Peak Performance Maine Marathon 2009

Pre Race:
My 2nd marathon so I had an idea what I was getting into and felt pretty confident about the distance. Spent the night in Portland Saturday with my family. Made it to the packet pick-up just before it closed then headed to the hotel and out to the old port. Walked around the old port in the rain and had a great dinner. I slept well, except for the thunderstorm around midnight and woke up feeling excited. It was not raining, forecast cloudy with a chance of rain, and the temps were to stay steady in the upper 50's. PERFECT!

Mile 1:
Arrived at the start with plenty of time to spare (not always an easy thing with our family). Parking was easy and close. I walked, stretched, finished my coffee and drank a little water. About 15 minutes before the gun I got in line for the port-a-pottys. I never made it, they gave a one minute warning while I was still in line, I hopped in the cue, and bang we were off. I hopped in WAY to far back. It took over 2 minutes to get to the start line. OK, It's chip timed so that shouldn't make a difference, Relax.

Miles 2-8:
Easy crowded miles. I start thinking if I just bump the pace up a little I could get those 2 minutes back and still see under 4 hours on the clock at the finish. I'm running 8:40's to 8:50's and feel really good so why change it? I start talking to a guy who is running about the same pace as me. Nice guy, a little older than me who it turns out ran the NH Marathon the day before. Him and his buddy (who is ahead of us according to him) are into back to back marathons these days. I run with him for a while.

Mile 8:
I have gained the 2 minutes back! But now I really need to use the bathroom. The spicy yet extremely yummy Flatbread pizza plus the compulsory locally brewed malted beverage that goes so well with it may not have been the best choice in a pre race meal. And Behold, there is a rack of portapottys right in front of me with NO LINE. I say goodbye to the back to back marathon guy and head for the toilets. All goes well until... I can't get the paper out of the roll. It's stuck, won't spin, only able to get little shreds of paper out, ARRGGGG! I look at my gloves, the gloves I was planning to discard anyway, then decide to try the roll again. This time I am able to grasp the back of the roll and rip a chunk of paper off the roll. Ok, crisis averted, but I'm now back about 2 minutes off where I want to be.

Miles 8 - 13.1
Feeling great! Loving the course. Still in the 8:50's range for pace. The weather continues overcast and cool. I'm very comfortable in shorts, short sleeve shirt, and my gloves which I am glad I still have. I pass the 13 mile mark at 1:59:something gun time. I made up most of the time again:)

Miles 13.1 - 20
I'm going to stick with the pace. Feels good. At around mile 14 I see my family cheering for me and they have water. Time for a gu! I have a little gu pouch that clips on the back of my shorts. Holds 5 packs and is comfortable to run with. Somehow I didn't get the velcro closed earlier in the race and I bounced 2 packs out of the pouch. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH GU! I stop, tell them where more gu is in my bag, and ask that they meet me later in the race. I should be OK, even if I miss them, there's gatorade at every stop, I could switch to that???? My son runs out to meet me at mile 16 and hands me the one pack they could find.

Mile 20:
I feel great. Switched to gatorade at the water stops with a little water to wash it down. Gun time at 2:59:something!

Mile 21
Still feel great. No change in pace.

Mile 22
Continue to feel great but notice the effort.

And then there's mile 23:
The race gets hard. I can't keep the pace. 3 miles! I can do this. What did Bruce say? Something about put your brain in your gut and run? OK, I can run 3 miles. Alyie talks about turnover. I focus on turning over my legs, don't worry about the pace, just keep the legs moving at a steady cadence.

Mile 24:
The Nausea Mile. I am not feeling well at this point. I want to throw up. Should I throw up? I can't keep my brain in my gut anymore. I skip the last water stop. Mile 24 in this race is where you can see the finish line all the way across back bay. It looks so far away. I'm ready to be done.

Mile 25:
At least the nausea went away. I have slowed considerably. It is hard for me to turn over my legs. One more mile! What did Frank tell me? Exaggerate your arm movements and your legs will follow. Man I wish Julie was here to coach me. I can run a mile no matter how much it sucks! Why did I want to run a marathon, again? I can still see the finish and it is still a long way off.

Mile 26.2
Finishing is joy. My kids run out to run me to the finishing gate. Clock shows 3:58:04 as I go by. I met my goal, and my chip time will be even better! I do not feel great, but I am elated, humbled, and honored to be able to do this. Oh yeah, that's why I wanted to run a marathon again!