Shamrock Marathon – 25th overall, 2:56:01
Not the race I was hoping for, and looking back, I can’t really pinpoint what went wrong. I felt great at the start and the early miles of the race felt controlled and easy. At the halfway mark I was just a few seconds off my goal pace, but still feeling good with no reason to be concerned.
Somewhere around mile 15 I realized I needed a pit-stop, but it was just after we entered Fort Story at mile 19 before I was able to stop. The brief bathroom break only wasted 20 seconds, but the relief was worth a lot more. I slowed a little during the next couple of miles, but was still on for 2:51:00 if I could maintain 6:29 pace. I soon realized I couldn’t and the closing miles were a real sufferfest.
It never ceases to amaze me how you can go from running “easy” 6:30 miles to struggling to run a 7:30 mile. I hung on as best as possible, was passed by a handful of Masters runners and finished in 2:56:01 – grateful in the end to keep the sub-3:00 hour streak going and not too disappointed with missing a PR by just over 5 minutes. There will definitely be more marathons, but for now I’m left to ponder what went wrong and how to correct it for the next one.
Finally, thanks to wife Ally, daughter Shannon for driving down from Williamsburg to watch the race and sister-in-law Diane who is visiting from Scotland. Really appreciate all your support! Also thanks to the many local runners, blog readers and various other people who wished me well and cheered me on.
One last note. Huge congrats to marathon newbie Billy Chorey and his fantastic 2:47 marathon! Billy, all your hard work paid off and it looks like you ran a very smart race. Really pleased for you…
Running is weird and I agree 100% on the going from “easy” to “struggling” on the different paces. It comes out of nowhere. Congrats on the race – finishing in one piece is often the important thing! Turned out to be great weather today. A tad cold for the start of my half, but I utilized sock sleeves to stay warm.
Congrats David! Looks like you had a great race 1:49:30
My wife finished in 1:57 – she was really pleased too (and quite rightly so!)
Hi Steve
I finally had a chance to check on your results and am sorry that you had such a rough day. You and I both know that the marathon is so unpredictable and all we can do is hope to get to the starting line as well prepared as possible. From there, the marathon Gods get to decide if it will be our day or not. BTW, I am now quite sure that they owe you one (and maybe more).
Have a great recovery, try not to be heard on yourself, and know that you have my greatest respect as a runner and as a truly great individual.
There will always be another marathon.
Bill
Hey Bill,
Thanks for the comment. Here’s a rundown of the splits:
st half – 6:30 6:30 6:29 6:29 6:29 6:21 (short because of a 180 degree turn) 6:28 6:22 6:29 6:36 6:25 6:29 6:20
2nd half – 6:24 6:26 7:10 (screwy Garmin?) 6:35 5:55 (screwy Garmin?) 7:13 (pit-stop) 6:38 6:47 7:10 7:17 7:48 7:45
Ugly last 10k eh? And I couldn’t do a thing about it.
You’re correct – there will always be another marathon – and I intend on lining up again when the time is right.
Keep on running,
–Steve
Steve,
The sub 3 hrs is nothing to sneeze at. Enjoy the recovery.
Tim
You’re still amazing and inspiring me! Under 3 hours for a marathon!
Steve,
Sorry to hear the race wasn’t all you’d hoped it’d be – I guess that’s why we keep on running, always trying to improve! The National marathon on Saturday didn’t go as planned for me either – I arrived at the starting line in the same state as you, fully prepared and fighting fit, and then had 2 different muscles completely go out on me during the race. I’ve no idea how I managed to even finish… but of course I’m already looking at the schedule to see when I can give it another try!!
Here’s to the next 26.2!
–Emma.
Thanks Tim/Andrew,
I’m really pleased to have kept the sub-3:00 streak going – think that’s 12 since 2005. I wonder when it will end…
Emma,
The marathon is such a challenge isn’t it? Sorry to hear your race didn’t go as planned either. You just never know what’s going to happen. It’s amazing that the guy who was 2nd in the National Marathon on Saturday (Michael Wardian) showed up at Shamrock and finished 3rd – 2 top three finishes in 2 days!
Congrats on the marathon finish! What one are you thinking of next?
–Steve
Haha, yeah Wardian is a beast!! I think he is doing a 150 miler this weekend too – amazing stuff.
I’m not sure when my next marathon will be, it all depends on the recovery, but I’m really eager to give it another go because I KNOW I can do better. Possibly Frederick in May??
He certainly is an animal. I remember he set a stroller-pushing record at Frederick a few years ago- amazing!
Frederick is a definite maybe for me too. I’ve run it 3 out of the last 4 years and always finished better than I did at Shamrock. Watch out for the hills though!
–Steve
Steve-
Congrats on another sub 3. I don’t have too much sympathy for you, as the sub 3 still alludes me! I too toed the line hoping for a PR, but struggled to keep pace through the half and finished almost 6 minutes up on 3 hour goal. It was a perfect day, so I too am a little confused on why my race fell apart. I sure missed Tommy pacing the 3 hour group.
Regards,
Ken from Clemson.
Hey Ken,
I was the same – working harder at the half than I should have been (especially with no wind to battle this year) and it just got more and more difficult. I think Tommy was pacing the 3:10 group this year as he’s had his fair share of injury problems recently. I think he came in around 3:09.
Are you tempted to take advantage of your marathon training and try another one soon?
Recover well and I’m sure you’ll crack the 3 hour barrier soon…
–Steve
Hi Steve,
Congrats on the sub-3 finish! Know it wasn’t the race you were hoping for, but you deserve props precisely for sticking it out when the going got rough. There’s a certain nobleness in perseverance!
Agree that it’s often strange how one minute a faster pace seems easy & then suddenly a slower pace seems harder. Perceived effort depends on so many different factors, eh?!
Sometimes it seems to take a few days to process what happened during a race. Sure, there’s the immediate memories, but sometimes you look back on things & remember something that wasn’t at the forefront of your mind at the time, but will help you glean more insights on what exactly happened during the race.
It’s really fantastic that you had your family & friends there to support you during the race. It’s during those challenging races or when our running performance isn’t where we’d like it to be, that we’re often extra thankful for our friends & family showing up for our races. 🙂
BTW, speaking of which, have you thought about asking them their thoughts about your race? Good friends & family who know you well have the added advantage of knowing you but with a different perspective. 😉 Sometimes, they can see things that you might not see or be aware of at the time. Just an idea…..
Hope you are having a good recovery!
-C
P.S. Good luck in Frederick. It’s a shame that all of us won’t be able to meet up in May, (I was sorry to have to change plans!), but who knows, maybe next year Erik & I will both plan to race Frederick (& instead, plan to stay there for the entire weekend!) or perhaps the Shamrock, & we’ll be able meet up with you & your family then!
Steve-
I’m very tempted to do another marathon soon. Last year VA beach was a PR for me, 4 weeks after Myrtle Beach. In your opinion, what is the optimum time between marathons?(assuming recovery goes well) With 4 weeks between races, I could only fit in a few ten milers. Once I was recovered from the first, I had to taper for the second.
Regards,
Ken.
Congratulations Steve on your 12th consecutive sub 3 hr marathon! That alone is a great accomplishment. You’ve had an incredible year of running and PRs and that marathon PR is in your future.
Have a great recovery,
Charlie