Steamtown Marathon Recap

OK, folks - here is what went down for me at Steamtown yesterday. The marathon's website is http://www.steamtownmarathon.com/.





It was a beautiful day for a marathon - a very cool and crisp 33 degrees F at the start of the race (8am). Steamtown is a point-to-point race, so most participants take a bus from the finish line to the start. Perfectly well organized at both locations - access to the buses exactly as promised. A place to keep warm and get organized at the start. Tons of porta-potties (and access to bushes) for those of us with pre-race jitters. Bags provided for clothing drops. Absolute kudos to the Steamtown folks for one of the best starts I've seen.





The gun went off at 8am sharp! My plan was to run my miles between 8:35 and 8:40 - very reachable considering my training results. This would give me a big PR at about 3:47 (old PR was 4:01:29). My BQ time is 3:30, and I didn't want to risk running too fast, so no plans to shoot for a BQ this time around.





Steamtown is a net down-hill race - and starts with some pretty steep declines. Per many recommendations, I wanted to make sure that I didn't go too fast on the downhills and trash my quads. Was right on schedule through mile 14 - average of 8:35 pace, with the fastest mile at 8:22 and the slowest at 8:51.





I tracked my heartrate through the race - my normal "easy" training HR is between 135 and 145, my tempo HR is around 155, and my max HR is around 180. My plan was to stay under 145 through mile 15, under 155 through mile 21, and then allow it to increase as I pushed through the final 5 miles.





Through mile 11 this was right on target - highest average HR for a mile was 151, and having slight cardiac drift. On mile 14 average HR was 152. Then on mile 15, things went haywire - average HR was 161. I didn't know why, but I knew something wasn't quite right. I didn't feel hot (this is usally why my HR rises). I thought that perhaps it was just a net uphill segment, and didn't worry too much about it. BIG MISTAKE.







Every mile from mile 16 on was a struggle - and the struggle just intensified. Every mile through mile 17 was under 9 minutes. At mile 20 I was at 2:55 - I figured that if I could run a one hour 10k, then I would at least break 4 hours - should be easy enough, right?



I then went slowly up the scale, with mile 22 being nearly 10 minutes, and mile 24 over 11 minutes. I was doing a serious run-walk to just try to survive. Finally, I came past the 26 mile marker and could see the finish up ahead - and I mean UP ahead - a hill that I had to crest quickly if I was going to break four hours. I could see the timer counting up - I pushed as hard as I could. However, I crossed the finish with 4:00:50 showing on the clock.



After crossing the finish line, I fell immediately onto a chair. A great volunteer brought me a bottle of water, while another removed my timing chip. I felt like HELL! After finishing the water, I decided to try to get out of the finsihing chute. My wife caught my attention across the fence, and I went to be with her and my brother (and our dogs).



I walked out into the grass, and sat down - and then all hell broke loose. I got a terrible cramp in my right calf - it was visible to my wife. Then my left calf and left quad started cramping. A volunteer came by and asked if I wanted medical help - I screamed "yes." I was writhing and screaming in awful pain. Medical volunteers came and put me on a stretcher, and wheeled me through the crowd into the medical building.



Once in the medical building, the staff was all over it. A quick check of all vital signs (no issues), and I was put on an IV drip. They pumped two liters of fluids into me over about an hour and a half. They kept me covered in warm blankets, and were incredibly attentive and kind. Two different massage therapists worked on my legs. After about two hours in the medical area, I was allowed to walk (gingerly!) out.



So, what lessons would I share?



1. I have to be careful about dehydration - even (especially?) on cool days.
2. I have to do a better job of injesting electrolytes (gonna order some Hammer Endurolytes).
3. Steamtown is a GREAT marathon! I would highly recommend this race for anybody looking for a good / fast race.
4. The volunteers and medical folks were UNBELIEVABLE. You never want to experience this part of the race, but it is great to know that they are there.

OK, so I am now onto my next race - my REVENGE race. I'm gonna run the Richmond Marathon on 11/14. A very fast (too fast?) turnaround, but I have to beat this thing.