Clarence Demar Marathon Rpt

This is a nice small point to point marathon in NH with less than 200 running it and nobody really out watching it. While last weekend was pretty ideal with the weather, this weekend was not really marathon weather. At the start it was near 70 with dew point in the 60’s and humidity over 90%. By the end it was the temp was near 80. My goal was 3:35. My PR was 3:51.

I left the house about quarter to five to get up to NH. They bus you to the starting line. It’s this small little mountain town with a country store. We got started and you’d be hard pressed to find a prettier first half course than this one. It didn’t take long before I was soaking wet from sweat. I was pacing around 8min miles or better but it wasn’t easy like it should have been so I backed off. I was starting to get too caught up with my time, etc so around mile 12 I just stopped looking at my watch.

The weather was doing some damage because after mile 20 I started passing a lot of people walking. At this point I was already in marathon pain, but I kept repeating to myself that I trained too damned hard for this to let up. At mile 22 they have this really steep hill that’s a little cruel. Finally at 24 I had nothing left. It took everything I had to keep running. I got a little light headed but made it. They had to help walk me after because I could barely stand. I had nothing left. My time was 3:33:51 and I finished 29 out of 178 finishers. Overall I’m pleased. I might have challenged 3:30 if it was a little better weather. Oh well out of my control. I’m pretty beat up now. I’ve got a lot of rashes and blisters despite a lot of Body Glide. Next up is a two day race at the end of October. A Half and Full. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading.

Again, nicely done in tough conditions. I did a half yesterday, so I have a good idea how this would have felt. You are in terrific shape and I bet you easily could have broken the 3:30 mark on a nicer day.

Congrats!

Great job Alex! You surpassed your goal with very hot and humid weather, you toughed it out and kept running even when you were totally spent. Great work. Now let's find you a marathon that's a little cooler for yet another PR!!

It was great following your training this summer and I know you did train hard for this race. What do you need for a BQ and what is your next race?

Again, great work, I hope you enjoy a few days off now!

Congrulations on the big PR in awful conditions, Alex! I think you would have been quite a bit faster in cooler weather.

A new PR and you beat your goal. Can't complain about that outcome. Way to tough it out at the end and congratulations.

Huge PR on a tough day to run. Well done!

Alex, congratulations on an awesome run in less than ideal conditions! You PR'd pretty significantly even with the heat and humidity. This can only mean good things for you going forward.

Great race and HUGE PR. Congrats!

Wow, "had nothing left" and "had to be walked around" and now you are looking forward to another in late October. Thank you sir may I have another! Nice race and PR, Alex! Heat and humidity is a huge slowing factor so yes 3:30 should definitely be attainable, way to go! I'm inspired for 2 weeks from now after reading this!

Alex Kubacki wrote:This is a nice small point to point marathon in NH with less than 200 running it and nobody really out watching it. While last weekend was pretty ideal with the weather, this weekend was not really marathon weather. At the start it was near 70 with dew point in the 60’s and humidity over 90%. By the end it was the temp was near 80. My goal was 3:35. My PR was 3:51.

I left the house about quarter to five to get up to NH. They bus you to the starting line. It’s this small little mountain town with a country store. We got started and you’d be hard pressed to find a prettier first half course than this one. It didn’t take long before I was soaking wet from sweat. I was pacing around 8min miles or better but it wasn’t easy like it should have been so I backed off. I was starting to get too caught up with my time, etc so around mile 12 I just stopped looking at my watch.

The weather was doing some damage because after mile 20 I started passing a lot of people walking. At this point I was already in marathon pain, but I kept repeating to myself that I trained too damned hard for this to let up. At mile 22 they have this really steep hill that’s a little cruel. Finally at 24 I had nothing left. It took everything I had to keep running. I got a little light headed but made it. They had to help walk me after because I could barely stand. I had nothing left. My time was 3:33:51 and I finished 29 out of 178 finishers. Overall I’m pleased. I might have challenged 3:30 if it was a little better weather. Oh well out of my control. I’m pretty beat up now. I’ve got a lot of rashes and blisters despite a lot of Body Glide. Next up is a two day race at the end of October. A Half and Full. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading.

Holy smokes Alex, what a monster PR! Great job Heal up and thanks for posting. That is good advice about not looking at the watch - I drove myself nuts doing just that and would of probably enjoyed everything more if I would of relaxed and just done what I could do... Impressive run!

Alex, that's an awesome job on a pretty warm day. Congrats on a great PR and great job leaving it all out there.

Congrats on an excellent race, Alex and the big PR!!! I know how lousy the weather was as it was no different on the Cape - much warmer and far more humid than I expected and I only ran 6-7 miles in it. I did cross the 40K mark of the CCM 3x thinking of you, so now it is a blessed course and ready for you in October!

Hope you didn't hurt yourself working so hard. Really impressive performance, though! You're a beast!

Michael Enright wrote:Again, nicely done in tough conditions. I did a half yesterday, so I have a good idea how this would have felt. You are in terrific shape and I bet you easily could have broken the 3:30 mark on a nicer day.
!

Thanks Michael. Hopefully I'll run into you down the Cape.

Julie wrote:It was great following your training this summer and I know you did train hard for this race. What do you need for a BQ and what is your next race?

Again, great work, I hope you enjoy a few days off now!

Thanks Julie. As this was my first cycle with speed and increased mileage I think I just need to continue with it and hopefully my training times come down. I too enjoyed following your training. Hope your knee is doing ok.

Jim Lentz wrote:Congrulations on the big PR in awful conditions, Alex! I think you would have been quite a bit faster in cooler weather.

Thanks Jim. I look at it like it could have been far worse so I'm pleased.

Randy E wrote:A new PR and you beat your goal. Can't complain about that outcome. Way to tough it out at the end and congratulations.

Thanks Randy. I'm very happy because I had no idea if I could actually run 26 at those paces.

Chris M wrote:Huge PR on a tough day to run. Well done!

Thanks Chris. Appreciate it.

jon c wrote:Alex, congratulations on an awesome run in less than ideal conditions! You PR'd pretty significantly even with the heat and humidity. This can only mean good things for you going forward.

Thanks Jon. Best of luck in your 50.

Jack_Scaff wrote:Great race and HUGE PR. Congrats!

Thanks Jack. It was fun.

fostever wrote: Wow, "had nothing left" and "had to be walked around" and now you are looking forward to another in late October. Thank you sir may I have another! Nice race and PR, Alex! Heat and humidity is a huge slowing factor so yes 3:30 should definitely be attainable, way to go! I'm inspired for 2 weeks from now after reading this!

Thanks Steve. I think it may have scrambled my brain causing me to look forward to the next one.

John Kilpatrick wrote:Holy smokes Alex, what a monster PR! Great job Heal up and thanks for posting. That is good advice about not looking at the watch - I drove myself nuts doing just that and would of probably enjoyed everything more if I would of relaxed and just done what I could do... Impressive run!

Thanks John. Great race yourself. I find I do better when at some point in a race I stop worrying about time and just run.

Seth Harrison wrote:Alex, that's an awesome job on a pretty warm day. Congrats on a great PR and great job leaving it all out there.

Thanks Seth. I use inspiration from the board to keep me pushing when my legs are telling me not to.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Congrats on an excellent race, Alex and the big PR!!! I know how lousy the weather was as it was no different on the Cape - much warmer and far more humid than I expected and I only ran 6-7 miles in it. I did cross the 40K mark of the CCM 3x thinking of you, so now it is a blessed course and ready for you in October!

Thanks Michele. Hope you had fun down the Cape. Michael Enright will be running the Cape Cod full as well.

stanton wrote:Hope you didn't hurt yourself working so hard. Really impressive performance, though! You're a beast!

Thank you. I didn't hurt myself but I am still a little worn out from it.

Alex, really great job out there. That's a big PR even in good weather conditions. To do it during that warmer weather is really impressive. Congratulations.

Huge congrats and you even bet your planned goal of 3:35! And in warm weather, goes to show what kind of shape you are in. Looks like better times to come in the future. Maybe Bayshore??

Whoa! 3:33 in those conditions? Umm, you can book sub-3:30 next time out. Very nicely done!

Missed this report some how sorry but way to nail a great PR and certainly in right conditions sub 3:30 is easily in the making.

Wow--way to go on the new PR under tough conditions! I ran this race last year, but was sick (horrible cough & cold) so I couldn't really enjoy it. Under good conditions, I think it could be a great small race. Congrats!

Wait wait wait.....you exceeded your goal in those conditions?!?! Umm, I think you could blow 3:30 away. Either that or you are the greatest warm weather runner not name Wanjiru.

Very well done.