"Pacers are electrolytes for the soul." (Harrisburg Marathon race report)

The title quote is from a Runner's World article by Laura Beachy on her first 100-miler. It's #9 in her list of 15 observations/lessons learned. As I had previously noted (Treadmill as pacer), running with a pacer is kind of like running on a treadmill; the mental effort is greatly reduced.

The advantage of having a pacer is especially significant in ultra races but also makes a big difference in marathons. Over ultra distances, pacers provide such an advantage that rules exist as to when they are allowed. In the Western States 100, pacers are allowed starting at the Foresthill School aid station at ~Mile 62 (http://www.wser.org/pacer-rules/). In the Tahoe 200, for most runners, pacers are allowed starting at the Camp Sacramento aid station at ~Mile 110 (http://www.tahoe200.com/crew-pacing/).

In the Harrisburg Marathon seven weeks ago, pacer Dan provided me with the much-needed electrolytes. In contrast to Pocono 2015 in May, the weather for Harrisburg was almost ideal. The course was a new, flatter one that thankfully avoided those hills around Wildwood Lake. It also replaced the drab, monotonous Industrial Road with the scenic Capital Area Greenbelt and North Front Street along the Susquehanna River. The course maps below are from the race Web site, with my added annotations.

I had no excuses. But, I had pacer Dan.

The result was a new 3-minute PR (3:56:20). I am mostly thrilled and only slightly disappointed in missing the 3:55 BQ (in part because 3:55 would not have been enough to actually get into Boston; I would have needed 3:52:32, based on the 2015 times). After the turnaround near Mile 18, just past Fort Hunter, and going downstream, pacer Dan said we just needed to coast to the finish line. In that moment of what turned out to be premature self-congratulation, I was thinking could this race finally be the one in which I qualify for Boston, such a beautiful day and all!

But, alas, it was not to be. The dreaded Mile 20 came and went without incident. But, in Mile 25, I was off pace (from the 3:55 pace group) by ~20 seconds, and in Mile 26, by ~60 seconds. The problem actually began just before Mile 25, at the aid station. I was just a few steps behind pacer Dan and the few runners who were still with him. The pace group did a 10-second walk through the station for water. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have stopped for water myself and, instead, should have tried to catch up. There was no need for water that close to the finish. I think I just wanted to rest for a few steps, and the water stop provided an excuse. It’s a lot easier to stay with, than to catch up to, a group, especially mentally. In hindsight, what I did was a tactical error—and a valuable lesson learned!

Also, in hindsight, of course, I questioned whether I could have caught up with the pace group, if I had really wanted to. I questioned that if I couldn’t BQ under such ideal weather conditions, then could I ever? I questioned whether I had given up and already decided to not finish under 3:55, just as, according to the Noakes 2012 review article on fatigue, exercise, and homeostasis, those who finish behind the winner may have already, even before a race starts, decided to not finish first. If something really critical was at stake, surely I could have run 3:55? My overall pace was only three seconds slower than my BQ pace. Surely, I could have run three seconds per mile faster? And, of course, there’s that end spurt down Second Street to the finish line. If I had nothing left, where did that spurt come from?

But, I also went easy on myself. I asked whether I got as close to 3:55 as I did because I didn’t give up and because the weather was so ideal. I had all these thoughts, even though a 3:55 wouldn’t have been enough to actually get into Boston 2017. One thing for sure, though: I didn’t walk (other than through the planned water stops), and there was no wall! And, I got the new PR with a shortened 8-week training cycle, coming after Potomac 2015 in September, with relatively low weekly mileage (in the 40s) and only three good long runs.

For Harrisburg, I added a new mental aid to the usual mantras, counting strides, and counting breaths. My predicted finish times from those race time predictors are quite close to my actual times, for all distances but the marathon. For the latter, the predicted time is ~3:45. So, during the race, I kept reminding myself that I ought to be able to run faster than my BQ time. I think that helped my confidence in being able to keep up with pacer Dan. Overall, though, I still need a lot more training for that 90% mental part of a race. Of the mental obstacles discussed in a recent article, "The Racer's Brain," hitting the wall or, more to the point, running through the wall is where my work lies.

On the physical side, I was able to do something different in Harrisburg. In past races, I usually could only take three gels, at around Miles 5, 10, and 15. Usually, around Mile 19 or 20, the body refuses that 4^th planned gel. This time, I took a gel before the start and four more, as planned. I skipped only the 6^th optional one (gel picked up at the Mile 18.8 aid station). The table below shows the miles at which I took gels and then water at about half mile or so later. So, physically, I had more energy in my system in Harrisburg, compared with that in previous races. But, there was also a mental aspect. Previously, I’d wash all the gel down with water. This time, taking a cue from Chambers et al. (2009), who showed how rinsing the mouth with a carbohydrate solution without swallowing affected performance, I left some of the gel in the mouth. Now, I’ve no idea how that affected my performance; but, I figured it couldn’t hurt—though, my dentist surely would not have approved! One other detail: I had both the gooey type of gel (Gu or Clif Shot) and the more liquidity type (PowerGel). Of the five gels, the first three were gooey and the last two were liquidity. The latter type goes down more easily in the later miles of a race. I actually numbered the five gels, so I didn’t have to think about which one to take next during the race.

The new Harrisburg course is great—a much better Boston qualifier! And more scenic: Photo below shows the course near the end of Mile 11, approaching the Harrisburg Sunken Garden along the Susquehanna River, with Harvey Taylor Bridge in the background.

The finish line on Second Street is also much better, for both the runners and spectators.

The race organizers did a nice job in implementing the many changes from last year, with one exception (see below). They were also responsive to runners’ comments regarding Industrial Road and Wildwood Lake and, perhaps (?), to mine on putting the race date on swag. This year, both the finisher medal and sweatshirt (a nice change from tech shirts) had the race date on them.

 

Volunteers were, as usual, superb. A big thanks to them all! During the race, I didn't always remember to do so.

I don’t usually buy race photos. But, this time, the pricing was reasonable enough that I actually bought some, this being a new PR race! If it were up to me, I'd price race photos at $10-20 and include them in the registration (with an opt-out selection) for unlimited digital access. Prints and other value-added products can cost more. So far, only one race I’ve done, RunTheBluegrass, had this option.

I’ve only one small complaint: It took a while to find where the checked bags were delivered to. No one seemed to know, perhaps because this was the first time that the start and end of the race were not co-located.

And, I’ve one suggestion: Put first names on bibs, so one could address other runners by names instead of numbers. In my case, because I was wearing my Wineglass 2013 shirt, some of the spectators called out encouragements to "Wineglass." J

It’s really nice to see the “3” in front of my marathon time. Harrisburg 2015 is my second sub-4:00; so, Pocono 2014 is no longer a fluke! I've three marathons planned for 2016. But, only the two in the spring would be in time for Boston 2017, when I'll still be in my current age group. I'd rather not "age" into qualifying. J For those two spring marathons, I'll be looking for my electrolytes!