Running With Jack

If you have been racing for any length of time you probably know that every race is different and some go better than others. I always have three goals in mind when I line up for a race, a good day goal, a bad day goal and a race of my life goal. With that said, Sunday at the Metropol Marathon in Fuerth, Germany was different. My only goal was to take it easy and not wear myself out two weeks before my 50-mile race. I was not totally successful in meeting this goal, rather the race took a totally unplanned turn.

We arrived in Fuerth on Friday night after fighting traffic jams over half of Germany. We checked into the hotel and crashed in bed soon after. On Saturday we slept in until around 8:00, had breakfast and I went shopping with my wife. The hotel is located in the middle of the market place, so it was only a short walk. Afterward my wife went to her Aunt’s house and I picked up my race packet across the street in the main square. I picked up a new pair of Asics at the runner’s market, then had some pasta at an Italian restaurant on the square. Later in the afternoon I walked the 2.5 km to Aunt Sigrid’s house. We closed off the day with dinner at another Italian restaurant.

On Sunday I woke up about two hours before the race, had breakfast, then chilled out in our hotel room until about 15 minutes before the raced started. We could see the start line from our hotel room, which was cool.

I lined up with the roughly 800-900 runners who were running the full marathon. The half-marathon had started a half hour earlier and the 10K was scheduled to start a half hour later (9:30). It was a cool 15C/59F, with a slight wind, and the sky was dark and stormy looking.

I chatted with a group of men from England and next thing I knew the starting pistol went off. I was pretty much in the back, so it took a minute or two to get over the starting mat, we wore chips so it didn’t matter anyway. I was also wearing my new Garmin 205, but had turned it on in the hotel room and it didn’t find the satellite. I didn’t notice this until almost the 10 minutes into the race. I had to turn it off and on again and it finally found a signal just past the 2 km marker.

In any case I started off at an easy pace around 6:00/km (9:39/mile). My plan was to try to maintain this pace for at least 15-20 miles, then take it easy the rest of the way, hopefully finishing in around 5 hours…that was the plan anyway…unfortunately I got teed off when I realized that my Garmin hadn’t found a signal and my pace increased with my anger. At the beginning of the fourth kilometer we reached the first bridge of the day and when most runners slowed down for the climb, I sailed over it and kept on going, my Garmin clocked my pace at 5:27/km.

I tried to slow my pace back down, but my legs felt good and the pace stayed around 9:00/mile. I settled down and started to enjoy the run, my Garmin was functioning and displaying my time for each kilometer just past each course kilometer marker. I passed the 10K marker in roughly 55:13, almost the same as the first 10K by the Mannheim marathon in May. I remember thinking to myself that I should slow down soon or I would burn my legs out too soon.

The race course was really incredible, winding through small towns, over fields and through parks. There were spectators everywhere lending their encouragement. I have to give the kind people of Bavaria credit, they sure know how to may you feel welcome, I never saw such enthusiasm in all the other races that I have participated in!

Anyway the kilometers ticked away and I was still feeling way too good for my own good. I knew I was trucking along much too fast when I passed the 4:15:00 pacer about an hour and half into the race. If that wasn’t bad enough, I passed the 4-hour pacer at the 20K marker! By this time I knew that I had to make a decision, either slow way down and save my legs for the 50-mile race, or keep going and come what may. I don’t know if it was the sun that had come and was cooking my brain or what, but I decided to keep my pace up for as long as I could!

I passed the halfway point in roughly 1:58:00, about four minutes ahead of my Mannheim Marathon time. As I was running I recalled that my legs began to ache from the asphalt roads in Mannheim shortly after the halfway point, so I decided to take a couple aspirin and a calcium-magnesium tablet. I was also well-hydrated with water and isotonic drink, taking advantage of the water/aid stations every 2 kilometers. After the halfway point they also started offering fruit, muesli bars and coke.

Since around the 10K point my pace had more or less leveled off, I was running a fairly constant 5:30/km (8:50/mile). As I continued on I saw the 3:45:00 pacer about a hundred feet in front of me…my only thought was that when I hit the wall it was going to be ugly…I tried to block the thought out of my mind and kept going.

I passed the 30K marker in around 2:45:00, a good half hour ahead of Mannheim’s time. As I finished the marathon in Mannheim in 4 hours 37 minutes, I knew that if I could just keep the pace under 6:00/km, I would set a new personal best. I thought about it for a moment, then thought about the risk that I was taking in regards to my 50-mile race…took two Ibuprofen and made my decision.

I pushed on trying to keep the 3:35:00 pacer in sight, but when I stopped to pee, he disappeared. However I was satisfied to see that the 4:00:00 pacer was also not in sight behind me, so encourage I got back to work.

As I said before the spectator participation was truly awesome, and it seemed to grow stronger the farther into the race I went. Around the 35 km point I was starting to feel ragged, my legs were sore and my energy was wearing. I ate a gel, downed a couple isotonic drinks and ate a half banana hoping to keep the wall at bay. As I started running again I passed through a small town where it seemed like the entire population had come out to cheer us on, complete with a brass band and hundreds of kids! Somehow this motivated me and I was able to squeeze out a couple more miles before my tempo began to fade.

With 5K to go I was still running, but it was turning into a real battle. My legs ached and my body was whining something about wanting to slow down. I tried to focus on just one thing, mainly that I was having the race of my life and today would never happen again, and who knows if I would ever have another day like it – I struggled on. With 3 km to go I felt myself slowing waaay down, I fought it trying to change my pace – lengthening my stride, shortening my stride, anything to get the legs moving again. Finally I reached the edge of town and started winding my way through the familiar streets. The spectator crowd was enormous, this spurred me on.

The minutes clicked slowly by, the race seemed to have no end…finally the 41 kilometer marker…only 6-7 minutes. I could hear the announcer at the finish line, I tried to push forward, but I had nothing left to give. After an eternity I rounded the last corner and made my way down the main market street of Fuerth. My legs felt like they were going to fold on me, I was a bit lightheaded, but one step in front of the other…

I had not looked at the total time on my Garmin since the 30K marker, but I knew I had broken my 4:14 personal record! With a joyful heart I finally stumbled over the finish line, I did it! I was elated, but in the excitement (and weariness) I forgot to shut my Garmin off or look at my time…

I made my way down the lane to get something to eat and drink. My legs were sore, but not as bad as I had anticipated. This was the first marathon were I didn’t need/choose to take any walk breaks, I even managed to jog through the aid stations! I found a spot on a bench and sat down for a few minutes, I was weary and soaked with sweat. There was still a breeze blowing and I was getting cold…I decided to go back to the hotel and shower. As I got up I noticed a couple runners walking by with their race certificates (Urkunde), so asked where they got them. They pointed me to the right tent and I wobbled my way over there. As I stood and waited for them to print my certificate out I talked with a runner from Scotland. When he got his certificate he headed off to the showers and I finally took at a look at my finishing time…I was not prepared for what I saw 3:57:14, my first sub-4 marathon – a new PR by 17 minutes! I’m still giddy…