Strategic debut

I’m developing a new marathon strategy and I had a superb start with it in Bellingham.

The objective was simply: run as hard as I could for as long as I could, and then run still harder.

Well.

I ran some superb times through the first eight miles. Then my strategy proved a tad ambitious. But as I said at the beginning of this post, Bellingham was the start.

I wanted to race because I hadn’t had the chance to run at Ironman Canada. And I wanted to race this race because I wanted to take advantage of all of the training that I have done this past year before hitting pause for a few weeks or a month.

And so .. the Bellingham marathon appeared on my schedule. (Note: Margreet found it first and was keen to race it until she redirected herself towards the 100km Haney to Harrision in early November.)

The race began as I expected. I ran a bit too fast. The first 1 mile was 6:35. Ha. Take that.

I immediately eased back a touch and settled into a 7:00 to 7:06 pace for the next seven miles.

I was running with three others – two guys and the first woman. The pace was good and it was great to have the others there to help me focus.

One realization from yesterday’s effort was that I think far far far too much. I need to ask some others but I need to find a way to settle my mind more during races. I have often said that I have trouble focusing. I think for me the challenge is narrowing that focus.

We ran as a group for about 7 miles and then one of the lead guys accelerated just a bit as we zoomed by some spectators who were cheering for him. The adrenaline kicked in for him and the two others also accelerated. I chose not to go. I felt the pace I was on was superb and I didn’t see any need to go harder at this point.

My 5km split was about 20:26 and my 10km split was about 43:20. I believed my training ahead of Ironman would have put me in a position to run a standalone marathon of 3:02 to 3:10. I hadn’t trained to run faster and it didn’t make sense for me to try to run too fast too early.

That said, I suppose at the end of the day I can say that I ran too fast too early. But that’s OK. I don’t regret the pace.

Sitting here on the Oregon Coast in Lincoln City the day after the race, I have thought, what if I had gone with those other three – would it have hurt me?

The weather was good for the race. Light rain to start. We got a solid shower at about the 8-mile mark and there was a decent headwind on the return from the first out and back. That wind was there from time to time throughout the rest of the run.

My times drifted further and further from the 7 minute area. I had six caf gels – one mistake was not taking the other two. I also would have ‘appreciated’ the opportunity for some coke. There simply wasn’t any on the course.

I crossed the line in 3:25. My ninth marathon.

Faster times ahead.

Bellingham

Me and Macca

My first thought was .. what the ..

How could it be both cold and raining as hard as it was? A year ago it was sunny and 35-40 degrees. And here we have had the driest and warmest summer on record - or close to it. I had the misfortune of one day of rain for one long training spin.

Race day though is the challenge. And it's a learning curve too.

For the first time in my Ironman 'career' I did not finish a race. I abandoned it and opted for the back of an ambulance at about 160km into the bike. It was the right decision at that moment for me. I was soaked and moving slower and slower and getting colder and colder. I wasn't thinking clearly and I was shivering nonstop.

At least I had the presence of mind to stop and start walking down the hill that I had hammered a year earlier. I didn't have the spirit to smash the final 20km of the bike, which is mostly downhill.

For a second year, I had a disappointing day at Ironman Canada. The idea of not finishing though had never crossed my mind. I expected to be faster than ever.

One of the thoughts that came to me as I realized my day was done was that I'd have to race here again because I know that I have the potential to nail this course. I say that with the knowledge that I've put in two very solid years of training and each year my overall fitness has been at a new high.

I look at my race results the last few months as a sign that I was well prepared, and I believe that I was in a position to be competitive.

In the immediate aftermath of the race, I was disappointed. It was an empty feeling. I wasn't happy with myself.

And - simply because of the huge demand for Ironman races, there is no other race that I can do this year to express my fitness.

One thought that came to mind however was that I was in good company. Ironman is about the journey.

It took Macca six attempts to win in Kona including one DNF.

So really .. perspective is critical.

I'm fit, I'm motivated and I'm looking ahead to 2011.

Meeting with success

"I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours."

Henry David Thoreau
1817-1862, Writer and Poet

Harrison to Haney

No .. I'm not going to run 100km anytime soon. But Margreet is.

Check out her post from earlier today: here.