They say that doctor’s make the worst patients and I think
the same must go for coaches. In Team in Training we have been preaching for
years that runners need to pace themselves in the marathon, going out slower
than you might feel up to, so you have energy left over for the final miles
which are always the toughest. You’d think after 36 marathons that this
learning would have sunk in and become second nature to me. Oh well.
After several years of coaching our TNT participants through
the Napa Valley Marathon it was finally my turn to run it. I certainly knew the
course well enough – it is one of the most scenic marathons you can do in the
Bay Area. TNT had rotated NVM out of its event list for the winter/spring
season to introduce other events and so that weekend I was finally free to try
it out myself.
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| Kelty, Scout & I in Napa |
We started the weekend by piling our two dogs into the car,
driving up to Napa, getting my running bib and finding a place to take the dogs for a run.
Reesa had found a fantastic park in Napa, Alston Park. It's just off Redwood Road and turned out
to be the highlight of the weekend. This park was dog friendly so our kids could play freely off leash and run around in over 30 acres overlooking the hills
along The Silverado Trail, where the marathon takes place. It was an absolutely
gorgeous weekend with temperatures in the 70s and crystal clear skies. It rains
on Napa Marathon weekend pretty much every other year and I was running it in
the right side of this binary sequence, it seemed.
Living just a couple hours away from Napa we rarely stay
overnight there and so it was a pleasure to do so, especially knowing what time
I would have to get up the next morning for the race – 4:30am. Before going to
bed, Reesa and I went to FuméBistro, a fantastic organic restaurant in Napa for a romantic dinner.
We had excellent food in this small gourmet place and a touch of wine (I think
it’s a crime not to have wine with dinner up here – or it should be).
The following morning, Reesa graciously got up with me and
drove us to Vintage High School where I caught the first bus to Calistoga and
the starting line. Sitting a few rows back was fellow TNT staffer Davina who
had driven up from Menlo Park that morning. And I thought 4:30 was an ungodly
hour! We chatted on the 25 mile ride and were fortunate to be able to stay on the
bus from the time we arrived until just minutes before the start. It was in the
low 40s in Calistoga at this hour and so we cherished the warmth. I had hurt myback working out Saturday morning and it was aching badly sitting in the school
bus bench seats, so I exited a few minutes early to run around and test it out.
On finding that running hurt like crazy, I
decided to lay down in the middle of the street and stretch it out. Very
bad timing to hurt my back but thankfully the stretching did the trick.
As you may know from my last post, my goal this year is to
run a marathon in less than 3 hours, which is shaving 17 minutes off my currentpersonal best. Napa was the first test marathon of the year and so far the
speed training had been working well. The weekend prior I had completed a 10
mile tempo run at my target marathon pace of 6:50 per mile and felt like I
could have held this pace for at least 5 more miles. That gave me confidence
that the 7:25 per mile pace I needed for Napa (which would lower my PR to 3:15)
was definitely doable.
Here’s where my heart got in the way of my brain. I know
that to hold the 7:25 I really should start out at this pace and store energy
so I could still be running this pace the final miles. But I took off feeling
great and decided to listen to my body for the first couple miles. It felt
great at a 7 min/mile pace. It felt so good in fact that the emotional part of
me started bargaining with the logical side. The argument was, “this feels
great and is 10 seconds per mile slower than the tempo run last weekend. I held
that for 10 and could have for 15, so this slower pace should be achievable
for, what, 20 miles? That would give me a 3:08 and propel me much faster toward
my goal. Wouldn’t that be fantastic!?” Of course it would, but as it turned out,
it was also foolish.
As miles 6 and then 7 went by I was holding the 7 min/mile
pace with easy confidence. I had slowly passed a few folks who looked around my
fitness level who had clearly pulled their pace back as I should have. One in
particular was a 30-something brunette whom I would see later.
I was still holding this pace at the halfway mark, turning
in a 1:31 for 13.1. At this point a collection of runners around me, started to
pick up the pace. Clearly they were stronger runners than I and had held back
so they could register a negative split. I don’t think I’ve ever done one of
those and certainly was smart enough to know not to follow them. I was still
feeling good so I stuck to my plan and the 7min/mile pace.
By mile 15, however, I began to fade. I still felt good and
so at first the slowdown escaped my notice. I checked my Garmin at the mile
marker and saw 7:25. So I picked it back up and hit 16 miles at my prior pace.
That was a mistake as by mile 17 I was clearly getting fatigued. I passed that
marker at 8:25 per mile and could not maintain anything faster the rest of the way.
By mile 24 I was dragging big time and had lost another minute per mile. And
the 30-something brunette who had pulled it back early on, sailed right by me looking
clearly stronger. I passed Reesa and our kids looking very beaten and crossed
over the line at 3:19:42. This was still my second fastest marathon but clearly not
one of my best efforts. As I grabbed a water and stumbled through the finisher’s
area I passed the brunette who was smiling and looking relaxed. Her time: 3:15.
Ugh.
Well as I’ve said before, I tend to learn all life’s lessons
the hard way and this was clearly no exception. I have 5 months before my next
marathon and clearly this experience will prepare me for that race: The ETMidnight Marathon in Rachel, NV. Join me by following the link to the left.
