Tackling the Marathon Indoors

For the past 3 years I have been the official "direction changer" at the Maple Leaf Indoor Marathon. This involves setting a cone out every 30 minutes and instructing the runners to circle around it and switch directions. While this may sound like an insignificant task, there is an art to the proper timing and placing of the cone so that collisions and bottlenecks do not occur. Additionally, I have found that runners are usually happy to see me as it means they are a half an hour closer to being done. I took great pride in this role and never once wished I could change places with one of the runners.

This past fall Justin suggested that I run the indoor marathon 2012. I was not a fan of this idea and was relieved when we agreed that the risk of injury was too great to run it. The idea of running the race didn't cross my mind again until I was helping with the race on Saturday. For those of you not familiar with the 204 lap event, there are multiple installments of the race (Saturday AM, Saturday PM, and Sunday AM) as the field is limited to 35 people per race.

So, what would cause me to change my mind? Was I inspired by my brother-in-law Jake's race execution that led to his indoor marathon PR and win? Was I moved by Chase Merriman's determination to finish despite terrible cramps and not being able to keep anything down for a large portion of the race? While it is true that these 2 and many of the other runners showed incredible strength and perseverance that I admired, it did NOT lead me to want to test my own ability to fight through the pain.

My reasoning for deciding to run the marathon on Sunday was more a logical decision than emotional. Our plans for a babysitter for the weekend fell through at the last minute meaning that while trying to help with the marathon, I also had to keep my very energetic 2-year-old from darting onto the track. This was quite an exhausting task and by the time the Saturday morning marathon was winding down, I wanted a nap. It was then I realized that in addition to helping with the marathon, I needed to find time to get my weekend long run in. I was scheduled for a 22 miler at 7:15 to 7:30 pace. Would it really be the different if I just ran it indoors?

After a quick discussion with Justin, it was decided that I would run the Sunday morning race. I made it clear that I was just going to run it as a training run. I didn't want any expectations since I hadn't exactly altered my training to run this as a race. My week had already included a 19 miler and two hard track workouts.

My race plan was to run between 57 and 58 seconds per lap (about a 7:30 mile pace) for at least the first half and possibly speed up the second half if I felt good. I knew going into the race that the women's world record for the indoor marathon was 3:16 and thought that I would have a shot at breaking it if I felt good. I just wasn't confident in how I was going to feel. The indoor marathon is notorious for causing all kinds of cramping. Plus, with at least 30 other people on the track, there was going to be lots of weaving and running in outside lanes adding extra distance.

The race surprisingly was not nearly as bad as I imagined it was going to be. I think it helped that I did not think of it in terms of laps or miles but as time. Every 30 minutes we switched directions. Every 15 minutes (after the initial 45), I took a little squirt of GU. Every 10 minutes, I got a drink of water. It wasn't until I was nearing the end when people started telling me how many laps I had left that I started wishing I was done.

I didn't exactly follow my pace strategy, but I did follow the spirit of it. I started out a bit faster than planned but I felt comfortable. I hit the half in 1:35:55, and was able to pick up the pace the second half. My finish time was 3:08:53, a little more than 7 minutes under the previous world record.

I have to admit that I am having a hard time knowing how to feel about this world record. Although it is exciting to think I hold a world record, I know I haven't done something that somebody else couldn't do and that many runners will view this as a really weak record. So far, I have felt obligated to inform people that aren't as familiar with running times that my time doesn't come close to the times elite women marathon runners run on the road. They just aren't crazy enough to run a marathon on an indoor track. Maybe that's the key to how I should embrace this: I may not be the fastest runner, but I am the fastest crazy woman to run an indoor marathon. At least for the time being...

I, of course, have many people to thank for making this possible:

My mom for backing out of babysitting (I probably won't have run if I hadn't been stressed out from trying to keep Miles from tripping runners on Saturday!)

Justin for convincing me to run marathons and to marry him

Doug for putting on an excellent event and letting me decide to run at the last minute

Jake, Chase, and the GC CC runners Alita, Billy, Jake and Andrew for handing my water and GU and cheering for me

Alita and Billy for taking over my "direction changer" responsibilities

Grant, Chris, and John for providing me some company during the race

Laura and Natalie for helping entertain Miles

All the Sunday indoor marathon runners for putting up with me weaving through them and occasionally elbowing them (on accident!)

All the volunteers and spectators for cheering me on

T&H Timing for having all 204 of my splits

My running friends Lisa, Micki, Katie, and Ryan for keeping me in shape and pushing me to paces I never thought possible

You're not good enough...

We have all probably have heard, "you're not good enough," some point during our lives. In 2011 I was not good enough in the Maple Leaf indoor marathon. I struggled the last 40 laps out of 204 and limped to a 2^nd place finish. This time around I was hoping to redeem myself.

The race went off and Christopher Friedman, an accomplished marathoner, who is in the top 15 of the all-time world indoor marathon record rankings (2:42), took off in the lead. My plan was to hold back and run my pace and see what happens. I knew he was a good marathoner and I didn’t want to do anything stupid early on like I did last year. I was anywhere between 10-15 seconds behind him in the early going in the race. I had some friends that kept me updated with the gap and they also helped me stay hydrated.



Tom and Jerry

When I had about 80 laps completed I final caught up to Christopher. Now the race turned into a classic game of cat and mouse. Part of me was smiling since I enjoyed watching “Tom and Jerry,” growing up. The big question is would I be the cat or the mouse?

I tucked behind him, and just waited to see what the next move was. I was riding his shoulder for the next 75 or so laps. At the 2hr 20 min mark I made my move. I was expecting him to come with me too. However, he held back. Part of me made me worry about that, but I felt great. I was able to crank out the last 50 or so laps at a pretty good clip finishing first in 2:59:47. Christopher had cramped up a bit, but still finished 2^nd overall.

Crossing the finish line

I Promise...

I really enjoy doing math, yes I know I am a nerd. To pound home this point a little more, any vehicle I drive in I prefer to have a calculator within arms reach. Oddly enough my wife is completely okay with me typing numbers into a calulator while driving, but the minute I use my cellular telephone she turns into a 105 pound complainer. Most times I can do my figuring mentally, although sometimes this does not turn out so well. An example of that happen this past week at the Goshen College track practice. I mentally calculated paces for the team to run, only to be off by 10 seconds per 400 meters. A minor error I know, but apparently they were not happy trying to run 40 seconds per mile faster than they were suppose to. I can only assume if I would have double checked my work these athletes would not have been so grouchy. One would think I was smart enough to know basic formulas. For some reason I forgot this equation is true everytime:

(Time off from running) + (Marathon) = Slow Time

This winter I got lazy. There I admit it, glad to get that off my chest. I frankly just did not train hard and took a lot of days off. Actually already in 2012 I have had 8 days of no running. I know this might come as a shock to some people, and it is with great shame that I confess to this. I have only done 1 speed workout since the end of October. How is it that someone who has been coaching athletes to personal records this winter could fail to work hard himself? Probably the same way that a State Champion in mental mathmatics could screw up when figuring split times for his athletes to run.

A few months ago when flipping through the Marathon and Beyond magazine I stumble upon a neat article about the Lost Dutchman Marathon. That feature story did a great job of selling the race to me. I was convinced to run in it, as were probably other readers, hence the race sold out in record time. Turns out the race is better than any story can report, it is one that should be on any persons "Bucket List" of marathons. Now I could go into a boring discertation about my travels to the race, the food I ate, the motel I stayed in, and all other minor details, but how about we just skip ahead to the marathon start line.

The marathon started at an easy pace for this out of shape runner, but it felt like things were going in slow motion. After running for what seemed like a very long time I assumed we had missed the first mile marker. My watch indicated we had only been running for 2 minutes and 33 seconds. Five guys were running tough up in the front pack. The lead biker, assessed the situation and stated an obvious question, "Who is going to win this thing?" I did not participate in the voting, but the majority of the athletes pointed to a bearded guy who was wearing his hat backwards. Turns out this athlete humbled me 9 years ago when he was a college senior and I was a sophomore, maybe today I could turn the tables on him.

Somewhere near mile 3 I turned to Gary Krugger, a crazy marathoning machine, and said, "I am about to go all Wardian on these guys!" That was in reference to Michael Wardian, the best marathoner and ultra marathon in the WORLD. A slight adjustment to my pace and soon it was just me and the lead biker, or so I assumed. A small herd of long horn cattle had decided to come out for the marathon. Six bulls or cows stood in the road with one calf on the side of the road. I doubt that happens very often in large city marathons.

The lead biker was great. He is a local judge and knew the area very well. For the entire race he gave me insights into various news and happenings in the area. He talked about the local colleges, famous accidents, the different types of cacti that we were passing, how the roads out there are paved with recycled tires, and of course he told me about the course. "You see that hill up on the horizon, you are running to the top of it then turn right." We stayed together for the majority of the 26.2 miles, only seperated when one of us had to use the porta potty and change clothes, luckily it was him and not me!

My goal going into the race was two-fold. I wanted to stay mentally engaged in the race and go under 2 hours and 30 minutes. I failed at both. The course drops in elevation for the first half which allowed me to get a half marathon split around 1:14:28. The second half had a couple of miles directly into the wind, this slowed me about 45 seconds per mile for 2 miles. The last 10k I put it in the BIGGEST GEAR I had left, which was topped out at 5:34 to 5:40 per mile. It was now mathmatically impossible to run under 2 hours and 30 minutes, but maybe I could salvage a respectable time.

A broke the finish line in 2:31:02, which once again proves the above math equation correct. Time off from running always equals slow race times. I was lucky enough to win, my 39th marathon win. I wonder if those athletes who boldly voted against me early in the race are sticking with their candidate? After the race the race directors had me and the female winner, Leah Thorvilson, stand next to a Hillbilly and his Mule for photographs. Prior to the photo I saved Leah from some embarrassment by pulling her underwear out of her cleavage. Yes you read that correctly. We stood proudly next to this Hillbilly, which growing up in the hills of Missouri I could tell this was a true blooded Hillbilly not just an actor. He kind of reminded me of some of my high school teachers, and no I am not making a joke about Missouri ladies having beards.

The race winners received a neat painting of the area, but more importantly at the awards I finally got to meet Rick Simon, one of my facebook friends. He ran a strong marathon. We took a few photos, chatted some, and when it came time to leave the race headquarters he offered up a ride. I was very grateful for transportation back to my motel, which was 8 miles or so from the race finish line.

I will not be running a marathon again for several weeks. I know some athletes create articles on their blogs tooting their horns about new sponsorship deals, what type of food to eat, or how best to touch your toes when stretching. It is good that they give us an insight into the life of an elite athlete, but I do not have the time for such things. I prefer to dedicate my time to my family and athletes I coach, but if you are interested in knowing what I will be doing this next month I will give you a clue: It involves training hard. In conclusion here is a quote from one of my favorite songs...

"And to the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back.
I promise to never go back on the promise, in fact."

I am healthy again and ready to train hard. I promise to not embarrass myself or my family by running subpar marathon times. I am not interested in being an athlete who travels the country just to run average marathon times. Come on lets do this together....

Ready or Not....

Growing up I loved to play "Hide-and-Seek". It was a simple game, one even I could understand. The objective was to hide so that you could not be found. While some friends were tucking themselves into closets or under beds another person was counting out loud with their eyes closed. Most times we declared this person to be "it" and they had to count backwards from 10 to 1 while others tried to blend in with their surroundings. Being from Missouri we always said, "Mississippi" after each number to prevent counting too fast. The excitement amplified when, "Ready or not here I come" was yelled by the person doing the seeking. Soon enough everyone was found safely, and the game was re-played. Even though hide-and-seek can be played by all ages, rarely do us adults take time to enjoy the simple things in life, unfortunately. The Tallahassee Marathon this past weekend rekindled these childhood memories.

Hanging in our kitchen is a wall calender with races, travel schedules, and other life happenings written on the proper dates. The past two weeks it has seemed that every time I grabbed a chunk of cheese to eat or a drink of water I heard, "Ready or not here I come" coming from the calender. The Tallahassee Marathon was fast approaching, and unfortunately I could not find a good place to hide!

I will be the first to admit that I am out of shape. Those in my inner life circle know I have been dealing with a health issue much of the last month which has caused my training to be sub par. Mix with that an injured left arm that I damaged while splitting firewood earlier this past week, then top that off with a right leg issue and I was completely not ready to run a marathon, but throwing caution to the wind I ventured onward.

The first five miles were ran fairly conservatively with a mid 5:40s mile pace. All my vital parts felt fine, unfortunately my arm condition would not improve regardless of pace. Miles 6 through 10 I ran a little faster to close the gap on some athletes ahead of me. By the half way point I was running in 3rd place. I went through the half way marker a whisker below 1:15, which was the pace I thought my left and right leg agreed upon, but apparently my right leg had a change of heart. The left leg wanted to continue at the 5:40 pace and the right leg wanted to run a 6:40 pace. A compromise was needed, 6:10 pace it would have to be. I tried in vain to change my stride pattern to alleviate some of the pain in my right leg. This only created a large blister on my foot.

The last 10 miles was a long slow battle. I still was running in 3rd place, which paid $400 dollars, but I thought 4th and 5th place runners would be passing me before long. There was nothing more I could do. To pass the time and keep my mind off the pain I tried to think of motivating things. Most times I reverted back to thoughts of Miles. He is growing up fast! I wonder if years from now he will appreciate hearing the stories about my running? Am I doing my best possible job to provide for him? "Squish...Squish...Squish" came from my right shoe, abruptly interrupting my thoughts about Miles. One of my larger blisters had popped. Still 6 miles to sludge through.

For moments I laughed, internally of course, at my situation. I must have looked goofy going through water stops. My form was sloppy, my left arm unable to grab the fluids, and I was moving incredibly slow, but still holding on to 3rd place. The irony of the moment did not pass me by. Recently I designed a funny shirt to sell which illustrates the bloody nipples that runners suffer from. The back of the shirt states, "Run 'Til Your Nipples Bleed." Maybe I should have made one that stated, "Run 'Til Your Feet Bleed." The rest of the race was fairly non-eventful. No pace changes, nobody passed me, and I finished in 3rd with a 2:36:01.

Even though my race did not go as expected it was nice to finish 3rd in the Tallahassee Marathon for the 3rd straight year. Speaking of 3, here are my top 3 highlights from the weekend...using the Ms USA competition format.



Second Runner-Up Highlight from this weekend was seeing my friend, John Piggott run a 2:37 marathon at age 46, which is very impressive since he ran a 2:41 marathon last weekend.



First Runner-Up Highlight comes via text from MS Florida 2009, Juli Goldstein. Once our plane landed safely in Tallahassee and I was able to turn my phone back on a text popped up, "Welcome to Florida from MS Florida."






Grand Champion Highlight goes to my wife, Melissa, for running a strong race and getting 2nd place. We actually placed 2nd and 3rd respectively two years ago in Tallahassee. Below is a photo of this years awards, ceramic platters.