Adaptation beats aging (Run for the Red Marathon race report)

It is—still—a matter of training! On May 18, I ran a 20+ minute PR in the Run for the Red Marathon (Poconos, PA) and got under 4 hours for the first time (3:59:23), beyond my stretchiest of goals for the race. Now, I can remove that distinction between my “modern” and all-time PRs. I had run the latter (4:14) in the Ithaca Marathon back in my graduate school days, with essentially no training, just the regular 30-35 base miles per week plus one “long run,” all of 13 some miles. The advantages of being young and foolish! Back in March of this year, I’d just run my “modern” PR (4:20), at the Shamrock Marathon. Going into the Pocono race, I’d thought that running under 4:14, maybe 4:10, was possible, with a stretch goal of 4:05, which would get me about half way to my BQ of 3:55 (3:50 to have a better chance in the lottery). A sub-4:00 was not even on the radar screen!

So, what happened? Here are the pace charts from four recent marathons.

 

The Pocono one is clearly qualitatively different, with an even pace from start to finish, as it should be. I started out faster than I’d planned (as usual!) and was concerned, given past results, especially from last October’s Wineglass Marathon. Not wanting to repeat past mistakes, I tried to slow down. But, mile after mile, the GPS watch was showing times faster than what I’d thought were sustainable. I felt great; the legs felt strong; the wall never appeared.

Of course, I've been thinking quite a bit about this race over the past weeks, trying to figure out what was the magic combination of factors that enabled this case of punctuated equilibria. I don't really know; but here's a list of possibles, in no particular order.

- The course was net downhill, which must have accounted for some of those 20+ minutes--but, not all of them. Besides, though the Pocono course was certainly easier than a course going the other way, e.g., Grandfather Mountain Marathon (!), it was a bit deceptive due to the rolling terrain, especially from Mile 18 on.

- Weather was gorgeous, sunny, light breeze, with temperatures in the 40s at the start and around 60 at the finish. I wore a long-sleeve tech shirt, shorts, and hat. Just about right. I started with a pair of light gloves that I took off after the first 10K.
- View was gorgeous ... well, it's the Poconos!

- I was more fit, due to the changes I've made to my training, especially the long runs, after Wineglass: Front half warm-up miles (or half + 1 if the run is of odd miles) at goal marathon pace (GMP) plus ~30 seconds; rest at GMP, except for the last two miles, which are at GMP minus 15-30 seconds. I didn't get a chance to quite test these changes at the March Shamrock Marathon, because of that nasty fall on ice four weeks before the race. But, I definitely felt more confident than before about holding pace in the latter part of a marathon. Since Pocono, I've concluded that long runs actually need to be at GMP or faster. So, in my current training cycle for the September marathon, I'm running the first half of long runs at GMP and the second half at GMP minus 15-30 seconds. Got to train for race conditions!

- Perception is everything. In a recent article, Matt Fitzgerald wrote "Perception of effort is awareness of brain activity rather than sensations collected from the muscles." So, when runners almost universally speed up towards the finish line, it's because of lowered brain activity--independent of sensations from leg and other muscles. That would be fascinating! With this in mind, I started Pocono with the mantra, "it's 90% mental, stupid!" That turned out to be hard to match my strides, so I changed it to "dumb it down!" I really think this mantra enabled me to leave very little on the course. For the first time after a race, I didn't feel like eating. I couldn't even finish a 1/4 piece of a bagel. I just sat there, near the post-race food table, and nibbled.

- Somewhat paradoxically, my breathing for most of the race was 3,3, i.e., 3 strides per breath in and 3 strides per breath out. Since around last fall, I've been breathing 3,3 for base runs and first half of long runs and tempo miles, and 2,2 for the second half of long runs and tempo miles. When I'm breathing 3,3, I know I'm not going too fast for base (easy) runs. For Pocono, only for the last four miles or so was I breathing 2,2 and for the last half mile 1,1. So, was I running at an "easy" pace for the first 22 miles?!

- Because of scheduling issues, during the latter part of the 16-week Pocono training cycle, I missed some of the runs, including one long run, and shortened some others. I was thus more rested going into Pocono. Did that make a difference?

- I fueled somewhat differently this time. For Shamrock, I took a Gu at Miles 6, 12, and 18 (also had planned one at Mile 23 but the stomach wasn't amenable). For Pocono, I shifted the Gu schedule to earlier in the race, i.e., at Miles 4, 10, 14, and 20, which seemed to work out better.

- In recent weeks, before Pocono, I've been experimenting with nose breathing during training runs, 30 seconds at a time. I've been a diaphragmatic breather for a long time, whether nose or mouth breathing, reinforced through my Tai Chi practice. But, breathing through the nose while running was not natural for me. Nose breathing has many benefits, so it's a goal I'm slowly working towards. At Pocono, nose breathing was useful at water stops. After sipping while walking a few steps, I'd take one last drink and hold the water in my mouth. As I started running again, I'd breath through the nose and slowly swallow the water. In the category of every second counts (!), nose breathing allowed me to take shorter water stops, without decreasing water intake.

- Finally, I've to give a lot of credit to the 4:00 pacer! I remember seeing him at Wineglass last October. And, hearing him (!)--that booming voice. This time, though, he had some kind of mini-microphone system that was audible at least (I'd guess) 100 meters away. He was a great pacer, continually carrying out a conversation with the runners around him, sometimes giving encouragement, sometimes providing distraction (from the growing fatigue!). I stayed ahead of his voice for most of the latter part of the race, thus being energized by the thought that if I could just keep that up until the finish, I'd be under 4 hours. At the same time, I was anxiously looking out for any sign of that "six miles of reality." Which never really materialized. But, at around Mile 24, as I was going down Wallace Street, towards Main Street of downtown Stroudsburg, the first real doubt flashed through my mind. By then, the 4:00 pace group had dispersed, and I was the only one left running with the pacer. He said something that I can't remember now but which kept me going. I was trying to tell myself that, if I could just stay close to him, I should be able to still finish with a sub-4:00. As he told us during the run, he usually pace himself to finish about a minute under the goal time. After we'd finished, I lost sight of him, so I didn't get a chance to thank him. But, I did send a note to the race organizers and asked them to forward it to him.

The irony, kind of, was that I ran my first sub-4:00 marathon with my New Balance Minimus 10--the one about which I've been complaining so much (!). :)

The Pocono race organizers were superb. My missing chip incident was illustrative. My wife had just dropped me off at the start of the race, at Pocono Mountain West High School in Pocono Summit, PA early that Sunday morning, and I'd just gone through the shopping bag containing all my race gear and taken out what I needed and left those just-in-case items. I did one final check, gave her a kiss, and said I'll see you at the finish. I turned and walked towards the high school entrance. Before I got there, all of a sudden I realized that I'd forgotten the timing chip in the shopping bag. In a panic, I spun around and ran back to the minivan, just in time to see my wife drive off. Like a madman, I chased after her, but to no avail, even though, with all the incoming traffic, she wasn't going that fast. In thinking about this afterwards, I was really lucky that I didn't get injured during this frantic chase! Forlornly, I headed back to the high school and tried to reach my wife with a phone that another runner graciously let me use. But, no luck. I then went to the registration table and told them what had happened. I just wanted to confirm that I was still allowed to run the race. I wouldn't have an official time; but, I had my GPS watch, the times from which in past races have been usually just a few seconds different from official times. Just as I was resigning myself to this situation, one of the registration staff persons said let me see what I can do. From somewhere behind the table, she retrieved an envelop and took out from it a spare chip (!) and said I could use that and made a note to link the bib corresponding to this spare chip to my registered bib. This was customer service above and beyond! I wanted to jump over the table and give her a big hug! :) This would have been a great race, regardless, given the sub-4:00, but, without the chip, it wouldn't have been "official." Here's the souvenir chip that was lying silently at the bottom of the shopping bag. (While I appreciate the souvenir aspect, I do still prefer the chip-on-the-bib method.)

Race logistics were excellent. To be able to wait indoors for the start of the race was quite nice. There were real bathrooms. The long hallways were great for warm-up runs. From the school to the start line was just a short 1/4 mile, to loosen up and then drop off my bag at the UPS truck. The volunteers at the water stops (every two miles) were simply wonderful. And, cheerful! The stadium finish, which I really liked, was invigorating. Runners entered the stadium just off the right edge of the photo and went counterclockwise for about 3/4 of a lap. In this photo that my wife took, I'd just finished 2-3 minutes earlier (clock is at 4:02:42), slowly run on to cool down, and circled back towards the finish area. So, where's Bill? (Hint: Lower left of scoreboard) :)

After all this thinking about the Pocono race, I still am not sure how I did what I did. What I do feel, though, is a boost to my confidence--a breakthrough, mentally. I'm no longer just aiming at 3:55, my BQ time; I'm now looking at 3:45, maybe even 3:30, as realistic goal times. The top three finishers in my age group were all in the 3:30's. I'm now training for my two fall marathons with a different sense of what's possible!

The Pocono Marathon is a great BQ race. But, it's also just a great race. Whether or not I'm still trying to qualify for Boston, I plan to run this one again. The Pocono medal will always be a special one for me!