Carmel Marathon 2016 Race Recap

I could look at this one as "the one that got away" as I posted an "oh so close to a sub-3:00" finishing time. But, you know what? I ran 26.2 faster than I have in my life and that alone was worth all the time and effort I put into training. For three solid magical hours I felt like I was truly "racing" a marathon.

I'm proud of myself for not giving up near the end - when I pretty much knew that I'd need a miracle to finish the last few miles fast enough to go sub-3:00, I still tried my damnedest and hung on somehow for a pretty big PR and an age group win. During most of my 10 weeks of training, the goal was to simply run a confidence building sub-3:05 PR. My attempt at a sub-3:00 would be reserved for Chicago in October. It was only in the past few days that I had changed my goal from 3:05:00 to 2:59:59. 

I've run enough races that I realize that sometimes I'll beat my goal by a few seconds and other times I'll come up short by a few seconds. That's the way racing works. A PR is still a PR and should be celebrated. I may never run another marathon this fast again, so I should savor the memory.

Pre-Race

This was going to be my first small town marathon. I've only ever marathoned in cities with over 600,000 residents (Chicago, Boston, NYC and LA) so with Carmel, Indiana having a spread out population of 85,000, this was going to be a completely different experience. It was also different in that I've also never run a marathon where there were other distances running on parts of the marathon course. This one had a 5k, 8k and half marathon as well. Trying to weave around the half marathon walkers would provide obstacles during the latter half of the race. 

In any case, my friend Dan and his brother (who were both running) picked me up at the hotel at about 6am. In about 10 minutes we were in the parking garage listening to tunes killing some time before we needed to use the facilities. At about 6:30, we made our way to the lobby of the building we parked in and used the indoor bathrooms and when we were finished we sat on the floor of the lobby. I spotted Erin and a college friend of mine and we all briefly chatted, before I headed out to bag check.

After checking my bag (except for my small bottle of pickle juice), I made my way over to the start corrals, where they impressed upon us how international the race had become by having participants from different countries wish us luck in their native tongue. They also mentioned that Carmel is Indiana's second largest marathon. Then a prayer was said (Ed. they pray before all races in Indiana) and then 8-Time Boston Marathon wheelchair champion Jean Driscoll started the race and we were off!

The Race

First Half

I wanted to start conservatively and gradually pick up the pace. The plan was to run 7:20, 7:15, 7:10 for the first three miles. So I lined up alongside the 3:10 pacer and just ran relaxed and tried to fight off the urge to over-speed too early. Erin's husband Jason cheered me on at the mile 1 marker and snapped some pictures:

At Mile 1 (src)

Hello! (src)

The first three miles were net downhill, so my actual splits were faster than planned at 7:14, 7:10 and 7:03. I sped ahead of the 3:10 pacer and spent a few more miles on the meandering course as it wended its way through suburban subdivisions. We eventually separated from the half marathoners (for the time being), and I spotted the 3:05 pace group ahead. I decided that I'd try tuck in the middle of them for a few miles. That way, I could knock down some relaxed 7:00 minute miles and let them do the pacing for me. However, I had to speed up to actually catch the group as their pace seemed to be about a 6:55/mile. The two pacers were having a jovial conversation trying to help the runners relax and keep their minds off of the stresses of the race. After a half a mile, I glanced at my watch and realized that their pace had dropped to 7:15/mile. The pace swings were too much for what I needed. I could do yo-yo pacing on my own! So, I took off and left the group behind. I was in about 65th place overall at the five mile split according to the results.

Running through the woods with my
pickle juice in hand (src)

Finally it was time to get down to business and lock in the 6:42/mile pace that would get me to my sub-3:00. So after a 7:02 mile six, I sped up maybe a little too much and ran mile seven in 6:48 and finally got to my 6:42 for mile eight. So at that point I just needed to hold onto 6:42 until the finish. At the aid stations I'd grab a cup of water and pour it into my bottle which contained what remained of the pickle juice, so the concentration of the drink got diluted over time. Anyway, out of nowhere I heard someone yelling "Go Pete!" and it was Violetta from my team the Bootleg Runners Coalition waving a giant BRC flag! A side-five with her helped energize me and miles 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 were all perfectly done to plan at 6:42/mile. Before I knew it, I stepped on the half marathon mat at 1:30:02 and was halfway home. At this point, I would have been about 10 seconds behind a 3 hour pacer (if there had been one). Unfortunately, the race organizers got rid of the three hour pacer just a few days before the race, which for me (and a few other pace-challenged runners) became a major issue. For 3:00 tracking purposes, I'm going to call this non-existent pacer my "Imaginary 3 Hour Pacer" or "IP" from here on out.

First half split: 1:30:02 (6:52/mile)

Second Half

Mile 14 was another perfect 6:42/mile but after that I sped up. This meant that I was now ahead of "IP" because I ran a pace of 6:37 for the 15th mile. It was a needless acceleration, and the extra effort was close to imperceptible at the time, but there was no need for it. It was my fastest mile of the day and probably took more out of me than I would have liked. At that point I was 11 seconds ahead of "IP". I was passing quite a few runners and had to weave around the half marathon runners and walkers as we ran on a narrow trail. I also had to weave around the third place female (who would go onto win $250) and her bicycle escort. Over miles 16 through 20, I gained even more time on my "Imaginary Pacer" by averaging 6:48/mile which put me 20 full seconds ahead. However, at the time I thought I had more time "banked" than there was in reality. At the mile 19 aid station, I almost missed getting a drink of water due to an angry dad having a bad water and banana exchange with a boy who I presumed was his son. Luckily I was able to squeeze around him and grab a cup of water from the last outstretched hand and topped off my pickle juice with some glorious fresh water. 

Miles 21 and 22 were in a nature park near the Monon Center which included two ascents and descents of this bridge:

Bridge at Monon Center (src)

The sun was starting to heat things up and there was no shade in the park. I could feel myself slowing slightly, and climbing the bridge two times took just a little more out of me than I would have liked at this stage.  Even though I was slowing to a still speedy 6:53/mile for 21 and 22, it was enough for me to drop 5 seconds to the IP. I was 15 seconds ahead of IP, but losing precious seconds by the mile!  At the mile 22 aid station, I spotted a race clock and finally my head cleared enough to do some pacing math and I realized how dangerously close I was to losing my quest for a sub-3:00 with only 4.2 miles remaining. I was thinking a final time of 3:02 (or worse) might be in the cards if I continued to fade like I was. I told myself that I'd come this far and was going to give myself a chance to break 3:00. After taking my final swig of pickle juice, I ditched the bottle and was now "hands free". After cresting the bridge for the second time, the course left the park and headed back through an industrial park area towards the town of Carmel and the finish line. I passed a couple of runners who were throwing up in the heat. I was fading albeit not nearly as badly as them, and felt the race slowly slipping away from me. By the mile 24 marker I'd fallen a whole 30 seconds behind "IP" after struggling to lay down two 7:05s for miles 23 and 24.

Suddenly, I could hear the footfalls from a group of runners from behind who were gaining on me. One of the runners was obviously coaching another runner in the group. The coach was yelling at him that his sub-3:00 goal was still realistic and that it was "now or never for the glory". I knew that I needed to stay ahead of that group, for falling behind them meant that I would likely miss sub-3:00. So I turned on what little energy I had left and buzzed through downtown Carmel's Arts and Design District. My mile 25 pace improved to 6:56/mile. Although it was enough to stay pretty far ahead of the group of runners behind me, I sensed it was not enough to make up the time deficit I was facing. I was given a boost when Erin and Jason cheered me on as Jason snapped these pictures: 

Trying to find speed as I head uphill (src)

I had to swerve around a few half marathon walkers and did so like a man possessed. One of them swung their arms out just as I was passing and I brushed them. They shouted out a loud "jeez!" or something like that, but there was no time for apologies, because I was trying to dart through the razor thin openings between these groups of walkers in order to save a few seconds by not weaving. I pumped my arms and continued to haul up and up towards the final turn. Xaarlin's husband L cheered me on took these of me running the "kick killing" uphill portion near the homestretch: 

 Going up the final hill (src)

I finished mile 26 in 6:55. As much as I had wished this mile would have been net downhill instead of net uphill it was not to be. It almost broke my will as the incline would not give me the leg turnover I needed to fly. I didn't quit however, and was determined to speed up even more. The speed came at long last after the final turn where there was a 300 yard downhill stretch to the finish. As I neared the finish line about 100 yards away, I could hear the announcer say "we have just passed the 3 hour mark", which was deflating, but I still flew down the hill and finished the final 0.3 miles at a 6:34 pace.

Finished! (src)

 Second half split: 1:30:18 (6:53/mile)

Results
Finishing Time: 3:00:20
Overall: 18/686
Age Group: 1/65

Analysis: My official time was a 3:00:20 for an official pace of 6:52/mile. I missed 2:59:59 by 21 seconds, but PR'd by four minutes and 43 seconds. I got first place in my division and the prizes were a 1st place medal and a $20 gift card from a local running store. My Garmin shows that I ran 26.3 miles for a 6:51/mile pace average. So, I probably got an unofficial "Garmin sub-3 hour marathon" because I likely passed 26.2 on my watch in the 2:59:40 range. I BQ'd by 24+ minutes, which means I can register on the first day of registration for Boston 2017 - if I so choose. After looking at the results, it appears that the entire group of runners who were also gunning for sub 3:00s that tried to pass me during mile 24, all missed 3:00 by less than a minute. what if we had all banded together with a pacer, would we all have been on the "happier" side of that number?

I ran pretty much even splits 1:30:02 and 1:30:18 which I feel is also a major accomplishment. I was in 65th place after mile 5 and finished in 18th place, so I passed at least 47 runners from 5 to 26.2.

I feel relatively good over 72 hours post-race and made it through the entire training cycle (including the race) injury-free. I'll be starting the next training cycle at a better place physically than I did the last one. Coming up short in this one makes me more excited than ever to start my marathon training for Chicago - since I'm confident now it's within my reach.

Post Race:

I didn't know if I wanted to cry or throw up after I grabbed my medal after the line. Part of me that wanted to cry because I had put so much into training for this race, come so close to my goal, and now it would be back to the drawing board and a wait of six more months to try and run 21 seconds faster at the Chicago Marathon. I might have felt sick from the heat/dehydration that I was finally feeling the effects of. Still reeling from the shock of missing by such a close margin, I managed to down a bottle of chocolate milk shake and felt just a little better. Then I headed over to the indoor bathrooms to change. A flood of congratulatory tweets and texts flooded my phone, including Mo whose sage advice was to "wait till tomorrow to beat yourself up over those 21 seconds!" which made me laugh and I told myself to stop the pity party. I went back to the finish line to watch Xaarlin's finish and was turning on my camera when she came blazing by - yelling something about a city on the East Coast. Check out her blog and she can elaborate!

Xaarlin, Erin and I met up near the chute:

Erin, Xaarlin and me

We chatted for a bit and planned to meet in the beer garden. I met up with Susana (who BQ'd), Andreas, and Violeta and we chatted and took a picture.

Susana, Andreas and me (photo by Violeta)

Then my friend Dan, his brother and I went over to the post-race beer garden, but they were sold out of beer! I guess the half marathoners had drunk it all before us marathoners could finish. So, we went over to the Union Brewery instead and met up with Xaarlin and crew. After a beer, it was off to Upland Brewery for lunch and more beer with the Chicago contingent. We toasted Jenny and Manny's engagement with some fancy schmancy beer. Then it was off to the hotel to take a long nap! All-in-all it was a fantastic day spent running and celebrating with many friends. Looking forward to doing it again soon!

Next Up: Ravenswood Run on Sunday!