Minneapolis Marathon

I ran the Minneapolis Marathon three days ago, and it was the third time that I've done this marathon, out of the four times that it's been done (I didn't do the inaugural year). It was my fourth marathon total. I hadn't trained like I wanted to. Basically, I'm still a student, so I got so busy with school and work that I didn't have a lot of time for running, and when I did, I had gotten out of the habit of running, so it was hard to motivate myself. But I had signed up for this marathon in January. When school was almost over, five weeks before this marathon, I started actually training. I had done sporadic five mile runs during the semester (very sporadic, like maybe three times total), and I had done one half marathon in January, and one in March. I did a long run of 14 miles the first week back to serious training, and then did a 20-miler the second week. Then I entered the three weeks before the marathon, and I didn't really taper the first week of the three weeks, but then I tapered for two weeks. I started having some foot pain (very minor, but just something I had to watch) a week and a half before the marathon, so I took two days off, did my last long run the weekend before the marathon. I didn't feel my foot until about the end, and even then it wasn't pain, I just felt that something wasn't quite right. The next Tuesday when I tried running, I got about 50 meters and had foot pain, so I didn't run at any more until the marathon.

So, all that being said, I wasn't expecting a great marathon. However, my PR was 4:08:27, so I decided to try to break 4 hours. I didn't really think that I would do it, but I didn't want to just go for a slow time, even though that is what I "should" have done. When my mom asked what I thought I would finish in, I told her 4:15. I still decided to start at a 4-hour pace.

There ended up not being a 4-hour pacer. The website said that there was supposed to be, but something happened so there wasn't one. Thankfully, I had printed off a pace band the night before. I started off and I felt like I was walking. I learned a lot about pacing in this marathon. I have never had a marathon where I have felt like I was going SO SLOW in the beginning. I've always started out comfortable, but not feeling like this marathon. I now know what it means when people say that the pacers are there to help you from going out too fast...and this was a good lesson, to learn how a good pace should really feel at the beginning of a marathon.

I was going for a 9:09 per mile pace. I passed the first mile marker in 8:30-8:45 I think. But I was feeling like I was going SO SLOW! For the first ten or so miles, I was about a minute and a half ahead of pace, but at least I was hitting my pace, because I was staying the same amount ahead of my pace. My pace band got wet and tore, so it fell of without me noticing pretty early on in the race. I ended up doing a lot of math in my head this race.

I'm not sure when it started, but my groin started hurting a little bit. It wasn't too bad, but I felt it throughout most of the race. The mile marker flags for miles 10-13 were missing (or at least I didn't see them), so that made pacing harder, especially as that is when my pace started getting harder to keep. Still both too hard, but I didn't have the feeling like I was walking like I did earlier. Through miles 15 and 16, the course went on a rocky road, with big rocks, not just little pebbles. I wear the Vibram FiveFingers, so that was not a pleasant experience for my feet! Around this time is when I realized that I probably was not going to make it under four hours.

The race started getting a lot harder as I got close to mile 20. In previous marathons, the 20 mile mark has been my total crashing point. I though that it was coming this time too. I didn't see the 20 mile mark either, but I was still running and the 21 mile mark! The biggest thing that made the race hard in the last 10K was my feet. My arches were KILLING ME! I think that it was probably because I had only started serious training again five weeks before the marathon, and although my feet had been totally conditioned for my last marathon I did in Vibrams, this time they had had a long break and had only had five weeks to get back in shape.

Around mile 23 I realized that I could get a PR. I was still running (I was surprised, as every marathon, for the last 10K, I have don a run-walk)! I started looking for a mile marker every ten minutes. I didn't really know what pace I was running, but I wanted to know when I was getting close! So I was hitting the mile markers on times like 3:27:xx, 3:37:xx, etc. So my estimate of when I would get to the mile 25 marker was 3:57:xx. That would put me at mile 26 at 4:07:xx, and my PR was 4:08:27. So I tried to get to the mile 25 marker before 3:57. I think I ran mil 25 a little faster, and when I saw the 25 mile marker, I increased my pace and got there at 3:56:xx. That left me about 12 minutes for the last 1.2 miles! I was going to get a PR!!!!! For the last mile, I went at a pretty good clip, I was surprised that I actually had energy left to do this! I saw some friends who had done the half at about mile 25.5, and they ran with me for a little bit, but when I saw the 26 mile marker, I increased my pace again! I sprinted across the finish in a time of 4:06:06, a PR by over two minutes!!!!!

So this was a very exciting race. I can't help feeling that if my feet were stronger and if my arches didn't hurt so much, I might have broken 4 hours, but I'm still happy with the PR! It was the first time that I have run the whole entire way. I've always had to do a run-walk in the last 6.2 miles (and for one marathon I had to start doing some walking earlier than mile 20). I learned some really good lessons too. I learned how pacing should feel. And I learned the value of rest/not overtraining. I have always been one to do hard training and try to get in a good, hard training plan. But this time, I didn't train well or long, and I got a lot of rest, and I had to do not running because of my foot for the last week and half (except for my last long run) before the marathon. And I did really good in this marathon!

So now I have Grandma's Marathon in 10 days, and I can't wait! I know this is highly unorthodox, but I think I'll go for another PR...

Nice job, Caleb! No telling what you could accomplish, should you actually train for a marathon (and I mean that in a nice way).

There's nothing wrong at all by going for another PR. We always hope we can stack PR after PR after PR.

Rest up and get back after it at Grandma's.

5 weeks training to PR, nice!

Congratulations on the PR! Great work! I agree it's always best to start out slow and save the energy for the last 10K.

I hope Grandma's Marathon goes well!

Caleb, way to go on the PR. 3:xx is right around the corner.

Oh to be young! Just joking, Caleb - nice job and good luck at Grandma's.

Nicely done, Caleb! Enjoy the glow. Minneapolis is a tough course on which to set a PR. Doubly so in five fingers. But you put in a hard effort and were rewarded.

We veterans know that it's foolhardy to try another hard effort at 26.2 two weeks out. Even though the Grandma's course is somewhat more forgiving, I suggest you take it easy there, lest you wish to court blow-up or worse (injury). You learned some valuable lessons here. Don't forget them in Duluth. Bon chance.

Thanks for all the comments!

ounce wrote:No telling what you could accomplish, should you actually train for a marathon (and I mean that in a nice way).

No kidding! This is actually the first marathon that I haven't really trained for...

fostever wrote:3:xx is right around the corner.

I certainly hope so. This has been my dream goal for the marathon for a LONG time, ever since before my first marathon two years ago!

Well, I PRed at Grandma's and broke 4:00 for the first time! My time was 3:57:42. Race report to come...

Nifty.