Mental lapse (Rock 'n' Roll Washington DC Marathon race report)

Of course, at the time, as I was going up the hills on Fort Dupont Drive SE in Fort Circle Park (Mile 23 of the Rock 'n' Roll Washington DC Marathon), what I was doing didn't occur to me as a "mental lapse." I had one gel in my wrist wallet that was planned for Mile 20; but, I couldn't get it out of the wallet while running. With six miles left, I figured I'll just skip it. Once I got to those hills, however, I thought maybe I better still take it. So, I slowed to a fast walk, got the gel out, and was then supposed to pick up the pace again, as I down the gel over the next 1/4 mile or so. Once those legs started walking, however, they just kept on walking! I rationalized by telling myself that a fast walk up a hill is not that much slower than a slow run. :) The following map of the last 10K of the course shows the location of the Fort Circle Park hills. (All maps shown are annotated versions of parts of the course map on the RnR Web site)

By the time I finally convinced my legs to get moving again, about a minute had gone by. For that Mile 23, my pace ended up some 90 seconds slower than the average of the previous 22 miles. So, by how much did I miss my BQ? 49 seconds!

One cause of the mental lapse, I think, was my overconfidence. I thought I had it. I was passing people for much of the front half. Now, usually, that would have been of some concern. But, I wasn't straining; my average pace of 8:47 felt easy. Then, as I was heading into the hairpin part of the course (First St SW, Mile 16), I saw the 3:40 pace group coming out. I didn't know at the time how far in the hairpin goes; but, in my mind, seeing the 3:40 just added to my confidence. Unjustifiably, as it turned out. I was actually about 1-1/2 mile behind the 3:40 group, at that point, or about 13 minutes. 3:40 plus 13 is 3:53, which is borderline for me actually getting into Boston. My BQ of 3:55 would not be sufficient, based on the past few years. Had I known all this at the time, that mental lapse seven miles later might not have occurred. About a mile later, as I was heading out of the hairpin (2nd St SW, Mile 17), I saw the 3:55 pace group still heading in towards the turnaround point. That, totally unjustifiably, solidified my confidence. I was thinking to myself that I just have to stay ahead of the 3:55 group and try to catch up with the 3:40 group--I got it! I was still confident, as I was approaching the finish line. Or, I must have been hallucinating. Because, when I checked my GPS watch, I was sure I saw 3:52 something. So, I was all smiles crossing the line. The digital "5" and "2" could easily be misread--especially when one's mind is zoned out!

At least my finish line photos showed an exhilarated, photogenic runner!

What I didn't ask and should have asked of the pace groups was from which corrals did they start? That information was critical, because several minutes separated each of the starting corrals/waves (some 30 in all). Similarly, shortly after coming out of Fort Circle Park, about half way into Mile 25 along Minnesota Ave SE (see course map of last 10K above), I passed a different 3:55 pacer, all by herself at that point. But, without knowing her starting corral, I couldn't determine where I was with respect to my BQ.

Overall, my strategy for the race went according to plan (pacing, fueling, water stops, etc.) and worked well. As planned, I took a gel just before the start, four dates each at Miles 5, 10, and 15, and that gel at Mile 23. I skipped a couple water stops; otherwise, I sipped about half a cup over a 10-count walk through each stop.

What happened during Mile 23 was a tactical error resulting from a 60-second mental lapse. I should have slow run those Fort Circle Park hills. As the following pace chart shows, except for Miles 23 and 24, I maintained a generally even pace, with just a very slightly positive split. And, I was able to bring the pace back down to ~nine minutes again for the last two miles. There was no wall.

I should have BQ'ed. I had it but then lost it. The fact that a mental lapse-free finish time would most likely not have been enough to get me into Boston 2017 is small consolation.

I do like very much that, between 2013 (the other time I ran this race) and this year, my pace improved by about one minute or a finish time of about 26 minutes, and there was no "hockey stick" finish. Plus, my finish time of 3:55:49 was a 31-second PR, relative to last November's Harrisburg Marathon; and, unlike Harrisburg, the new PR was run without a pacer. Like fine wine, getting better with age!

This being a Rock 'n' Roll race, there was plenty of music. Loud music. Though, in some stretches of the second half of the course, it was too quiet. Part of the reason might be that, of the total field of about 20K runners (for marathon and half marathon), only about 1/8 ran the marathon. No wonder, then, once the marathoners split away from the half'ers just before Mile 13 and headed along East Capitol St NE towards the Supreme Court, it got noticeably quieter!

Overall, the race was well managed. The course was very runner friendly. The corral/wave starts created space for everyone to run his or her pace, even though this was a big city race. UPS gear check was efficient. The first 2/3 mile along the wide Constitution Ave., with the Washington Monument on the left and the White House on the right, allowed the runners to sort themselves out and avoid the usual congestion. Spectator support was great, especially through the Adams Morgan neighborhood, shortly after the hill up to Calvert St NW. And, all the support people at water stops were very friendly and efficient. A big thanks to all of them!

The weather was also well managed. Rain was forecast up until a few days before the race. Instead, it was just cloudy, with temperatures in the 50's for the entire race. Almost ideal.

And, for finishers, a nice "heavy medal" and light jacket. Though, for the latter, I would have preferred one without "FINISHER."

I've just a few gripes. Pacers were not well marked. At least I didn't see any in my starting corral (#8). Also, their starting corral numbers should be visible on them somewhere. I much more prefer the chip on the bib, instead of the loop kind held by shoe laces. I like to tie my shoes with just the right amount of tightness, and looping the laces through the chip interferes somewhat with that. Porta- potties: Start line area could use a few more (well, most races could use a few more!).

I now have just one more chance to qualify for Boston (2017) in my current age group, before I would age into qualifying (for 2018)--which would be far less satisfying. I've a shortened 8-week training cycle before the Pocono Marathon in May, to figure out how to lapse-proof the mental part of my race.