only thing I knew is that I was hot, and I didn't want anything else on me! I find out later, it's to keep you warm ... yes, to keep you WARM. Apparently, you get really cold after you stop on such a long run. Then volunteers start asking if I was okay, and I said, "Not really" (I'm wondering how obvious it was because I don't think it was as bad as I make it out to be). I tell them I'm dizzy, and they take me to the medical tent. They lay me down, and give me water and take my vitals. Apparently, I had a 102° fever, so they put some ice bags on me. After my temp drops back close to normal, they let me leave. I guess running a half-marathon while sick wasn't such a good idea. Afterwards, I decided that putting that much stress on my body was pretty much the worst thing I could've done while I was sick.
So by the time I get out of the medical tent, I can't find Marc or John. I find out later that they were still there, but for not much longer. In any case, I look around for them while going around all the sponsors' booths. Here are some of the things they gave out: water, Gatorade, Zone Perfect bars, these huuuuge popsicles, bananas, Panera Bread bagels and breads, smoothie drinks, and even massages. I partake in some, and go get my bag. That was interesting. There was this place in the parking lot where they were all just laid out for people to claim with no supervision. This area was open to the public, so it doesn't take a genius how much of a bad idea that was. After I had my phone, I left messages for John and Marc telling them what happened and asking if they were still there. I ran into Mike, Tim and Lori from my Ultimate team, so I said hi to them, and found out they were doing the relay along with two others. I also ran into Chris from work who was apparently there cheering on his wife who in a relay as well. Later, this one guy in the crowd starts talking to me. Apparently, he and I were running next to each other towards the end, and neither of us were doing well. I didn't remember seeing him, but he said that when he finished he went for the medical tent, too, and saw that I was already in there. We talked for a bit about how much of a tease the last bit was.
By now, marathoners were starting to finish, so I was trying to figure out when to start looking for John Jost. I knew his longest run had been around 21 miles, but I didn't know his pace or what his goals were for the marathon. I figured he'd do a slower pace (for him) around 9 minutes, so I started watching for him around the 3:45 mark with my camera at the read. After it got to be 4:10 or so, I figured he had to have finished by now, so I started walking around the booths again. I found him pretty quickly and found out that his goal was 3:30 and that he finished in 3:27! What a machine, man! That's under 8 minute miles ... for 26.2 miles! I knew he was an awesome runner, but geez. Amazing.
To be continued ...
