Thursday, February 10, 2011

MetroPCS 2010 Whiterock Marathon Race Report:


38 degree morning with early wind gusts before dawn greeted us at the fairgrounds as we made our walk of chilly anticipation from the car to the starting line area. It was still dark outside but immediately took notice of the energy level and excitement of the other fellow racers who seemed to be aimlessly walking around the dark trying to figure out where to be and how to get warm until race time.



Thoughts of training and the months of preparation raced through my head. Did I do enough? Was I going to finish today? Could I have done more? What did I forget?  I came to grip with the fact that there’s no time for “could’ve-should’ves” and all that mattered were focusing on the task today. Today is my time to shine, my time to redeem all the miles and work put in this year, leading up to this very moment.  The best part was having Carla by my side to share this experience with as we push our own boundaries yet again. Time to change our lives forever this day.


My race prep included hydration using Advocare’s Re-Hydrate product on the drive down, then moments before the race I used Advocare’s Muscle Fuel, O2 Gold, and Catalyst for muscle endurance and blood oxygen.

With 22,000 runners, the starting line was released in waves to safely get everyone off the line.  We had to wait nearly 40 mins in the cold before the gun went off for us.  I expected to see the majority making a mad rush off the line to engage their race, but I think most had the same idea of keep a moderate steady pace to leave some juice for the second half of the race. We averaged about a 10:30 pace the first 10 miles, but unfortunately I had to stop twice at random porta potties. Kind of regret drinking so much before the race, but I would rather be OVER hydrated than to be DE hydrated. The first 10 miles slipped by fairly effortlessly. The views were incredible as we coursed through the arts district, McKinney Ave, and Turtle Creek. There was a band playing at every turn and the crowd cheering kept energy levels high. By mile 5 I was peeling off my gloves and hat and trying not to trip over all the other’s shed clothing piled along the course. I learned later that the clothing items were collected off the course and donated to the homeless.



At mile 12 the course delivered us to the SW banks of  Whiterock Lake to begin a 10 mile path around it before heading back towards the finish.  As I took inventory of my energy levels and distance to go, I was glad I went easy early on. I felt great at mile 14 and turned up the pace a bit and was re-energized by the idea that I was confident I could make it the whole way without walking. Mile 17 I pulled a cliff bar from my belt and nibbled on it slowly to not disrupt my stomach during this kind of effort.  Mile 20 my quads and knees were yelling at me, but it was overshadowed by the emotions of the fact that I had already exceeded my longest training run for distance. Again, the events and challenges of this past year were rushing through my head reminding me of my journey and how hard I have worked to get to this point. I was overwhelmed and had to re-focus on my breathing to keep my pace going again. My emotions were still running high as I looked up and could see the skyline of Dallas on the horizon and knew I was only 6 miles to the biggest victory yet. At that moment I thought, I don’t care if my leg breaks, I WILL finish this race and beat the time I was shooting for.  As the pain grew through mile 25 I could only grin as the approaching finish line was only feeding me pure adrenaline. Finally, I entered the gates of Fair Park and the crowd was enormous and the finish line was all mine.  No medal has ever felt so good hanging on my neck! PRIDE!!! Now time to plan the next race….

Reflections:
  • I was glad I stuck to my plan of nutrition and pace, although hind-sight tells me I should have pushed a little harder on my pace earlier on as my body never ran out of fuel.
  • I had some last minute remorse on the morning of the race about which shoes to wear, but my Newtons performed beyond my expectations and I highly recommend them to anyone who runs and wants to be EFFICIENT in their stride and foot strike.
  • Well planned and trained running form and improved foot strike allowed me to avoid any ankle, shin, and/or calve soreness during and after the race.
  • If you need to pee during the race, better to wait until you see a place with no line. I burned at least 8 minutes in various bathroom lines.
  • At the finish line, I had the Baylor Medical tent strap bags of ice to my knees. This may have been the smartest thing I did that day. As far as recovery goes, I have applied ice 3-4 x’s per day to the knees, Aleev, and lots of water. It’s been 3 days now and I am ready to hit the trail again, no prob.
  • This year's theme for me has been to push my boundaries and to constantly exlpore my limits. I have no regrets and can't wait to go beyond in 2011. Next goal: shave 45 mins off my next marathon, and to compete in a 50K.