NJ Marathon

8 weeks before the NJ Marathon, I suffered a hip/ piriformis injury that caused me to mostly cross-train on the bike until the final week of training - very little running during that time. I managed a couple 18’s before being injured, but never got a 20 in. I decided the real goal was no longer sub 3:10, but to at least go for a BQ (sub 3:25.) I promised my wife that if either I was injured during the race, or a BQ became impossible, I would DNF.

It was a chilly start with some wind, so I was really glad to get going. I was disappointed that I was the only one I saw wearing a black ribbon for Boston. They did have a 26.2 sec moment of silence, but many runners were too busy yacking to know what was going on. It was great when they played “Sweet Coralline.”

I really held back & went slow for the first 3 miles, ave pace: 7:43

After that, I settled into an easy breathing/ comfortable & sustainable pace of 7:19 for the next 15 miles.

My nutrition/ water/ carbs/ electrolyte intake was working great.

It was between 17 & 18 miles, my legs started to talk back to me – “buddy, we haven’t gone this far in a long time, what are you doing to us?”

Between 19 to 21 miles, the pain & discomfort really started to build. I wasn’t injured, & I wasn’t feeling it in my hip. My nutrition also seemed to still be on track. I was just in massive pain. It was especially my right leg. It just didn’t want to run any longer. My right foot felt close to cramping up multiple times. It was clearly the result of the lack of running mileage those last 8 weeks. I was extremely close to DNF’ing multiple times. There were moments that it took everything in me to keep running. I calculated in my head that if I didn’t start walking, I still had a chance for a sub 3:25. It really was a miracle I didn’t stop due to the incredible pain I was in. I was clearly limping at times while running. I would come really close to quitting & then the pain would ease a little, only to return even stronger.

The last 8 miles up to 26, I averaged 8:37

When I saw the finish line, I looked down at my Garmin & saw that it was already 3:24:xx – “oh crap!” Incredibly, my body shut down all pain receptors, & I bolted the last 10th of a mile. I thought to myself, “what the heck? – why couldn’t I do this sooner?”

Finish time: 3:25:54

2nd time in a row I missed qualifying for Boston by less than a min. On the bright side, I get another 5 min when I try to qualify this fall for 2015 when I’ll be 50.

Wow, Dave - way to suck it up and finished. I might have bailed numerous times too, but runners, we are a strange breed - that is for sure. I have had my share of piriformis issues as well, so I get it. Sorry you just missed that BQ (I did that in Boston 2012 running 4:00:11). Rest up, recover, and you will definitely get it in the fall.

Dave, I'm guessing the not normal training pattern had some impact here in your time. You gave it a good try and hope you get it next time.

I was wondering why you went out with such a fast pace if you were trying for a 3:25. A 7:49 pace is what would get you that time but you ran 30 seconds faster than that for 15 miles. That had to have a major impact on you later in the race.

JohnP wrote:...I was wondering why you went out with such a fast pace if you were trying for a 3:25. A 7:49 pace is what would get you that time but you ran 30 seconds faster than that for 15 miles. That had to have a major impact on you later in the race.

Correct, I was going closer to the pace I had originally trained for because it was so easy. For those first 17 miles, my effort & breathing felt closer to an easy long run. My legs just gave out due to not being able to keep up the training. The pain was all over my entire legs.

Well, at least happy to hear that you avoided the Med tent!

Great effort under crazy circumstances. Last time I shut down the training early in the cycle, I DNF'd - never any fun.

Heal up and train well for whatever is next, and hope to see you out there locally some time soon!

Glad you were able to finish, Dave. I agree that going out that fast with so much time off could have led to your demise. I have done it before myself. I think you know that a BQ is well within your reach at least. Good luck in getting that in the near future.

Sorry you just missed Dave. For a pre-register BQ you may want to look into Around the Lake Marathon at the end of July in Wakefield, MA. It's a night race so it's gets cooler as you go. It's loops around a lake and completely flat.

Oh man, sorry about the disappointment, but still a solid time, congrats. Yes, the 50 yr old BQ is a bit easier, good luck.