Baltimore Marathon 2012 - Race Report

I am so tired of not executing the Baltimore Marathon I  can stand it. Let's get this out of the way, I had my worst ever marathon with a 4:03:59 finish (yes the GW birthday marathon was slower, but I used it as a training run for the National Marathon). I could almost copy the post I made last year for the race report.

I overestimated my ability and once again ran a positive split. Now, truth is that if you've run the Baltimore Marathon you'll know how difficult the second half can be. I have feared that if I ran a slow first half I could still have the hills from Patterson Park to Clifton Park and Lake Montebello take the pace out of my legs (but I don't really believe it - I just haven't done it).

The four miles from Camden to the Maryland Zoo at the start were uneventful. I stayed what I thought was in myself.

• Mile 1: 8:43 (HR - 
• Mile 2: 8:35
• Mile 3: 8:50
• Mile 4: 8:33

I think that miles five to nine from Druid Hill Park to the Harbor gave me the idea that I could hold this pace throughout and I know better.

• Mile 5: 8:15
• Mile 6: 8:48
• Mile 7: 8:23
• Mile 8: 8:27
• Mile 9: 8:30

Going around the Under Armour plant made tell myself that run a great first half means absolutely zip in a full marathon. I say this because I started to feel the fatigue in my legs and I hadn't even really climbed the hills yet. I smiled passing the half marathoners all the same. Going around the harbor to Fells Point gave me another hint I was in trouble. Sometime earlier I got well in front of the 3:50 pace group, but during this phase I heard them and was beginning to get passed by them.

• Mile 10: 8:50
• Mile 11: 8:56
• Mile 12: 8:47
• Mile 13: 8:46
• Mile 14: 8:39
• Mile 15: 8:36

Oh the dreaded climb to Lake Montebello from mile sixteen to twenty laid into me as bad as ever. I resolved to not walk, but just slow as the hills got to me. I felt a small victory because I didn't give in.

• Mile 16: 8:48 
• Mile 17: 9:19
• Mile 18: 9:48
• Mile 19: 10:17
• Mile 20: 10:15

Okay, victory short lived. I made a deal with myself that I could walk at the next water stop at mile 20 something and after that these little compromises were easier to give myself. Soon I was taking walk breaks without giving myself permission, just because I wanted to. Thanks to the numerous runners who encouraged me to get it together and finish. I surprised myself my somewhat going for a strong finish with a mile to go even though I still felt like garbage. 

• Mile 21: 10:10
• Mile 22: 10:14
• Mile 23: 11:25
• Mile 24: 10:22
• Mile 25: 11:57
• Mile 26: 9:17
• Mile 26.2: 2:25/7:57 pace

Overall another race where I felt like I didn't run it right. I now think that as good as training felt, I didn't do nearly as many miles as a strong performance requires - at least for me. As far as race atmosphere goes, I still love the crowds and the pass of the half marathon start. 

I feel like the Finish Festival has fallen far since my first race here in 2008. I used to like the Phillips crab soup and felt like I could get food pretty easily, but I stood in line with literally hundreds of other people and watched it not move for around a half hour until I went to get the beer tickets and found another line on the other side that zoomed in to get food much faster. They also feel the need to move the bag pickup and beer line every year for as far as I can tell no reason. 

I got my finish beer this year and it was a Blue Moon variety. I sipped it a few and promptly gave my other ticket to someone else and poured it out. I barely wanted the beer and felt that the Michelob Ultra from my first two races was about the only thing I want to stomach after exercising for four hours. Perhaps its because it is really just beer flavored water. Nevertheless I want that brand brought back or I will skip the post-race beer until I can get home and take a nap.

Blah blah blog. I am looking forward to the off-season. I'll start putting something like a plan together next week.

SunTrust National Marathon Race Report

Unofficial time: 3:53:26 (1:28 PR)

I held off the crash a little longer than my previous races. I didn't drop off pace until mile 20 and then I held off the 10-minute miles until mile 23. My leg cramps returned for this race. I can blame the fact that my Endurolytes got wet and became difficult to grab, or that I have to practice my drinking on the run technique, but really I just need to be tougher. I ran smiling and easy through the half marathon in about 1:50. I felt the need to fight at my typical point in the race, mile 16. I felt that cramp feel and my speed was dropping when I wasn't concentrating, but I kept fighting. I gave in to cramps around the SE/SW Freeway and began to jog backwards. I then started to walk when needed after creating simple goals for myself, "run to that sign post, get to that cone."

When I approached the finish line I actually hit my lap button to mark 26.2 miles (my overall distance traveled was 26.48 mile). Spectators were good-naturedly goading me to pull it together and run and one of them sparked me to go for it. I dropped the hammer with 300 meters to go and hit 5:00 min/mi pace until the finish line. Where did that come from? Well it was honest because I crossed the finish line barely able to move another step and almost falling down.

I really enjoyed this marathon. I liked the run through DC more than the Marine Corps Marathon. The support was really good and the hills didn't really seem too bad. The volunteers did their job cheerfully and well. I think the think the finish festival was a little random - Baltimore seems to do that best out of the marathons I've run. I also think that the expectation of not seeing official results and timing until Friday, April 1st is insane in today's tech-empowered world. Let's hope that this is not really the case. The best part of the race organization is the fact that they made the DC Armory available for us to relax in prior to the race so that the relatively cold starting temp of 40 degrees F didn't really affect the runners. I'll definitely run this race again.

GW Marathon 2011 Race Report

I can only find solace in this race if I remember this was a long run. My time for this run was 4:17:20, my slowest marathon yet. My average pace was 9:49/mile, which is well within range of a long run pace for my goal marathon pace.

I hit my planned half marathon split on the nose, 1 hour 57 minutes. I kept a tight reign on my pace, but as soon as I hit the half marathon point I felt the energy deficit. I was prepared to try hard, but not go to the bottom of the barrel for this race. I threw in a couple of attempts at goal marathon pace miles, but the next level energy would not come. Though I walked through each water stop I began to walk when tired after mile 16. I struggled in at a decent pace, but only after the soul rending uphill at mile 26.

So I am happy with this as a training run. I did no 20+ mile runs leading up to this race and those I have found are vital for getting used to the fatigue I must get used to. So this will be my first going into the SunTrust National Marathon.

Raw capture race report

Just jotting down what happened in the race. This is a raw capture a better race report will follow.

The race began on an uphill that I didn't feel due to the adrenaline of starting the race. I had a lot of frustration with the paces of the others I was corralled with and the tension of the first 30 minutes until the Key Bridge was palpable. Around Key Bridge I felt the group loosen up a bit. I think I felt great going up the Reservoir Road hill and when we crested the hill I started to act up for the crowd whooping and slapping hands.

I ran through Georgetown feeding off of the energy of the crowd. I flew through the gauntlet that funneled us towards the Kennedy Center and Tidal Basin. I think the first signs of fatigue started to show going down Hains Point. I walked through water station at the half marathon point. It was then I broke contact with the 3:30 pace group. I gave a good chase for another mile and a half, but I broke then. I took a bathroom pit stop and resumed chase, but at 30 seconds a mile slower a pace. Then the cramps began. From mile 16 on I started having hamstring cramps that caused me to stop and walk every other quarter mile.

The Fourteenth Street bridge was littered with bodies. Many people had to stretch out cramps or walk. Some sat on the side and in the middle of the road, others were slumped again median barriers. Overall, this bridge is when the negative splitters caught and began to lap those who like me "blew up" in the latter miles.

I was in full retreat going back to the finish point. I powered through cramps that I walked from before, but I couldn't fight the pain any longer and walked again within a half mile of the finish line. The cruelest thing of all was the sharp 65 foot vertical climb over the last .2 mile of the course. I got it together enough to pretend to run the last of it out, but the hill made me feel I was moving in slow motion.

The clock read 3:56 (my chip adjusted time was 3:54:48). I had struggled to PR (personal record) by about 4 minutes. I planned to get 3:45 at minimum and thought 3:22 was within reach in training. I was exactly on pace through the half marathon point. I got through half at 1:44:14. It was a tale of two half marathons the first an ideal one for my goal that I didn't think took everything out of me and a second where I struggled mightily to fall off pace by almost 30 minutes.

I don't want to be a bummer. I PR'd. I conquered some mighty hills, but I want to do more. I will be looking for some answers. I am not finished running marathons.

Armed Forces Week 5K Race Report

Armed Forces Week brings an annual 5K to my workplace and I never noticed it before I started running. I used to sit in the traffic jam that is our parking lot wondering why am I seeing a stream of people prancing by my car and why I can't drive over them so I can get to work. Last year I sat enviously on the sidelines while I watch the winners, some of whom I knew quite well, finish strong in quite impressive times (like 17 minutes). I was on the sideline last year because I had just finished my first marathon 2 days earlier and didn't feel like I could run without pain (a good thing too). I promised myself I would get out there in 2010 and show some guys a thing or two about how seriously I am taking this running hobby.

So, this year the day finally came where I registered for this event and I put together a training plan to help me get it together so I could run well. I took my finish time from the Cherry Blossom 10-mile run and set my sights on a 21 minute or better finish time base on the results of the McMillan Running Calculator. I scraped a plan from the last 5 weeks Running Planet's 5K Program for Advanced Competitive runners and set out on at least 150 miles of training with twice weekly speedwork, the most significant about of speedwork I have ever done.

I had been really suffering from allergies in the week prior to the race and had been so busy and sick that I skipped the last 3 runs I had scheduled before the race. No excuses. I figured that I would be fresh, but I had to take an extra strength Benedryl and Tylenol before the race.

I signed up with a team of guys and gals that I work directly with. We called ourselves the Running Problems. Our senior management had a group of run/walkers called Problem Runners. There was one guy, Scott, that I decided to run with on our team. He had claimed that he will get sub-20 minutes in this race and I let you know he got close or surpassed that goal in this race.

When the gun sounded we took off. Scott and I were near the front. We barreled down the street and up the hill. I looked at my Garmin and yelled to Scott, "we are going too fast!" My watch showed us pacing at 5:20/mile. I planned on making the first mile 6:30, but Scott's response was, "we've gotta drop the riff raff," which I assume were the jokers who didn't know how to race and would eventually come back down to earth. We slowed too as we went through some uphill stretched and finished the first mile at 6:19. That was my fastest one mile since 1992 when I ran a 5:20 mile to show a very fast offensive lineman that he could not beat me in a race. I decided to settle back but Scott was pushing ahead. I surged a bit to try to stay with him, but was not comfortable and decided to let him go. I saw my goal second mile time slipping away as I did mile two in 7:10.

I was now past midway and had entered the "go zone" according to Greg McMillan's race planning newsletter topic that came to me very conveniently the day earlier. I was supposed to run out the first mile in a pace about 10% faster than my goal race pace (6:30). I was then supposed to settle back into a fast rhythm pace until midway and then begin to try and pick off people or have personal fartlek run. I stayed close to an older guy with a smooth stride, but wasn't interested in catching, much less passing people in front of me. I was beginning to hurt and was looking for a soft landing even though I knew there was none. I had 800 meters to go and I just could not fall apart that close. I was supposed to kick then. I had plenty of kick to close in what McMillan says is the "get time zone." I was explicitly told not to wait until I see the clock because you cannot make up that much time when you wait that long. But, as expected I got to watch the clock count up 20:56, 20:57, 20:58, ..., 21:06. I sprinted the last 400 meters using my long strides that look impressive, but do little to give the speed of a sprint.

I barely missed my goal, but I am now hungry for more. I liked the race. I liked that I saw so many friendly, familiar faces and I like the 5K distance. To me it will hurt more than the longer distances, but it feels anaerobic like you are lifting weights. Short controlled, movement that when you do it right you will get more strength and endurance. I will race more 5Ks this Summer. If I break 20 this year I am going to try for a BQ at the MCM.

Cherry Blossom Race Report

The Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run was a complete success for me. I love setting a goal and then hitting it on the nose. I told myself for weeks that I'd run 1:13, but in the last few days I started to change my goal to 1:16 because I didn't feel confident.

When the race started I lined up in the red corral with the other mid-packers. When they finally let us go (3 minutes behind the lead pack) I ran with my natural projected pace. I dodged around a few people who were taking it pretty slow, but who knows if they were the ones passing me late in the race. I looked at my Garmin often to ensure that I wasn't going out too fast. I maintained very even splits for the entire race and the first two miles were my slowest as I planned.

My declared plan was 2 miles 7:40, 4 miles 7:30, 2 miles 7:20, last 2 miles give it all I've got. I stuck to the general structure of this plan, but actually felt really fresh. Running the mostly flat course in the great weather must have really had an effect on me. I kind of felt mile 9 on the way back from Hains Point, but I focused on a person I wanted to beat who was picking up the pace.

This girl in pink shorts passed me and I decided that she would not beat me, but slowly she left me behind as we approached the end so I found another target. A man and his son were ahead of me. His nine year old must have joined him from the sidelines and was keeping pace with him for at least a quarter mile. Worse yet, they both stayed ahead of me! I had enough, I picked up the pace with about a half mile to go and said, "Way to go, kid" as I passed them both. Then I stretched out for an almost all out dash. I hit a 4:50 pace for the last 100 meters or so and finished with my best mile of the race. I ran a negative split and hit my goal time with the unofficial 01:12:57 (Garmin said I did better). Good enough for 935 out of 6,881 men and 211 out of 1,402 men in my age group.

I feel very accomplished and that I have quite a bit of improvement in my racing skills to go. I know that I can close better than I did - I should've left a bit more on the course.

Splits

Mile 01 - 00:07:33

Mile 02 - 00:07:22

Mile 03 - 00:07:03

Mile 04 - 00:07:20

Mile 05 - 00:07:19

Mile 06 - 00:07:13

Mile 07 - 00:07:21

Mile 08 - 00:07:16

Mile 09 - 00:07:08

Mile 10 - 00:06:57

2009 Running Report

2009 Running Report

Good year in running for me. I had no injuries, save the current chaffing episode (see previous blog entry). I completed my first two marathons on very hilly and challenging conditions. I completed 1,136.7 miles in 171 runs. I ran in Australia, the UK, Orlando, and all over Bowie. The vast majority of my runs were outside and I think I am still getting faster. I hope 2010 brings good runs and a few new PRs in more different types of races. I still hope to get a BQ (Boston Qualifier - 3:15), but that is a bit of a stretch in the next year.

Total Runs Recorded in 2009

Runs: 171
Avg. Time: 00:57:35
Total Time: 164:09:08
Avg. Speed: 6.9 MPH
Avg. Mi Pace: 8:39
Avg. Dist.: 6.6 Mi
Total Dist.: 1136.7 Mi
Avg. Cal. Burned: 987.7 C
Total Cal. Burned: 166,926 C

Outdoor Runs in 2009

Count: 106 Activities
Distance: 767.44 mi
Time: 111:44:19 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 95,334 ft
Avg Speed: 6.9 mph
Calories: 108,138 C
Avg Elevation Gain: 973 ft

Races in 2009

Baltimore Marathon 10/10/2009
Dist: 26.45 Mi
Time: 03:58:23
Pace: 09:00 min/mi



Frederick Marathon 05/30/2009
Dist: 26.20 Mi
Time: 04:03:27
Pace: 9:17 min/mi

My First Marathon Race Report

My First Marathon Race Report

It was a cool Spring day about 55 degrees dark clouds in the sky hinted that we would have a long drenching day about an hour into the race. I arrived about 50 minutes early and after catching up with a few friends I ran into by chance and doing my bag check I got in line for the porta-potty with about 30 minutes until the start time. The line moved slow and I was nervous that I would not make it in time in both cases. So, the moral of the story kids is give yourself plenty of time to get to the bathroom when you arrive at a race.

I found my 3:50 pace group and quickly got claustrophobic with all of the people running near me so I broke away and found myself near the 3:40 pace group. A few miles in I got a little annoyed with conversation the women around me were having and my legs wanted to run faster show I got about 5 minutes ahead of the 3:40 pace group. I heard quite a lot about my pace group bib being so far behind and got into a conversation with a lady, her friend and her husband who hadn't trained but was fit enough and kind enough to pace his wife to the half marathon mark. By the time Bobby left us for the finish line I had run my fastest half-marathon by about one minute 1:50:33.

The guys kept me company from mile 8 to mile 16 or so. The conversation was good though I felt like a little bit of a braggart with my marathon expectations. I remember once saying, "what if I qualify for Boston in my first marathon?" Susan and Jeanne have already run Boston and trained to qualify this race. They let me in on this little secret while hearing my speed fancies in the coolest way. At one point the pace was putting a cramp in Jeanne's style and she gave me the most awesome (and polite) brush off so she could run her own race. Jeanne said to me, "Can I bore you with my fastest marathon ever? It was 2:58..." then she took off to find the pace she was looking for. Mind you we had maintained an 8:23 min/mi pace up to mile 14.

Susan stayed with me until mile 16 when it looked like Jeanne was getting almost a half mile ahead and bid her adieu to me saying that she'll be back to check on me. I said I hope you don't have to. I have to say I love runners. In my experience the average runner is polite, thankful for the fans and peace officers that made our race safe and possible and we genuinely look out for each other.

Since this is a long post I will say how the tough parts began. Mile 18 began the two largest hills I have had to run - 142 feet of incline over one mile followed by 147 feet in the next. It was brutal but I maintained a fair pace. By the end of mile 19 the 3:50 group had caught me. Pacer Josh remembered me from my forum posts and our meeting at the expo on Saturday and he reminded me to glide or bounce down the hill we descended. He was a great motivator asking us to give a little something to finish the last 10-K I kept up for another mile putting in an 8:44 at mile 21 but by mile 22 and the return of the hills I was spent.

I never walked, but I was never the same from mile 22 until the finish. My legs tried to cramp, but a little sprint pushed those back. My diaphram felt that familiar stitch, but I wouldn't let it get me and I tried to put down more water at every rest stop. I ran double digit miles all the way to the end taking an hour to complete the last 5 miles.

I must give a shout out to the car full of the cutest kids ever who cheered me and other struggling runners on as we closed in on mile 25. They kept saying, "Go Kris!" and "Keep going Kris!" I actually saw them at the finish line and they said to me great job and I was very touched. I would thank them personally for what that meant to me if I could, but I'll pay it forward instead. Another shout out goes to my big brother who showed up to the race just in time to see me finish and helped me to my car as I was in bad shape at the end and to my wife and kids who met me at my hotel room with an old favorite - Fox's pizza.

I finished in 4:03:27. I did not meet my goal, but I tried to sprint to the finish line and I will be more smart about keeping a conservative pace all the way up to mile 20 and try to make up no more than 10 or 12 minutes at the end. Hey, its my first marathon I had a great time and met cool people. I am going to learn from this race and try to be better for my next marathon at Baltimore October 10.

Happy running and thanks for reading. I'll be back.

Split, Total Time, Elevation Gain, Elevation Loss
* 1, 08:18, 142, 62
* 2, 08:06, 63, 131
* 3, 08:22, 102, 79
* 4, 08:12, 57, 77
* 5, 08:37, 240, 224
* 6, 08:16, 101, 102
* 7, 08:10, 13, 54
* 8, 08:19, 68, 88
* 9, 08:19, 62, 52
* 10, 08:13, 65, 41
* 11, 08:11, 41, 85
* 12, 07:58, 41, 33
* 13, 08:13, 62, 33
* 14, 08:14, 177, 169
* 15, 08:32, 84, 137
* 16, 08:59, 87, 22
* 17, 09:04, 33, 58
* 18, 09:27, 142, 60
* 19, 10:18, 147, 33
* 20, 09:58, 52, 79
* 21, 08:44, 65, 185
* 22, 11:21, 95, 47
* 23, 11:46, 114, 80
* 24, 11:41, 58, 129
* 25, 12:24, 82, 73
* 26, 12:30, 52, 73
* .2, ???