Marine Corps Marathon 2011

By: Mike Schreder (The new other Mike. No, not that one, the other one.)

On Sunday, October 30, Mike Schank and I ran the Marine Corps Marathon.  First of all, I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to the group for tracking us and for all of the emails.  It was awesome to read them after the race!  It was also helpful to read the previous race reports from Hazel and Sara…we stayed at the DoubleTree Crystal City as they both suggested and it worked out great.

Since we have so many Mikes in the group, this is probably a good time to set the record straight on names:

Mike me, because I am making the list
Other Mike Mike Schank
Mike Ham Mike Ham – always “Mike Ham”, never just “Mike” and never just “Ham”
New Mike Mike Putman, AKA Other Other Mike
Newer Mike next Mike to join UCRR
Newest Mike will have to be the last Mike to join UCRR
Honorary Mike Troy Eisenberger

Ok, back to the report.  We left Charlotte Saturday morning.  The weather was cold and rainy and it only got worse by the time we pulled in to the DC Armory for the Expo and packet pick-up.  The temperature was 35 degrees and we had wind, rain, sleet and then snow – just general nastiness.  We kept thinking how lucky we were that the race wasn’t until Sunday.  It just led to a lot of checking of weather.com.

The MCM website suggested getting to the Runner’s Village 2 hours before the start.  That seemed a bit much so we left the hotel – after posing for a brief picture in our new UCRR gear that Mike sent to the group – about 6:15.  After we got through the security area and into the Village it was an hour and a half before the start.  And it was a very cold hour and a half.  Sunday was a little windy and in the mid 30s.  We spent some time in the tent, checked our bags with the Marines and hit the port-a-jon (lines were not bad at all) before we walked the next half mile to the starting corrals.  Note for next year’s MCM runners – there are additional port-a-jons right next to the starting corrals.  I made the mistake of not stepping out of our corral one last time so had to make my first-ever mid-race pit stop in the woods after 5 miles or so.

Another mistake that I made was overdressing for the weather.  The forecast was for mid 30s at the start and 42 at the finish so I had a base layer and the long sleeve UCRR shirt.  Once we got running and the sun came out, the base layer was actually too warm.  I had ditched the Dollar Store throwaway gloves, hat and sweatshirt and I ended up taking the base off around mile 17 and tying it around my waist.  Looking back, I would have had a heavier throwaway sweatshirt and kept it on longer instead.

Once Drew Carey fired the official starting gun (he finished the marathon with a 4:37), we were finally off and jogging.  We started fairly slow due to the number of people in the race but the crowd actually moved pretty well.  We tried to keep our first few miles a little slower than target pace and between 5k and 10k fell in right around 8:35 – 8:40.

There were several bands and DJs and great crowds in the Georgetown area and I realized that the loud music and crowds would make me take off.  My Garmin would show around an 8:15 pace after we passed the music and Other Mike would have to reel me back in line.  In the second half of the race he started warning me even before we passed music.  As we made our first pass near the Lincoln Memorial, we saw the best sign all day:  “My hot wife is running…all I do is drink beer.”

Around the halfway point we passed a guy carrying his iPhone who actually answered a call while running.  He was huffing and puffing so loud there is no way the person on the other end of the line understood a single word he was saying.  Our pace stayed right in line and we hit the half at 1:55 which was right on target.  Below is a picture of Other Mike showing his UCRR pride as we crossed the half timing mat:

Mikes

We kept our same steady pace up through our next pass by the Lincoln Memorial and around the National Mall / Smithsonian areas and were still feeling good (miles 15-19).  I picked up some Sport Beans at the food stop which ended up being a good move.  I learned that I need to vary my fuel sources in races.   By the end of the race I just could not stomach another GU.  We headed out to the bridge to go back over to Virginia.  The bridge was a slightly uphill mile 21 and this is where we split up.  I kept chugging and found my least favorite part of the course.  We got into Crystal City and could see the earlier runners coming back up the other side of the street.  I figured it couldn’t be too far but it ended up being a long mile down and another one back up.  I did see a young guy in the wheelchair group surrounded by 6 other guys in 3 Mile shirts.  They carried a British flag in front of him and another flag behind him.  I wish I would have asked them about their organization since I didn’t find anything on Google later.  Coming out of Crystal City, at mile 23, the last food stop was Dunkin’ Donuts.  As much as I like them, the Munchkins would really not have gone down well at that point.

My 2 slowest miles were at 23 and 25 and I had to keep reminding myself to stay strong and keep my pace.  If I was organizing next year’s race, I would add some bands and music for the last few miles.  We headed back up to the highway for the last mile (my new least favorite part of the course) and finally made the turn to head up to the finish line and Iwo Jima Memorial.  The crowds helped pull most runners along to get up the last hill but I was surprised at the number of people walking.  I was happy to finish in 3:52 which cut 6 ½ minutes off of my PR.  Mike also dropped his PR by 11 minutes.

As I made the long slow walk to the Finish Festival to get my bag and beers, there was a guy handing out pamphlets for something he said is great for Achilles Tendon issues.  I was walking next to a runner who leaned over to his girlfriend and said, “That would be great – if I had feet.”  I looked down and he had run the race on 2 prosthetic blades.  Incredible.

A couple final notes –

What Didn’t Work

  • Getting beat by the guy in the full–body shark costume.  On the bright side, I did beat the Gnome Guy and the Devil Guy who was painted completely red and actually carried a pitchfork.
  • Overdressed for the weather
  • We didn’t find the shuttle which would have taken us back to a spot much closer to the hotel – instead we walked about 3 miles which felt good at first but got old in a hurry.

What Did Work

  • Having a chauffeur – thanks, Mike!
  • Lot of music along the course and great crowds – especially Georgetown and the National Mall and monument areas.
  • The race was awesome and incredibly well organized.
  • The Marines thanked US for running which seems backwards for what they do for us.
  • Having a great support group like UCRR!

* * *

By: Mike Schank

Pre-Race training

Prior to this race I would have to say that I felt good about my training.  This is only my second year doing marathons, but I found a good plan, stuck to it fairly religiously, avoided injury, and felt strong heading into my marathons.  I used a modified version of the Furman that Mike created (we added a 4th day).

I have to say I was a bit nervous about doing another marathon so quickly after I just finished Chicago, which was a mere 3 weeks earlier.  My original rationale was that I figured it takes a long time to get into marathon shape so if I had a bad marathon in the first one I would quickly get another bite at the apple.  To my pleasant surprise it worked out well.  At Chicago I missed my goal of finishing under 4 hours, but given the hot conditions I actually felt really good about my effort.  During the 3 weeks in between I lightened my mileage quite a bit and made sure I gave my body ample time to recover.

Pre-Race Morning

The runners village was about a half mile walk from the hotel on a very cold (36 degrees) morning.  My racing attire consisted of a running hat, gloves, a thin running short sleeve shirt then a thin long sleeve shirt.  Prior to checking my bag in I had a thick sweatshirt and a spring jacket on.   Let’s just say this wasn’t enough.  I was hoping to wait until the last possible second to check in my extra layers, but unfortunately Mike was a bit more anxious than that.  I checked in my extra layers and we walked the half-mile to the starting corrals.  We got there with about 45 minutes to spare.

I was completely miserable; I haven’t been this cold in a long time.  My shivering was so out of control that my jaws began to get sore.  I’m thinking, damn I forgot to condition my jaws.  Someone actually gave us a pack of hand warmers.  First time I’ve actually used them, they didn’t work all that well.  Oh, if I didn’t get the point across already, it was really cold J

Pre-Race there was a fly over by a few Osprey helicopters.  Very cool, they passed us with their blades in the helicopter positions, but after they passed us the blades move to the front in an airplane configuration.

Race Start

The gun went off right at 8:00.  I was really happy to get started; I really needed to get moving.  My toes and my ankles were completely numb at this point.  Feeling started to come back about mile 2, at mile 3 I was good and warm.  At mile Mike and I were remarking that being cold seems like such a distant memory.  The weather and the temperatures for the rest of the race were absolutely perfect.

The wheel chair racers started 15 minutes before the runners at 7:45.  We saw them early in the race, about mile 2.  It was a dangerous situation as the early miles were hilly and these racers struggled in the uphills but flew down the downhill sections.  This was a dangerous mix, we almost saw some runners get taken out by this.  The race organizers could do a much better job of planning this; they should get the wheel chair participants out much earlier.

The funniest moment of the race was in mile 6.  A guy said to a woman he was running with “Hun, I don’t want to freak you out but…. THERE IS A SHARK NEXT TO YOU”, then I saw the guy in the shark costume.  I’m sure it was much funnier in person than as you read this.  We saw the shark guy for about the next five miles.

The first 15 or so miles were fairly uneventful from a running perspective.  We were keeping with our planned pace.  I reminded Mike several times to slow down, especially as we ran past bands or large groups of crowds.  But overall, we kept a good pace, stayed consistent and felt strong.MS1

Miles 15-20

At this point in the race, going too fast is no longer an issue, but there isn’t a drop off because I still felt strong.  This was my favorite part of the race for scenery and crowd support.  This part mostly winds through the mall.  Apparently we ran right in front of the Capital.  I was helping Mike with his wardrobe and didn’t even notice it until this picture came out.

During this race I changed my fuel strategy with the hopes that it would help me get past the wall.  In my previous marathons I took a gel every 45 minutes.  In this race I took one every 30 minutes.  But my stomach felt upset and I couldn’t take my planned gel at the 2:30 mark.  I eventually took it at 2:45, but that would be my last one of the race.  I think this had an impact later in the race.

Mike and I headed for the bridge and stayed strong.  We were starting to pass walkers as we ascended up the hill on the bridge.

Miles 20-26.59

I started this stretch strong, crossing the bridge on 395 I felt great.  This was where Mike was determined to drop me like a bad habit. He started to pull away, I tried to keep up but this was eventually a lost cause.

ms2In Mile 23 my issues started.  I felt numbness all down my left arm through my fingers.  I tried to shake it out and even switch my Garmin to my right hand, but to no avail.  At this point I’m seriously starting to ponder if I’m having a heart attack.  I really wanted to break the 4 hour mark, but I also wanted to see my family again as well J.  Eventually I resolved to not worry about my arm, but at this point I was fully engaged with the wall.  I felt totally shot.  Luckily I had build up enough of a buffer that I was able to still struggle during these miles and still come in at 3:58.  I was exhausted after crossing the finish line, but I still shook every Marine’s hand I could and thanked them for their support.

Final Thoughts

It was really good to run with Mike.  He is a strong runner and it kept me on a good pace through 22.  I do need to figure out how to not bonk at the end, my finishing in all my 4 marathons have been a struggle.  Although I went the furthest in this one before I bonked.  I think I need to train harder and change my fueling strategy.  Also, it was awesome to see the support and tracking we got from the UCRR crew via email.

What was awesome

  • Pacing with Mike through 21
  • Two marathons in 3 weeks.  This totally worked out; I would absolute do them back to back again
  • Marine support throughout the race.
  • Weather, it was absolutely perfect during the race
  • Running with Sharks
  • Awesome support from the UCRR crew
  • Post race beer (when is it not awesome?)

What wasn’t quite as awesomems3

  • Being ditched by Mike at 21
  • Freezing my butt off before the race started
  • Fueling every 30 minutes, my stomach not being able to handle it at the end
  • Bonking with 4 miles left
  • Wheelchair hazards early in the race
  • The Crystal City section of the race was pretty bad

Mile

Pace

1

9:08

2

8:50

3

8:41

4

8:36

5

8:37

6

8:30

7

8:52

8

8:48

9

8:39

10

8:30

11

8:32

12

8:36

13

8:39

14

8:46

15

8:33

16

8:36

17

8:52

18

8:47

19

8:38

20

8:58

21

8:34

22

8:53

23

9:12

24

9:56

25

10:49

26

10:53

26.52

11:11