Richmond Marathon 2010
By: Mark Ulrich
Last year, I ran Richmond and it was my first marathon. My goal was 4:00 and I ran 3:53, so I was very happy with the result. This year, I returned to Richmond nearly one year to the day for another run. I knew I had improved quite a bit since last year, but running the same marathon exactly one year later is a very interesting way to really see where you are. My goal was 3:30, one minute per mile faster than last year.
The morning of the race, we met up with Ed, Janet, Diane, Denise, and Holly at their hotel lobby. Everyone was smiling with nervous anticipation for the day. We exchanged hugs and well wishes before we split up to make our way to the start. I found my spot at the start and stood there for a few minutes alone. Ed came by and said hello, then moved closer up to the front. It’s so nice to see familiar faces moments before a marathon. Thanks Ed. Scott had been planning a 4:00-4:30 marathon due to nagging back pain and because he was running a fever which he was unlucky enough to pick up from a sick co-worker the day before. Originally, we planned to run the marathon together, but that had changed and I would be solo. I was pleasantly surprised when Scott found me at the start and we ran the first mile together. It wasn’t how either of us thought it would play out in the weeks leading up to the race, but it was great to get that mile in.
I had a very specific game plan for the race. Start easy for the first few miles to ease my way into the race, then run a slight negative split. I had planned to run mile 1 around 8:30, then the next 2 or 3 miles around 8:15, slowly easing my way down to 8:00 by mile 6 or 7. I planned to be 1 or 2 minutes behind goal time coming across the half, get back to even by mile 18, then hold it at 8:00 through the end. I hit my times nearly exactly, which was my error, I’ll get more into that later.
Miles 1-6 – 8:33, 8:12, 8:12, 8:03, 8:05, 8:03. I was exactly following the plan, perfectly. Surprisingly perfectly. My plan was to pick up up to pace now up to the 8:00 goal pace. Miles 7-11 were 7:52, 7:59, 8:03, 8:04, 8:01. I was nearly 2 minutes behind goal pace and wanted to get it down to no more than a minute as I came across the half. Miles 12-13 were 7:41 and 7:45. I came across the half exactly one minute behind goal pace. I was really surprised I was hitting the splits so perfectly. I felt strong and in control.
Now comes my tactical error. I wanted to pick up the pace now, get back to even and bank a minute or two by mile 20. What I didn’t take under consideration was that miles 14-20 are the toughest part of the course and mostly uphill. Miles 14-16 were 7:38, 7:35, 7:52. Mile 16 is the toughest mile of the course across the Lee bridge. Toughest mile of the course and I just ran it under the overall goal pace. This could come back to haunt me.
Just after I crossed the bridge, I saw an open porta-john and hopped in for a quick stop. Mile 17 was 8:30 due to the pit stop. As I came out, I was looking at my watch to see how much time I had lost and doing some quick math. I was exactly at 8:00 pace overall, exactly at goal pace with the toughest mile behind me. We had our names on our bibs and I heard someone say, “way to go Mark, looking good” while I still had my head down looking at my watch. I looked up and saw that it was Bart Yasso who said it! I smiled and yelled “Barrrrt!” really loud. Very cool and memorable moment.
My legs were getting tired, especially my quads, but I really wanted to bank a little time now. Miles 18-21 were 7:56, 7:46, 7:56, 7:49. I was now about 30 seconds ahead of schedule, but I paid the price. By the time I hit 21, my quads were trashed…. and I mean trashed. I felt like I had done some really heavy squats or something. I had a little time to spare and just wanted to hold on. Miles 22-23 were 8:05 and 8:07. I was really hurting now. I could feel my effort level increasing more and more as my pace got slower and slower. My stomach was starting to get really queasy and I could feel my stride length decreasing because my quads were dead. Mile 24 was 8:33 and I was absolutely cooked. The nausea was so bad that I made my way to the side of the road and was looking for a spot to puke, it seemed imminent. I was also getting dizzy now. Game over? Not so fast.
In my last marathon in March, I hit the wall at 18 and walked. I was just really tired and could have kept going. I promised myself I would never do that again. I knew I couldn’t stay anywhere near 8:00 for these last 2 miles. My goal now was not to quit, don’t walk. Funny how fast your goals change. This was the most I have ever suffered on a run, for sure. Miles 25-26 were 9:33 and 9:52. I finished at 3:35:08. Five minutes slower than I wanted, but still an 18 minute PR. Obviously, I’d be insane to be disappointed with an 18 minute PR.
I came across the finish with a smile, which was also one of the goals going in. I walked over to get my medal and saw Bart Yasso again, he gave me a very genuine, “good job”. Geez, is this guy stalking me or what? It was very cool to have him say something to me twice. I saw Ed at the finish and he asked if I was okay because I looked like I was hobbling as I came across the finish. Quads are dead, but I’m good now.
Ed and I grabbed our cameras and found a good spot to watch Janet and the girls finish. Congrats again to Janet. It’s always fun to watch someone finish their first marathon, such a huge day in our lives.
***
By: Janet Morse
The weekend began with Denise, Diane, and Holly picking me up “at my house”. I use that term rather loosely as I found them in my neighbor’s driveway unloading the car! Oh well, close enough! Diane helped me lug my bag across the lawn to the neighbor’s house. We repacked the car and were on our way! (Ed was traveling separately due to some loose ends he had to tie up for work.) The trip to Richmond was rather uneventful if you don’t count Dee practicing her drafting skills behind a couple of government vehicles who were cruising at an easy 90mph! During the trip we had just one job to do: make dinner reservations! That accomplished, we settled in for the rest of the drive.
It turns out Ed wasn’t too far behind us as we got to the expo only 30 minutes or so before he did. We also met Mark and Scott there. I bought a spibelt (bright pink) to carry my inhaler. And I also picked out my “26.2” sticker for my car. I was really hoping I wasn’t jinxing myself purchasing it before the race! Of course we lost track of time at the expo and found ourselves a bit rushed getting to dinner. But we got there and had a super meal all around. Then back to the hotel to try to rest for the big day!
Try being the operative word. I didn’t sleep well at all. I’d sleep for a while…. wake up….lay there for a while….eventually go back to sleep. Repeat. Then, somewhere during the night one of our running watches started to beep! Ed got up to fix that. I saw 11:00, 12:00, 1:00 on the clock. Then sleep finally came for the rest of the night.
We got up at 6:00. We had a small cup of coffee in the room followed by a bagel and a banana. I dressed, dug out all my accel gels, beans, and enduralites. Ed attached my chip to my shoe and when he pinned on my bib I started to get really nervous. I got so overwhelmed with the excitement and nerves I started to cry. It was about then that Ed sent me down the hall to the girls. They opened the door and asked if I was ready. “Um, I don’t know….” (crying). Dee and Diane hugged me and said very encouraging things. Holly came out of the bathroom and took control. “Stop that right now! I will NOT have you having an asthma attack before the race even starts!” Good point. Get it together, Janet. So I did just that, I got it together, took my first puff of my inhaler, and we headed downstairs. Ed, Mark and Scott took all our bags we wanted to check to the UPS trucks for us. So the girls hung out in the warmth of the hotel lobby a little longer. I took my second puff of my inhaler and tried to relax. One last stop at the restroom and we headed for the start. Only problem, Ed and the boys never came back! I didn’t get to see Ed before the start! I wanted to panic, but I knew he was thinking of me, so I pushed aside the fact that I didn’t see him. I had the girls.
We took our places in our assigned corral. The gun went off and the mass of people started to shuffle forward. OK, deep breath, here we go! It took us a couple minutes to cross the start line. The plan was to start slow (10:15) and then ease into a 9:45 pace for the rest of the race. Gels every 5 miles, walk through all the water stops.
My heart was pounding as we set off. This is it! The first few miles weren’t exactly 10:15, we clicked them off at 9:42, 9:38, 9:45. It was really hard to keep it slow, we had to keep reeling it in. Too fast, back off. Run some more, too fast, back off. I was happy to keep backing off because those last 6.2 miles really worried me. After the first few miles I started to feel more relaxed and breathing easy. Miles 4-6 clocked in at 9:33, 9:44, and 9:31. The first 10 miles of the course were pretty flat. Dee and Holly talked and pointed out some of the sights as we ran along the river. Miles 7-10 were 9:31, 9:32, 9:38, and 9:29. Feeling good!
As we came up off the river, we hit the first and I think worst hill of the race. It was rather steep but fortunately not too long. The whole way up the hill, I heard Michelle in my head, “Keep your back straight, head up, string through the top of your head pulling you up” Apparently I did listen! We got to the top, breathing a bit harder, but recovered pretty quickly. Miles 11-13 clocked in at 10:02 (up the hill), 9:38, 9:44.
The next section of the course was also challenging as we approached and crossed the Lee Bridge. The bridge is a long uphill, followed nicely by some more uphill! It’s not steep, but it’s LONG and there’s a headwind. Mile 14 approaching the bridge was 9:24. As we crossed the bridge, Holly reminded me that Diane would be waiting for us at the end of the bridge. I found myself really looking forward to seeing her, knowing she’d be her usual happy self! She did not disappoint! J Miles 15-16 clocked in at 10:10 up the bridge and 9:45. We met Diane somewhere between miles 17 and 18. My left shoe felt really tight and was bothering me. So when we found Diane, we stopped briefly to retie the shoe. I decided at that point that since we were already stopped, and I wasn’t breathing too hard, it might be a good time to take a precautionary inhaler. Again fearing the unknown of those last 6.2 miles. That done, we moved on! Mile 17: 10:43 (the slowest of the race).
As we approached miles 18 and 19 I started to feel more sluggish. But pushed on: 9:38 and 9:57. I was ready for another gel! There were several unofficial “water” stops in this section of the course. They offered things like gummy bears, beer and shots of Jack Daniels! As we approached each one, Diane asked if I wanted any, my answer was the same each time…..no, no, and hell no! I think if I had any of that I might have thrown up! So, Diane took one for the team and helped herself to a couple beers (but passed on the JD). At mile 20, Diane reminded me that we were entering new territory. That should have scared me, but at this point, I had my gel and I was starting to feel better. I was ready to take it on. Mile 20: 9:46.
Mile 21 came along and Holly remarked that there were only 5 to go. Really? Only 5 more?? I’m still feeling pretty good! Mile 21: 10:11. OK, maybe not that good. Miles 22-24 were the longest on the planet. I was so ready to see 25. I said as much and Holly said we haven’t seen 24 yet! Ugh. It was getting warmer and I was getting tired. There were water stops every mile from 20 – 26. At each one, Holly would ask, “Do you want water?” and before I could say anything Dee would answer, “I’m getting some.” So I took the hint and got some too. I hadn’t thought we would stop at EVERY one at the end, but I’m glad we did. Miles 22- 24 clocked in at 9:59, 10:13, 10:05.
After we passed the mile 24 marker, I was looking for 25. We picked it up a bit and went back to a 9:39 for mile 25. Then I knew I had it. Dee and Holly said the same. We’re going to do it! 25 miles and I’m still feeling good. We picked it up some more getting to mile 26 – 9:11! I think it was about here that we saw Ed and Mark. I almost missed them as I was so focused on getting to the finish. But I did get a wave in at the last minute as we went by. J And then it happened. I never saw the mile 26 marker, but I saw the downhill. As we started down the hill, Dee called out to me, “Stay with me!” Uh oh. Here we go! I felt like I was flying down that hill! I stayed as close as I could to Dee. As we neared the finish line, she reached her hand back for me but I just couldn’t get to it. The last .2 clocked in at 8:02! A strong finish and I was flying high! Huge hugs from Dee and Holly at the finish line! I did it! 4:16:38! Dee and Holly told me how proud they were of me and that meant the world to me. In the later weeks of my training, I would envision myself crossing the finish line. Every time I did, I would near tears at the thought. Well, I didn’t cry when I crossed. But when we found Ed and he gave me a huge hug and told me how proud he was, it was then that I cried.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, in my case, it takes a running group to raise a marathoner. I have to thank Michelle for putting together my training plan to take me from 13.1 to 26.2. It was hard work, but I followed it to the letter and it paid off big time. Not once during the race did I feel like I wanted to walk. We passed a lot of people on the hills and very few (if any) passed us. And what was really surprising (to me) is that I never had any of the aches and pains I had during the last weeks of training. No pain at all during the race (save a couple minor stomach cramps I was able to run through). I felt the miles, but I never felt bad. I have to thank Dee and Holly for this too. These two veteran marathoners made certain that I didn’t make rookie mistakes. We ran smart. We ran strong. And this will definitely be a race to remember! Dee asked me at the finish line if I would do it again, and I could honestly say, “YES!” I think that says it all. To paraphrase one of the many signs we saw, I’m not just a runner now, I’m a marathoner!
***
By: Ed Morse
I was looking forward to returning to Richmond for several reasons … the course is fast, the crowds are friendly, the extended forecast showed great weather, and – most importantly – this year Janet was running her first marathon! I will leave that tale to her, however.
We all (Janet, me, Diane, Denise, Holly, Mark, and Scott) met at the expo Friday afternoon, and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through this mid-size collection of booths. I drove up by myself, and spotted the girls admiring the funny shirts related to running. They told me that Diane had wandered off, and I was sent to find her. She was at the Donate Life booth, the first place I looked. Diane and I went to a bunch of booths, and tried some bizarre vitamin drink that really didn’t taste that bad. After a while, we all found each other, and had our picture taken by the “Drink enough fluids!” sign. We never saw Leonard, but we did run into Dennis Livesay and his wife. On the way out of the expo, we checked that our D-tags worked with the timing strips on the floor by the exit. Everyone’s worked on the first try, except for Scott’s. Scott is tall, so he had to lower his bag closer to the floor for it to register – this ruled out wearing the timing tag on his wrist! (Of course, Holly and Janet had no problems with this.)
Denise and company had scoped out a nearby restaurant for dinner, just a few blocks from our hotel. The walk was a little sketchy as Richmond is currently between boom times and although there is a lot of work underway in the downtown area, things are pretty bleak in parts. We made it safely to the restaurant and had a really good dinner proceeded by garlic rolls swimming in butter (yum). I went with lasagna and a bowl of lentil soup, so I felt sufficiently “carbed up.”
Off to bed early, for some intermittent sleep. Up at 6:00 for bagel and banana, accompanied by a couple smallish cups of coffee. We met in the hotel lobby around 7:30. The hotel is only about 2 blocks from the start, but the UPS trucks that held the bags were 2 blocks beyond that. I agreed to take Janet’s bag down to the trucks, and when I was walking back I heard the “we’re starting in 5 minutes” announcement. Mildly panicked, I looked around for the girls. Not seeing them, I trusted that Janet was in good hands, and headed toward my starting position. I met up with Mark and Scott and we wished each other luck, and then I worked my way forward so that I was close to the 3:20 pacers.
3 … 2 … 1 … GO! And we’re off. The first 4 miles or so are pretty level, and then we do a little bit of uphill as we get into some of the older neighborhoods. Mile 6-7 is downhill to the party zone. Needless to say, I picked up the speed for this mile. When I looked at my watch I saw that my pace for the mile was under 7:00, and decided that I had better pay attention or things would end badly. Over the long level bridge and then steeply down to the river. It occurred to me in this section how much I like running races on familiar territory – knowing what’s ahead and what to look forward to seems to make it much easier mentally.
The couple of miles next to the river were comfortable and shady. It was nice to get away from the traffic for a while, and it was much quieter. The toughest hills are coming up away from the river, and I focused on keeping a good turnover with good posture. After we came out of the neighborhood by the river, we were on nearly level ground for a few miles. Things were feeling pretty good and I was telling the guy running next to me that a 1:38 half would allow me to run a negative second half if things went well, but hopefully wouldn’t kill me if things didn’t go as well. No sooner did I say this than we crossed the half at about 1:38:00 gun time.
Miles 14 and 15 went well, in part because there was a SunTrust branch that was handing out full bottles of water. It really helped me to be able to get 12oz. of water without stopping or spilling. I picked up a little speed going down to the big bridge back over the river, and then kept a steady pace up the bridge, around the corner, and up Main Street. There was very little wind that I noticed, and the bridge was not bad at all. Between miles 17 and 18, a young woman trotted by me looking really strong; she had lots of extra energy and was high-fiving the crowd. We chatted briefly, but she was at a faster tempo and was soon long gone.
After the water stop at mile 18, it was time to get serious. I had been thinking about Jack’s advice to Karin: “embrace the pain.” I had been having a nice comfortable run, but knew that – like all marathons – it was going to get hard, and that was where I would decide if I would have a good race or a bad race. Although I hoped that it wouldn’t be excessively painful, there was no way around being tired. Might as well tough it out; after all, this is what I had been training for.
I picked up the pace a little at 18, and passed a few groups that were starting to falter a bit. My feet were starting to get sore, and I had to focus on keeping my effort steady without overdoing it. At mile 21, we entered the more “fun” neighborhoods again, and the crowd support was great. I had been hearing “Marines!” for a while, and then a guy in a USMC shirt passed me right around mile 21. I stuck close to him, and we kept each other on pace for the next three miles. When I stopped to grab water at mile 24, he got some distance on me that I never regained. The final couple of miles were tough, and I lost a few seconds off my pace. I really don’t remember the crowd support here, I was pretty focused on getting to the end. Over the last half mile or so, I picked up the pace and then ran in typical out-of-control fashion down the steep hill to the finish (about 6:30 down the final section; my watch had me under 5:00 a few times, but I don’t trust it).
Done, and happy to sneak in under 3:15! Looking back at my splits, they are really unremarkable except for their consistency. Except for a couple of downhill sections, almost every mile is between 7:23 and 7:33. I am really happy with the slight negative split (first time!), and not crashing in the second half. I don’t think that my training would permit a much better time, so I will have to hit the gym and do some strength and core work, along with more speed work, if I want to get faster.
I was still hanging out in the finish area when Mark finished, and we walked back up the finishing hill to wait for the girls. They were hard to miss! I shouted out to Janet, and Mark took a short iMovie as they zipped by. We walked back down the hill (harder than going up) and met up with the girls between the finishing area and the food. Scott arrived at about this time as well. We collected our stuff and hung out for a while in the sunshine – truly a great fall day.
