"Raw Pace" (circles) = split information for each mile ... "smoothed" (plus signs) = pace averaged over adjacent miles ... "smoother" (filled area) = further re-averaged pace data

October Toast

The 2004 Marine Corps Marathon is a struggle for me almost from the start. I cross the finish line after five and a half hours, slower than in any previous marathon. (OK, there was a 26.2 mile solo "Zimmarathon" on 29 Aug 2004 that took me a little over six hours; see HoofTime (31 Aug 2004).) Overall it's a good experience — but the huge crowds and hypercommercial atmosphere remind me how much more I enjoy low-key local distance running events ... or simply jogging alone through the woods.

The weather is the main factor: near-record high temperatures (starting in mid-60's F and rising to upper-70's F) and oppressive humidity until mid-day when a front comes through and brings dryer (but not cooler) air. This is the first marathon in which I think seriously about quitting, beginning at mile 5 (!) and persisting until about mile 20, at which point I figure that I may as well just go on to the finish. I have the pleasure of riding to/from the race and starting with Adam Safir, a runner (and triathlete) who lives only a mile from my home but whom I have heretofore only met electronically (he's a funny and thoughtful person — see http://www.anstyn.com). About the 6.5 mile mark I realize that I need to cut my pace significantly and start taking walk breaks, so I give Adam my blessings and he goes on to finish ~20 minutes in front of me.

Before the race I dither about footwear and eventually decide to wear two pairs of socks. That choice likely saves me from blisters, in spite of iffy soles less than a month after a 50 mile experiment (see Tussey Mountainback 2004 (8 Oct 2004)) where I suffered significant foot woes. In an attempt to preempt leg cramps I drink large quantities of water and sports-drinks (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) before the race and at aid stations every 2-3 miles. I also suck down packets of cake-frosting-like vitamin-mineral-energy-goo concoctions (Honey Stinger, Clif Shots, GU, etc.). I bring 2 packets with me in my pouch and eat them at miles 4 and 8, then take 3 more from a Marine at mile 14 and consume them, plus a couple more that I pick up unopened from the street. They seem to help: in spite of much sweating I only began to get cramps in my calves after mile 21. That pain is relatively mild and responds well to extra walk breaks. (I speculate that sodium and/or potassium loss is a major factor in my suffering.)

At Mile 24 Sharon McNary, a Clif Bar pace group leader, overtakes me. She is attempting, without much luck, to do the mental arithmetic of subtracting 4:59:52 from 5:02:17 — a feat that may seem less than arduous from the perspective of an armchair observer, but which is in fact rather challenging after you've jogged a few dozen miles in the sun. I help Sharon with the math and we discover that she's more than 2 minutes ahead of schedule for a 5:30 finish time.

So 5.5 hours becomes my impromptu goal as well. Sharon is great fun to run with: she sings comic songs, waves a baton in the air bearing multiple balloons, tells silly jokes, shouts encouragement, and chants cadences for those near her to repeat. I tag along until mile marker 26 when my legs request a bonus walk break in recompense for their good work thus far. I grant them their wish, and then "sprint" the final hundred yards to cross the line.

Miscellaneous Moments

• chatting with a bunch of runner-comrades in the Montgomery County Road Runners "hospitality suite" before & after the race ...
• seeing a young Marine during mile 12 who shouts, "Bearded Man, I support you!" — I laugh and reply, "Sir, I support you too!" ...
• high-fiving a line of cub scouts ca. mile 14 — one of whom compliments me on my lack of a shirt at that point in the sweat-fest ("Shirts are for sissies!" he says) ...
• swirling bright yellow autumn leaves descending from the trees whenever the wind gusts — one leaf blows into my mouth during mile 15 and lodges under my tongue ...
• accepting orange slices and pretzels graciously offered by roadside enthusiasts ...
• chafing on the upper-outside-back of my arms that develops about halfway through the event ...
• putting my shirt back on at mile 17, as the breeze picks up across the Potomac River, and hearing the pinned-on race bib make loud flap-flap-flaping sounds (venturi effect?) ...
• quaffing a small cupfull of beer, kindly distributed by some spectators (Hash Harriers?) ca. mile 22 ...
• being passed at various points by a rope-skipper and by runners costumed as Superman, Kermit the Frog, Death (the Grim Reaper), and Madonna (in fishnet stockings and featuring a dangerous-sharp pair of bustier-cones — see AwesomeProwess (17 Jul 2003))
• spying a couple of friends on the roadside about mile 22.8 — one of them gives me a bottle of water ...
• sitting down on the ground after the end of the race, to untie my shoelaces and return the timing sensor chip — and then having to struggle to get up again ...
• attempting, without success, to make a cellphone call in the crowded area at the finish zone (the cell must have been overloaded; after I walked a few tenths of a mile away my calls started to go through) ...

Biggest Lesson Relearned

Official Stats

• finish time 5:28:30 (elapsed chip time ... clock time = 5:39:04 since crowds delayed my starting line crossing by over 10 minutes)
• 12,057 overall rank within 16,445 finishers
• 7,706 among 9,731 males
• 683 of 917 in 50-54 year old male division

Best Memory

On Thursday, three days before the race, I walk toward the hotel where race packets (containing numbered bibs, sensor chips, commemorative shirts, etc.) are being distributed. A young lady — short, somewhat chubby — is staggering along the sidewalk in the same direction. She suffers, apparently, from muscular dystrophy or some other neuromotor disease. She takes a step, trips, and falls forward onto her hands and knees. I try to help her back to her feet, but she gently brushes me off.

"Thank you," she says, "I can make it."

I see her behind me later, in the long lines that snake through the hotel concourse toward the packet pickup area. She smiles and waves ...

(see also Bless the Leathernecks (28 Oct 2002), Rocky Run (17 Nov 2002), Marathon in the Parks 2003 (11 Nov 2003), Washington Birthday Marathon 2004 (23 Feb 2004), Medallic Memories (22 Aug 2004), ... ))

TopicRunning - TopicPersonalHistory - 2004-11-07

(correlates: Comments on 2008-09-21 - Bachman Valley Half Marathon, RockCreekParkMarathon2005, PeepingSam, ...)

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