Missoula Marathon Race Report

We arrived in Missoula on Friday afternoon after detouring to pick up Kristyn at the airport in Helena. Before checking into our hotel, we explored Missoula. Naturally, our first stop was Runner's Edge, which is owned by the person who started the Missoula Marathon four years ago. We met several nice people there. Jessica and Kristyn bought some new apparel for the race. We then got coffee (not me) at Liquid Planet and food at Mackenzie River Pizza.

After Jessica's and Kristyn's run on Saturday morning, we went to the race expo, where we picked up our race packets and posters ($5 each). While the race t-shirts are pretty sweet, I'm not sure why they decided to print them on black t-shirts. The expo was outside, and it was hot. Then it started to rain. We took cover for a few minutes and then caught the tail end of the farmer's market across the way. We bought some snap peas. Overall, the expo was pretty good in that it was small, but there wasn't much in the way of free stuff. Despite the small expo, I think we did too much walking around on Saturday, as we walked not only around the expo but to it from the hotel. By the time we got back to the hotel, I was wiped out. I wasn't feeling well, so I took a nap. When I woke up, I still wasn't feeling well. I thought I was coming down with the flu. Nerves? After eating (we had a cookout in the parking lot of the hotel), I started to feel better.

We woke up at 3:45/am on Sunday morning. I had a bowl of oatmeal with fruit for breakfast. By 4:15/am, we were out the door, on our way to the bus stop. Runners were bussed from Missoula to Frenchtown, where the marathon started, starting at 4/am. The bus ride was 20 minutes long. When we got to Frenchtown, it was still dark out. It was in the 50s (perhaps colder?). When the cannon boomed at 6/am, the sun had started to come up. The first 8 or 9 miles were straight and flat on a country road with mountains in the distance. There was a 200-foot climb at mile 14, which was kind of nice to break up the monotony of running straight, flat roads. After coming down the other side of the hill, the course made it's way through neighborhoods and then finally back into Missoula. The finish was downtown after running over a bridge. There wasn't much in the way of crowd support (only at the very end). I took water at all 17 aid stations. I took GU at 0:45, 1:30, 2:15, and 3:00. The first one definitely worked. I'm not sure about the other three, though.

I ran pretty conservatively. The first 10K were just as difficult as the last. I couldn't find a rhythm. I finally found one at mile 8 or 9. Then I settled in. My legs felt pretty good through about 20 miles. The last few were the most difficult of the race. I got a cramp in my right leg with a half mile to go. I stopped for 5 seconds, stretched it out, and ran as fast as I could to the finish. The finish was awesome. I loved running over the bridge, being cheered on by so many people. It was a great experience.

Jessica finished in 3:33 (BQ). She placed fourth in her division. Based on her time slip, she was third. We never figured out why that was. Where the results were posted, there were two keypads attached to two computers. Punching your bib number into a keypad produced a slip of paper with your time, place, etc. on it. I had never seen that before. Pretty nifty. Kristyn finished in 3:42 or 3:43 (on no marathon-specific training). I finished in 4:02.

After the race, we drank, ate, and got our (free) pictures taken. Each runner was entitled to one free picture. We got a total of four pictures taken. As you can probably imagine, the line for the free pictures was long. Even though Kristyn didn't register for the race, she got a free picture (and medal and bandana after crossing the finish line), too. Regardless of whether they knew, Missoula really is a great marathon. Jessica and I paid $25 each for our pictures. We're still waiting for our codes so that we can download them. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for the pictures online, we get them all (15-20 electronic pictures each) for $25.

Good Luck Jess and Ryan!

Couple days to go to Missoula Marathon. Good luck! Looks like the weather will be tolerable.

Mount Desert Island Marathon

I was just on MDI Marathon's website and learned that registration for the marathon is now CLOSED! Wow! Guess that changes my fall plans. Any ideas?

Tapering for the Missoula Marathon

Last week began the first of three weeks of tapering for the Missoula Marathon. I went from 40 miles (peak) to 30 miles last week. I plan to do about 23 this week, including a 10-or 11-mile long-run on Saturday. Yesterday started the second of three weeks of tapering. I did 5 and change. I felt good through the first few miles but then tuckered out. Perhaps it was the heat. Perhaps it was the fact that I was coming off two days of rest, something I had not experienced in months. After the marathon, I plan to post a comparison of this buildup vs. my buildup for the Hartford Marathon in 2007. Here's a peak: my weight as of yesterday is more or less the same. I was 145 in 2007 and 148 yesterday. I ran at an 8:32 pace in 2007 and 8:24 yesterday. One of the big challenges this time around has been getting my upper body through the latter miles of long-runs. I haven't done any pushups or core workouts. In 2007, I was religious about that. After Missoula, I plan to incorporate pushups and core workouts into my training for the Mount Desert Island Marathon. While I don't plan to run a fast marathon on the MDI course, there's certainly room to become an overall stronger runner.

The Western States Endurance Run

Check out this article--written by Anton Krupicka himself--detailing Krupicka's training for The Western States Endurance Run, which was held this weekend. His training paid off. He covered the course in 15:13:52.1--9:07/mile--faster than every time ever run on the course, except for one--the time run by Geoff Roes, who finished only a few minutes before him in a new course record of 15 hours, 7 minutes, 4.5 seconds. That's 9:03/mile for 100 miles! Here's what Roes had to say about the race:

"It just really started to flow," said Roes, who has won all seven 100-mile races he has entered. "This is my third 100 where somewhere around (Mile) 70 or 75 it just started to feel good. I warmed up finally, I guess."

Trees/plants

My Jade cutting from late last summer (2009) has finally started to grow. The fourth level is new as of about a month ago. The plant grew very little in a pot in which it was originally planted. About a two months ago, when I transplated the Jade from the pot to a container of water, I found that it had hardly taken root. There was only one very small root poking out of one side of the stem. Since being in a container of water, however, the plant has grown roots and now appears ready for a pot.


My mother planted this California avocado tree for me. It has done quite well, as you can see.


I started this Hass avocado tree about two months ago. I recently cut it back from 6 or 7 inches (it had leafed at about 6 inches) to three inches to encourage bushiness. I plan on cutting it back to 6 inches when it reaches 12 inches. Once it leafs again, I'll plant it in a pot and watch it grow.

Birds

After work on Monday, I sat in the park on Grove and Temple Streets and watched birds. Unfortunately, the only bird I saw was a House Sparrow. I made friends with this one:

During my run yesterday, I ran by this dead bird on the side of the road. Come to find out, it's a Chukar--a bird introduced from the Middle East for hunting purposes. What in the world was a dead Chukar doing on Whitfield Street in Guilford?

Poison Ivy

After Saturday's run at Mansfield Hollow State Park, Jessica came down with a pretty severe case of poison ivy. Here's a taste:

Trail Running Benefits

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19733

Y'all see this article? They didn't mention anything about the problem of poison ivy though.

20-miler

I did my second longest run ever (in terms of time) on Saturday at Mansfield Hollow State Park. Jessica, Dan, Karolina, and Niko joined me for the first 10ish (out-and-back to the dam). I ran with Jessica, Karolina, and Niko for the first 5-mile trail loop and by myself for the second. My legs felt decent until the last 5-mile loop. I did not do a good job of hydrating on the run. It's been tricky this time around, as it was unseasonbly warm this spring. Last time around, I carried a hydration pack, which worked very well, except that it was cumbersome for running.

After the 20-miler, we went swimming in the river. It was cold, and I was the last one to jump in. When I jumped in, Niko jumped on my head and bloodied and bruised my right eye.

Yesterday, I did a short recovery run at Northwoods in North Guilford. Jessica joined me and then did a few more miles on the roads. We ran the blue/orange alternative trail to Bluff Head but didn't make it to Bluff Head, as I missed a sharp right-hand turn. We wound up continuing northwest and onto some roads until turning around at roughly 15 minutes into the run. The difficulty of the blue/orange trail varies, but whether Northwoods as a whole is runnable remains to be seen.

Altitude

If I--as a runner who has never run at altitude before--was told that it would take the better part of two weeks to recover from running 10 miles (6 of which were at 10K race pace) at 5,000-plus feet, I would have responded, "no way." I also would have been wrong. It's not the lack of oxygen in the air, but the lower barometric pressure, that causes the beneficial effects--or, in my case, a large buildup of lactic acid--of running at altitude. I've learned that no matter the elevation, the air we breathe always contains 20% oxygen. It's the barometric pressure that varies. The higher up you go, the less pressure there is. The less pressure there is, the less oxygen there is in your blood...

I didn't seem to notice much of a difference in my performance at 5,000-plus feet. It wasn't until I ran again at sea-level when I began to notice a difference in my performance. My legs would literally not go. I had a very difficult time last week and even this week through Thursday. I'm not sure how coming up short on my 18-mile long run will affect my marathon performance, but judging by this week's long run of 15 and change, I would say that it will not affect it at all.

Week 11

Week 11 started on Monday (a day earlier than normal) at the Bolder Boulder 10K in Boulder, CO. My legs felt good for having run 16 miles two days before the race and a short recovery run the day before the race. Tuesday was a travel day--three flights from Denver, to Dallas, to Washington, D.C., to. Hartford/Springfield. I did four and change on Wednesday and six and change on Thursday. Both runs were difficult. Friday was a rest day. And then came Saturday. I had 17 and change mapped out but could only do 15 and change. I wanted to stop several miles before I actually did. My legs felt like lead, I was nauseous at times, and I was dehydrated. This same kind of thing happened in 2007, while training for the Hartford Marathon. During Week 11 of that buildup, I ran my fastest 5K the day before my long run. I had 18 mapped out but could only do 17. Racing during big weeks seems to be the culprit. Not to mention, I could have gotten more sleep and eaten better. Run and learn.

I was feeling pretty bad on Saturday and Sunday about not being able to finish my long run. However, a decent recovery run on Sunday made me feel better and gave me a confidence boost. I'm optimistic about Week 12.