Longer Version, This marathon was supposed to be another in a string of races that I'm trying to do in a 365 day period. But, over the previous 8 weeks, I've discovered my speed again through planned speedwork, and my paces were back to my PR marathon paces of 15 months ago, so I thought it was worth a shot.
The race is the most expensive race I've done ($125). Headed 8 hours out to Colorado and enjoyed seeing some of the sights around Fort Collins the day before the Marathon (primarily, the Anheiser Busch Brewery, the New Belgium Brewery, and the Odell Brewery, hey had to carb load a little). Slept well the night before, and got up at 300 am, to catch a bus at 430 am. They bus you up the mountain into the Poudre Canyon to 6200 feet on coach buses, then you run back down the mountain into Fort Collins. The first 15 miles were in the Canyon along the river, then 6 miles out in the open/flats, then 5 miles on a bike path into town. The first part of the marathon is in the mountains and absolutely gorgeous. Towering cliffs, trees, and the Poudre River, with no spectators, with a mostly closed road. A little slice of nirvana. It was the most scenic and peaceful portion of a race I've ever done.
Before the race, I downloaded all of the results from the last few years in my age group and did a little spreadsheet analysis, determining that most runners positive split this course. I planned on a 1:47/1:55 split, based on my fitness, which was an 8:10 pace for the first half, dropping down to an 8:45 pace for the second half. My PR pace is 8:28, or 3:43 from January 2011. Gravity in the canyon really allows you to run faster than you think, it's a steep downhill, but it also can trash your quads pretty easily. I thought I was ready. I ran hill repeats for my long runs here at home. I did the Stair Master several sessions for several weeks prior. I felt like I could really do this.
Race start temp was about 39 at 615 am, with a light wind. As we hammered down the mountain, it warmed into the lower 50s with a nice breeze about 15 mph. I was on pace for a PR through the 15 miles in the canyon holding onto my planned pace, even though my quads were starting to hurt. The road was also severely cambered, which really hurt at times. As I hit the flats, I gradually slipped my pace as expected, but my legs were already in trouble. By mile 22, I couldn't hold it anymore and I couldn't get my quads to consistently fire. I was still at PR average pace (8:30'sh), but my quads were burning with every step. The mountain had won and I couldn't run for long stretches without a lot of pain. I decided to let my PR go, I just couldn't hold it for 4 more miles, and once I made that decision, I dropped my pace considerably to save my legs as much as I could and just tried to pass time. I walked quite a bit (gasp). No use in pushing it now, and just had to shuffle to finish line. It didn't really matter what my time was at this point, I just wanted the finish to get credit for another state.
Here are my splits...
| Mile | Lap Pace | Run Pace | Avg HR |
| 1 | 0:08:16 | 164 | |
| 2 | 0:08:06 | 0:08:11 | 155 |
| 3 | 0:08:08 | 0:08:10 | 159 |
| 4 | 0:08:24 | 0:08:13 | 157 |
| 5 | 0:08:14 | 0:08:14 | 156 |
| 6 | 0:08:05 | 0:08:12 | 155 |
| 7 | 0:08:10 | 0:08:12 | 154 |
| 8 | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | 151 |
| 9 | 0:08:03 | 0:08:10 | 151 |
| 10 | 0:08:07 | 0:08:10 | 152 |
| 11 | 0:08:04 | 0:08:10 | 152 |
| 12 | 0:08:24 | 0:08:11 | 154 |
| 13 | 0:08:09 | 0:08:11 | 153 |
| 14 | 0:08:09 | 0:08:10 | 152 |
| 15 | 0:08:18 | 0:08:11 | 153 |
| 16 | 0:08:45 | 0:08:13 | 150 |
| 17 | 0:08:58 | 0:08:16 | 149 |
| 18 | 0:08:42 | 0:08:17 | 152 |
| 19 | 0:09:27 | 0:08:21 | 148 |
| 20 | 0:09:37 | 0:08:25 | 144 |
| 21 | 0:09:36 | 0:08:28 | 145 |
| 22* | 0:10:09 | 0:08:33 | 145 |
| 23 | 0:09:49 | 0:08:36 | 145 |
| 24 | 0:10:50 | 0:08:42 | 140 |
| 25 | 0:10:35 | 0:08:46 | 140 |
| 26 | 0:10:30 | 0:08:50 | 141 |
* Decided to let the PR go and just finish.
Post Race Analysis: Like I said, I took shot, rolled the dice, but lost. It was a gamble, but one I definitely wanted to take. Running at elevation really didn't seem to affect me too much, as the significant 1200' negative descent seemed to counteract that. I never really spiked my heart rate, or felt out of breath or in oxygen debt. My downfall was that my legs were just not prepared enough for the lengthy and steep downhill. I overestimated my ability. Perhaps if I had started a little slower, it might have worked. Or not, who knows. But, my spreadsheet analysis suggested, for my fitness, based on previous results in my age group, an 8 minute positive split seemed reasonable and I was in PR shape based on paces over the previous 8 weeks. I'm not disappointed though! It was a beautiful day for a run. I completed another marathon, in another state, and added another in my ongoing year long streak. I'm not injured, just have very sore legs, no blisters, no chafing, and overall, I'm pleased. Not a PR, but I certainly made another memory that will last a lifetime with a good running friend.
Moving forward. I have a few more races over the next few weeks to complete my year long streak in the middle of June. No PR attempts coming up, but just running for the pure joy of it. And then maybe another PR attempt this fall or winter.
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