Miami Marathon, 01.31.2010
THINGS, e.g., work, weather, and lots of chores I’m behind on, have really been hampering my training. The weather, particularly, has been horrendous. A few weeks back I got an indoor trainer to take the weather out the problem. The trainer itself could be better, but it is good for a quick hour before bedtime. I’ve been using tortoise more, too since I don’t have to transfer, that saves time, too. I’ve just not riding hare a lot.That means not much time on Hare and not many bridge workouts. Long rides over at the beach on hare have been brutally slow. All in all I have pretty bummed about training but all that was just starting to turn a corner.
The good news is that I was starting to make some real progress w/ Tortoise. Including some 10K PRs using Tortoise. I was getting a glimmer of hope I could do a sub-4 hr at Miami.
That was not to be the case. Saturday before the race I rode Tortoise and my teammate rode her bike over the Venetian Causeway to the expo. Later we got in the van and reconned the course route. We got the tires on Hare pumped up, ate a quick bite, and got to bed reasonably early.
At 2AM race morning I woke up with a fever, chills, and nausea. I took some Tylenol and tried to go back to sleep. At 3 AM I woke again. There would be no marathon for me today. I was afraid I would regret my decision to DNS. I was really sick though.
After Miami we went to Jax for a conference for work. All week I was still sick. After the conference I wasn’t sure I was well enough, but I HAD to get a LONG workout. We went to the Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail for a 29-mile ride. I figured I would just do what I could and turn around after the first puking.
First mile felt pretty good, but then, I was holding back. I found it wasn’t too hard to go 7 MPH so I tried to set that for my pace. I kept expecting to go dead but it didn’t happen. I made my target pace at the 14 mi turnaround in 2 hours. I was pretty happy, but then I started to drag. I stopped and drank my energy drink and got going again. Going back I was surprised again that my strength was still holding up.
My 26.2 time turned out to be 3:40! I haven’t seen that in over a year. So I got in my marathon. And my sub-4. On my birthday.
Myrtle Beach Marathon 02.13.2010
Two weeks later we’re in Myrtle Beach. The weather forecasts for the past week have been great: mid-40’s, light winds and sunny. Toward Thursday the weather-guessers began using the four-letter s-word in earnest. Friday my teammate and I put in a 10-mile ride along Grissom Boulevard. There was not much sun, the winds were light, and I felt like I might have a chance on Saturday for a sub-4. The course had some changes this year but it is still basically flat. Friday evening my teammate ran the 5K. Snow started falling at the start of her race and by the time she finished, it was pouring a mix of rain and snow. Teammate finished 4th in her age bracket. You go girl!
By the time we got back to the motel, it was all snow. I heard it was Myrtle Beach’s first snow since the 100-year storm in 1989. In fact every state except Hawaii had snow on the ground. This was an exceptional event.
The race directors made the decision to delay the marathon and half marathon start until 7 AM. The City officials decided to have a meeting at 10 PM so they could cancel the race. At 10 PM they had their meeting and announced that they were canceling the event because the course was not closed to vehicle traffic and it would not be safe for runners. Most runners, particularly those from out of town were unhappy with the decision. A delay until 8 AM would probably been adequate, but then, these are town officials with little experience with snow.
So for 2010, I’m 0 for 2. In a few weeks I will do the Crystal Coast Half. If tradition prevails, it will rain. For now, my best hope for a sub-4 marathon will the Shamrock. Keep your fingers crossed.
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