Steamtown Marathon - 10/10/10

Pre-Marathon:

I was pretty excited about running the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA this year because: 1) it was going to be my first marathon away from home that I had to stay over for; 2) most of my XMP pace group was also running it; and 3) the course was mostly downhill and flat, which would make it easier to qualify for Boston. However, I faced a major setback in my training in late August that caused me to scrap all plans of potentially BQing at any race this fall. A calf strain caused me to take the better half of September off and run really easy for all of the races I participated in. October was here before I knew it and I didn't really know what to expect of my still-recovering leg.

Hai, Chris, and I left on Saturday morning for the 4-hour drive to Scranton. We arrived at the expo and picked up our race packets. Nothing too exciting there, but I am glad that races are giving away less and less junk these days because I always chuck everything after a quick sift through for useful coupons or try to convince my dad that he could really use another free cup, fan, frisbee, pen, etc. Next, we checked into the Holiday Inn, a decent hotel except for the fact that they made us wait over an hour for our room and didn't give us towels until after 8 pm. I did, however, enjoy the ginormous jacuzzi.

We had planned to carb-load at Olive Garden, but after driving by and seeing over 50 people crowd the front door and realizing that every other marathoner had the same idea in mind, we opted for TGI Fridays down the street instead. No wait and we still got pasta!

Race Day:

I had a good night's rest but was tossing and turning by 3 AM. We got up at 4:30 AM, had our Panera bagels that we bought the night before, and was out the door by 5:15 AM. We boarded the buses at the finish line that shuttled us 45 minutes up to the starting line. It was 31 degrees at the time, but luckily we got to wait inside a high school until the start time. I can honestly say I have never seen such enthusiastic teenagers at 6:30 AM in my life. These kids were running around offering us water, directing us to bathrooms, chanting "Go Runners!" If there was one thing this race definitely had down, it was the volunteer support. Advertising 3000 volunteers for a race field limited to 2500 runners, there was never a moment before, throughout, or after the race that you couldn't find aid if needed. The aid stations were also very well-organized, so that there was not a lot of congestion and it was very clear where to go for gatorade vs. water.

After meeting up with friends in the school gymnasium, we all shuffled out into the cold, brisk air to the starting line. A very loud cannon fired to signal the race start and we were off. I used mile 1 to gauge how much I would be able to push it today. The answer was "not very much" and I spent the next 25.2 miles holding on for dear life.

If there's one thing I learned at Steamtown, it's to never take the diffculty of a race for granted, no matter how experienced you are. This was by far the most physically and mentally draining marathon I have ever ran, more so than even my first marathon. I kept a slow and comfortable pace to save my still-recovering calf, but it was mentally draining to not be able to push at maximum effort because of the pain that it would induce. After many months of hard training, I no doubt had the energy and fitness level to complete the race, just not the legs. I spent most of the race thinking "I hate you legs, especially you left calf!" I felt even more discouraged later on in the race when the rest of my perfectly functioning muscles began to fatigue and become sore. With 4 marathons already in the books, I was still surprised at mile 20 with the realization that "Holy $#@%! Marathons hurt!"

When time isn't so much a factor, I end up paying a lot more attention to my surroundings, using anything to distract me from the physical and mental pain that I am enduring. Usually, I don't pay too much attention to the crowds because rarely is there ever anyone there that is personally cheering me on, but today I did. And I can honestly say that their enthusiasm actually helped boost my morale. While most people held personal posters cheering on their loved ones, there were a few funny ones. My favorite was "Runners have balls, everyone else just plays with them!" Other good ones included "Keep it up! (That's what she said!)," "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon," and "Beat Oprah's time!" Early on in the race, there was an old man standing off to the side of the road playing some funky music. He looked so out of place, but I have a soft spot for old people and couldn't help but smile. When I passed him and he asked me how the music was, I gave him a huge thumbs-up just to make his day.

When I wasn't using the crowd to distract me, I had to give myself a mental pep talk to push through the pain. This wasn't like National Marathon where the miles were just clicking off without me realizing it. I paid attention to every mile, every half-mile, every 1/10th of a mile. I knew I couldn't look at the big picture and just had to get through my current mile. At the JFK 50, counting down to my next walking break or the next aid station worked to get me through each mile. So today, I convinced myself to get to mile 16, so that I could start counting single digit miles down. After I passed the 16 mile marker, I convinced myself to push to 18 and then there'd only be 2 more miles to the big 20. When I hit 20 and was mentally drained by the thought of another 10K (1+ hour of running), I kept telling myself that it's better to have 20 miles behind and 6.2 miles in front than the other way around. I finally made it to "Heartbreak Hill" and down the final stretch to the finish line, clocking in a time of 4:29:16.

Although this is my personal worst marathon time so far, I was proud of my mental resilience. There were so many points in the race that I just felt defeated and wanted to cry because my physical condition was holding me back, but I kept my composure, put on a smile, and pushed through. The other bright side to this marathon experience is that I didn't experience any stomach issues throughout the duration of the race and think I've finally figured out how to fuel myself properly for a marathon.