Detroit Marathon--10/21/07

Naming this post was killing me all weekend. I have blogged about training for this race since June, and the training should have led me to a glorious and very rewarding marathon day. Note how I threw that 'should' in there.......

Let me begin by saying that I finished the marathon. I FINISHED a FREAKING MARATHON! Now, onto the story.

4:00 am: I wake up. I did fall right asleep the night before, no pre-race jitters or stress. I do remember telling Amber that I was a little worried about my training and how I don't think I ran enough long runs, but she said I'd be fine and I went to bed with that. So at 4 am, I get my iced tea out of the fridge and chug. I eat a little cereal.

4:15 am: Bowel movement #1. That was quick.

4:30 am: Shower, BM #2. Interesting.

5:15 am: I get my stuff together, kiss Amber goodbye and head down to the race. It's about a 25 min drive. I don't forget anything. Bonus.

5:45 am: Arrive. Park in Lot #2, the closest one to the start line. Pumped that it wasn't full when I got there. Drink water, take Tylenol. I know everyone said not to, but I was worried about my IT bands and was hoping Tylenol would numb them for this race. More on that later.

6:00 am: Pre-race routine of finding start line, bathrooms, my starting corral, walk around a little, stretch a little, talk to some other runners a little. BM #3. Nice.

6:30 am: Walk some more, stretch some more, see that there are really long lines for the bathrooms and decide to spend my last half hour before the race standing in the bathroom line. Weather forecast was promising, high of 75 and sunny. Two things I never considered: Wind and waterfront temperature. I came to the race in shorts and a long sleeve cotton T (that I donated to charity at about mile 4) shirt with a cool max t shirt underneath. With the wind and being near the water, it felt like 45 at the start of the race. Too cold for shorts.

7:00 am: BM #4. I have had bathroom issues in the past, and I did not stop once during the race for the bathroom. I felt very good about that heading into the race. My stars were aligning, and I felt very confident about the time I was going to hit. (4 hrs)

7:15 am: Race starts. I figure out that my corral was for the 4:30 runners. I must have put that as my estimated time when I signed up prior to training. This starts my demise. Well, my wearing shorts--combined with starting slower than I wanted to--started my demise, my muscles never got loose. There are A LOT of runners. There are A LOT of spectators. It was pretty awesome.



Miles 1-3: I am running while eating my south beach nutrition bar. I have never ran and ate at the same time, but I figured there is a first time for everything. I am trying my hardest to get up with the 4 hour pace runners. I find them. Life is good.

Miles 3-5: 4 hour pacers are right infront of me, which is where I want them. It is really cold, it is really windy. Especially on the Ambassador Bridge (to Canada). I already feel my IT bands getting tight. My legs are not warming up.

Miles 6-8: These miles were run in Canada, and it's just different in Windsor. It's laid back, not as developed, but nice. I like Canada. 4 hour pacers are behind me now. Score! Legs still feeling tight, IT's are starting to bug me. Brain starts thinking "you know Kevin, you still have 18 miles to run......."

Mile 9: The underwater mile in the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. Humid and stuffy, but I really liked that. My body needed that right then. They time that mile for you, and my time was 8:09. I had no issues with my body in the tunnel. If the entire race was run in that tunnel I may have faired a little better. Funny story in the tunnel: I was running along, around the 3:45 runners, and a guy behind me lighted a cigarette! A CIGARETTE! Did anyone tell him he was in the MIDDLE OF A MARATHON?!?!?!? It was priceless. He probably ended up beating me. My parents and wife were at the end of the tunnel. It was the first time I saw them and they definitely gave me a boost.

Miles 10-13.1: Nothing remarkable here, my legs still cold and IT's really starting to get tight on me. This wind is killing me. I am managing to stay ahead of the 4 hour pacers but I know the end is near (for me)....there is a point around mile 12.5 where the half-marathoners split off from the marathoners. I consider taking that turn, but know that my family was going to be at the 16 mile mark waiting for me. I press on. Half Marathon split time was a respectable 1:59. I am still on pace!

Miles 14-17: This is where my hip flexors start to get tight. I am having trouble picking up my legs to keep my knees somewhat loose so that my IT's don't totally lock up on me. Walking and socializing become more important than finishing in 4 hrs. It's starting to warm up but it's too late by now. The IT's are flaring and the hips want to stop. Walking is the only thing that feels good. I get a GU at mile 15 and press on. Apparently this is also where my in laws that were vacationing in Texas call my wife and let her know that I am no longer running my 8:45 miles. They were tracking my progress in real-time online and noticed that I hadn't crossed the 17.4 mile split when I 'should have'. Wife and parents alter the 'cheering me on plan' and head to mile 25. Note: We pass a Walgreens at this part of the course and I definitely saw more than one person coming in and going out of Walgreens. I went from running a pretty good race to hanging out with the people that were struggling in a matter of minutes.

Miles 18-22: These were on Belle Isle (an island). There is only one way on and one way off of Belle Isle, and my legs are killing me at this point. Plenty of opportunities to turn around and cut across the course and basically cut 4 miles off the run. I consider, but conclude that I am only cheating myself if I do that and press on. I meet a man named Martin who was also a first time marathoner and he just moved to the states from Germany 6 months ago. We basically walked the entire 21st mile because we were talking and both determined that finishing was more important than time.

Miles 22-25: A Lot of walkers now. I have went from the struggling runners to the "I really think some of these people are about to pass out" group. It is in these miles that the 4:15 runners and the 4:30 runners pass me. I was really starting to get determined about NOT letting the 5:00 runners get by me, so I leave Martin and start running again. (I was run/walking from about mile 17 on) I can barely bend my legs though, so it's probably pretty funny looking to watch.

Mile 25-end: I see my parents and wife. My wife was doing a good job of keeping me going. I ran most of this stretch, but as evidenced here it wasn't pretty. I finish at 4:59:23 on the video. I am on the left with the black shirt and my right arm in the air. My official time was 4:56.

Thoughts?: Harder than I anticipated. I really thought I would be able to just "gut it out" but that clearly was not the case. I really enjoyed myself and learned a lot about my body and where I need to work in preparation for Knoxville in March. It's important to note that I was never winded throughout the race. I really didn't sweat the second half of the race. All of my problems were leg-related. I need to address my IT-band issue first and foremost. I need to strengthen my quads and my hips, I also need to have a gait-analysis done so I know that I am getting the right shoes, and maybe custom inserts are an option for me.

It was also encouraging to know that I had friends and family following me online, my parents and wife were there at the race with me, and also people that keep up on me through this blog. It's amazing to look out at the network of people in my corner wanting me to do well and hoping that I do. It really got me through this race. Thank you. If I was there all by myself, with no blog and nobody following me online, I would have walked off the course at some point. I was in a lot of pain, and still am here on Tuesday. I really had to dig deep to limp across the finish line.

I haven't decided what I am going to do about this upcoming Knoxville event. I am leaning towards running a half-marathon in Knoxville and then running the Detroit Marathon again next year. I really have to figure out what to do with my IT-bands on both knees before I go running another marathon again. I really think I will do this again.