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Post by frojoe23 on Oct 28, 2008 7:24:00 GMT -5
I have to give a big shout-out to Kevin and Tommy for coming down. It was great to have you guys there. And a big thanks to Kevin for covering the marathon for the Times-News. I honestly envied you for riding in the press truck.
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Post by frojoe23 on Oct 28, 2008 7:52:58 GMT -5
My favorite pics are on page 44 - take a look at my myriad of facial expressions.
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Post by kevinspradlin on Oct 28, 2008 9:09:32 GMT -5
Yeah, my 26.2 miles that day were much easier than most others who completed the route. Maybe my most memorable moment was around mile 8-10 or something when the red & white Saturn pace car sped ahead of everyone (we all wondered why) - only to pull off to the side of the road by a row of port-a-potties and ... um....take care of bidness. The driver, meanwhile, seemed to make eye contact with everyone who stared at him while he was waitin' in the car for the other guy. Funny stuff.
And while the media truck (a big tour duck) was fun and all, maybe Ashley, Jackie and the gang had a better idea in metro-hopping. They saw Jaron, Dave and Jeremy at 4-5 points, I think, and saw Rob at atleast 2 points. That would have allowed me to get more photographs of the other locals.
Darrell and I have talked about maybe him going down next year and making sure we get everyone coming in at the finish, among other things. So, lessons learned all around to make next year, if we go, even better.
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Post by ericjoe on Oct 28, 2008 9:11:18 GMT -5
Uggh. The photo page is blocked by my work's firewall. Guess I will have to wait until tonight to look at them.
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Post by burgrunner on Oct 28, 2008 12:33:54 GMT -5
Alright, I’ll give this a shot at recapping my race.
After having time to reflect, I still have most of the same feelings that I had at the finish. My goal going in was to run sub 2:40. I was close, which makes it all of the more disappointing. A little less than one and a half seconds per mile and I would have had it. But, having that feeling that I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to in this one is just more fuel for the next one, and just one more reason to get up in the dark on those cold winter mornings when staying in bed would feel so much better.
The drive down was not a real fun one as it was raining and very windy, which didn’t make the trip much fun at all (don’t ask Dave about it though as he slept most of the way). When we arrived, we checked in to the hotel and then slopped through the rain and wind over to the expo and then to lunch. We ate at the same place that we did last year for lunch (and dinner as well), and then back through the “hurricane” to the hotel to rest for a few hours. Later in the evening we headed to a mall a few blocks from the hotel for our dinner of Subway, which has become our ritual before marathons. This walk was a little more enjoyable as the rain had subsided. Kevin and Tommy met us there and we chatted for a while. It was nice having a big support crew there. We then split from them and headed back for a little shut-eye.
Race morning came early, and turning on the weather channel, I was pleasantly surprised to find the temps a little cooler than forecasted (low 40’s). We caught a shuttle to the metro station about 5:45. The metro was not nearly as bad this year as it was last. Upon arriving at the Pentagon, we joined the herd of people headed to the start. I don’t know how far the walk is from the metro to the start but it’s probably every bit of 2 miles. When we got to the start, we milled around for a while, got our flats on and chip tags attached, kissed our wives goodbye, and got ready to rock and roll.
The start is on a dual highway, and we definitely picked the wrong side to start on. We started of heading up a hill and the runners on the other side stayed nice and flat. I watched as Jaron headed to the front right away. Regardless of what he claims, he looked smooth and strong, and I figured that he was on his way to a good one.
Dave and I stayed together for at least the first 2 miles and I’m not even sure that last time that I saw him. As you will notice by my splits, mile 2 was mostly uphill and not very easy. The course this year was quite a bit different than last year. The first 8 or 9 miles were a lot trickier. As the other guys can attest, this stretch, at points, reminded me of running around Frostburg, with a few very long and somewhat steep stretches.
I got into a pack of around a dozen runners at around mile 5 or so through the park and Georgetown. I led this group for two miles or so and then they got a little antsy, especially on the down hills. I let them go (and eventually caught all but two of them, I believe, by the end). Around mile 8, I decided to make a conscious effort to not look at my mile splits for a while and concentrate on even effort. My feet were starting to hurt and my stride didn’t feel real smooth. Ashley said afterwards that when she saw me at mile 10.5 it looked like I was limping a little which makes sense.
I liked the change for this years race to put Haines Point earlier. This stretch was from mile 11ish to 14. Around the Point, I was running with two other guys. At mile 12, one of them stopped, apparently that was their plan from the beginning, and looking at the pictures, he didn’t have a number on so he must have just hopped in at some point to pace his buddy. This other guy was very annoying to run near. Every time he exhaled, he did so through his nose, which made it sound as if he were trying to clear it.
I passed the halfway clock at 1:19:34 and thought “I just have to come back in 1:20 to be sub 2:40.” At this point I figured that my feet couldn’t hurt any worse (kind of like the entire bottom of my feet were “hot spots”), and they were starting to go numb so I tried to pick up the pace just a little. This was the last time I saw or heard Mr. Congested Nose.
It was nice to get out of Haines Point and back to an area where there was support and spectators. I knew that the last planned spot that I would see Ashley and our cheering crew before the finish line was around mile 16.5 so I kept telling myself just to make it that far. Marathoners will tell you that there are times during every race that the thought of dropping out creeps into their mind. I had been thinking this for a few miles now however; I was starting to feel a little better with all of the crowd support around. I made a right hand turn in the mall and right in front of me I saw Ashley and crew there smiling and cheering. This was the lift that I needed. As soon as I passed them I got very mad at myself for letting the negative thoughts in. I was thinking about all of the mornings that I got up early, all of the things that I would have rather been doing than running, and all of the sacrifices that I had made to get to this point.
After I had a few choice words with myself, I started to hit a rhythm. I started to feel a little more fluid, found my stride, and gained a little more confidence. I noticed a guy to my right who had obviously had enough and stopped. I was gaining on another who had pulled away from me earlier in Georgetown. I passed him on the Mall and then one by one, I would see another and pick them off.
It seemed like an eternity to get across the bridge to Crystal City. I gained another 2 places here and realized that my decision a lot earlier to let that pack go was a good one. All of these guys that I was going by easily now were one’s that did the same to me earlier when they felt fresh. I made the left turn to Crystal City, which essentially an out and back loop, and saw Michael Wardian and Ruben Garcia coming back. I was looking for Jaron, hoping and praying that I wouldn’t see him as the other two guys looked really bad. I new that if he was already out of Crystal City, he was somewhere near the front.
When I was coming back and almost out of this stretch, I saw Dave and yelled at him to “keep working”. I also noticed, as you will see in the pictures, he had the two biggest patched of blood on the front of his singlet that I have every seen in a race. From the other side of the road, I also spotted a patch of blood on his face (which I later learned to be from his shirt).
As I passed the 23 mile mark and onto the highway, I told myself that only had about 5k to go. I had a few runners ahead of me but they were not even close. I heard a guy yell to me to “run the tangents, the others in front of you are too tired to do it. Run the tangents and you can catch them.” Fortunately, this is something that I do as a habit. I gained ground on them a lot quicker than I expected and went by a few like they were walking. I kept glancing at my watch, telling myself “only _ minutes to go, push yourself” and “hurry up stupid, you only have _ minutes to be under 2:40!”
Somewhere around mile 24 or 25, I heard Mike (Spinnler) yelling from his bike as he rode along. This helped a lot. Not only for the encouragement, but it also made me think about my form and staying strong. At about 2:37, I noticed a race sign not too far ahead. I’m thinking, “ok, if this is mile 26 (which it should be) and I really push I can be under 2:40.” When I get a little closer, I see a number 5 on it and think “oh crap, I hope this doesn’t mean a half mile to go. Why would they have that sign, there are usually only mile markers? Am I going crazy? I can’t wait to be done.” I then noticed that it was the 5 mile mark for the 10K and the 26 mile mark is a little ways ahead. I do the quick math and conclude that I am not going to do it. I would have to run close to world record pace to the line to be under 2:40. Knowing that this was not going to happen, I just tried to finish strong. The hill to the finish was a lot longer and steeper than I remember it being.
I’m telling myself “150 meters to go, 100 meters, almost there, just make it up the hill!” As I cross the line and hit my watch three things go through my mind 1. Thank goodness that is over! 2. I wonder how Jaron did? (As I walked up the rest of the hill after the finish, I was peeking into the media tent looking to see if I saw him) 3 and the BIG one. If I had worked a little harder, I would now be a sub 2:40 guy!
Oh well, it’s too late to do anything about it now! That’s just one more piece of motivation for the next one
I got my bag of snacks, water, and Power Aid and finally made it to the top of the hill. I stood there for a minute and then spotted Jaron and Kevin walking up the hill behind me. The first thing that I said to them …….. “wait til you see Dave’s singlet!”
Sorry that was so long, I’ll end it for now as my hands feel like my feet did during the race; tingling and starting to fall asleep!
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Post by baldisbetter on Oct 28, 2008 20:05:04 GMT -5
Not much more I can add but to say thanks to all. Thanks for the training, the great memories, the media coverage, and for the chance just to be out there again. It is a magical experience that is hard to describe when your cross that line after 26.2.
I can only say it's "Goodly'!!
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Post by baldisbetter on Oct 29, 2008 7:03:41 GMT -5
I got my splits together last night. Here ya go. Tells me were I have to work for Boston.
Mile 1 6:57 Mile 14 6:50 Mile 2 6:40 Mile 15 6:54 Mile 3 6:40 Mile 16 6:58 Mile 4 6:19 Mile 17 6:51 Mile 5 6:39 Mile 18 6:54 Mile 6 6:34 Mile 19 6:59 Mile 7 7:05 Reservoir Mile 20 7:05 Bridge Mile 8 6:26 Mile 21 7:02 Mile 9 6:42 Mile 22 7:13 Crystal City Mile 10 6:37 Mile 23 7:08 Mile 11 6:44 Mile 24 7:14 Mile 12 6:46 Mile 25 7:22 Mile 13 6:55 Mile 26 7:24 0.2 1:49 Finish
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Post by frojoe23 on Oct 29, 2008 7:09:32 GMT -5
Wow! Rob, those are some very sickening consistent splits. I am very impressed by the pacing job that you and Jeremy did. You guys need to teach Dave and I how to do that!
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Post by kevinspradlin on Oct 29, 2008 9:40:36 GMT -5
Seems to me Rob & Jim Jordan are the best, consistent pacers I've met around here. Anyone else on that list (although Jeremy did awesome on Sunday).
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Post by frojoe23 on Oct 29, 2008 10:33:36 GMT -5
There are only a few points of solace I can take out of this race:
1) A ran a PR 2) I was less than 90 seconds behind a guy that gets paid to run (Fred Joslyn) 3) My final 10k this year was better than last year's even though I felt more exhausted last year (35:57 to 36:01).
I'm going to post a recap eventually - it depends on how bored I get at work.
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Post by kevinspradlin on Oct 29, 2008 12:35:01 GMT -5
Jaron I think you can take a million positives out of Sunday's race. "Reality" reined you in only because you legitimately set your sights so much higher than others do. The intangibles are much more likely to "rein you in" on race day than most others.
Your race was not a negative one - not by a long shot. What was one of your first comments to me after the race? You said you planned to qualify for the Olympic Trials as soon as next April in Boston. That's confidence, Jaron, and that confidence comes after knowing, deep down, you had a solid race. Was it what you expected? I think Jeremy's account shows how much a runner's goals can change throughout a 26.2-mile race.
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Post by burgrunner on Oct 29, 2008 12:55:09 GMT -5
We had another local runner compete on Sunday. Dawn Panther, who works at Southern Middle School ran her first marathon. She said that her goal going in was 4 hours and she ended up completing the course in 3:50:45. Great Job Dawn!
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Post by frojoe23 on Oct 29, 2008 13:26:38 GMT -5
Well, here goes my attempt at a recap.
Dave, Jeremy, and I left Rob in the 2:30 - 3:00 corral and headed up to the line. There were a lot of guys doing run outs and getting loose, but 26.2 miles is plenty of time to get loose, so I may have just jumped around a little.
After the gun fired (and the cannon as well - had to check to see if I had a bowel movement), it was apparent that we had started on the wrong side of the road. After catching up with Fred Joslyn, we made a nice uphill while the Mexican Marines on the other side of the road seemed like they descended. The two roads came together just before the mile mark and there it seemed that Joslyn and I had worked beautifully together to fall in line with the pack.
From here things got "itchy". The lead pack consisted of myself, Michael Wardian, Fred Joslyn, Ruben Garcia (two-time winner, last year's runner-up), Jose Miranda (last year's 4th place finisher), and Ken Foster running for Army. I kept finding myself at the head of the pack. It wasn;t ever a conscience decision to be there. It just seemed that the other guys in the pack were not willing to hold the lead for very long and we were taking turns out in front. Wardian would push the bottom of a hill and I'd push the top, Foster would push downhills and Joslyn pushed the flats. Right after 5k, Wardian began to fall off. We weren't moving that fast, but with the hills in Georgetown coming up, I thought he was running a sound strategy.
After we made the turn onto Key Bridge, I decided my time in the lead was through. At this point, Ruben Garcia was off the pace, but Miranda was pushing it along with Foster. As we ran on Canal Road, the pace was heated with everybody looking around. Just past the 5 mile mark, the eventual winner, Andrew Dumm reeled us in. This guy looked smooth, but for two miles I never really noticed him.
At seven miles, we made the hairpin turn up the hill to the reservoir. This is not an easy hill and I didn't want to get caught up doing the work. Luckily, I tucked behind Joslyn and he pulled me through it (this is the picture on the Striders homepage). After cresting the top of the hill, it seemed pretty apparent that my legs were starting to hurt already. Not a great sign this early in.
As we headed down the steep hills onto M Street in Georgetown, Foster and Miranda started pushing the pace. Joslyn and I hung about 5 meters back. This is the 5 miles stretch at 27:00. Here we made a 90 degree right hand turn down a steep hill to the 15k mark. We were all still bunched together and headed towards the Lincold Memorial. As the course started to flatten out, i began to think that the pace was getting heated and that I needed to just tuck in and hang on. I didn't see the support crew in this part, but I did notice a huge rat in the middle of the road (strange the things you pick up on in the race).
Heading onto Hain's Point, we had started to drop Foster and it looked like he was done. I told myself it was great, one down. Little did I know that I was next. At twelve miles, I have no idea what happened. We just began to split apart. It was in exactly the same spot as last year, just not the same mile mark. I couldn't hold the pace anymore, which isn't really true. The pace had picked up and I just thought I was falling apart.
Dumm and Miranda were clear of Joslyn and I. I couldn't even hold onto him. At halfway, Joslyn had 7 seconds up on me. I worked hard on the back half of Hain's Point to catch Joslyn. Spinnler got me back into my game plan out here and I had reeled Joslyn back in at 15 miles. Unfortunatlely, one step after catching him, I got dropped again. I really think this is the mistake I made. I got too scared that the race was over for me and worked so hard to get back up to third place. This set up a terrible stretch over the next 5 miles.
I did see the support crew at 16 miles and my Dad told me that I was only 12 seconds behind Joslyn. I'm sure he thought that I had a shot, but he didn't know that the 12 second gap just happened in a mile. As we headed onto the Mall, things were getting worse. I knew there was somebody hunting me down. I thought it was Wardian, but just before 17 miles, two guys from Navy passed me (Corey Duquette and Will Christian). I didn't have anything to latch onto these guys at this point. They were just moving to fast for me. In fact, Duquette's split from 25-30k was 16:49. By the time we reached the Capitol, I was contemplating dropping out. The thought only lasted a second, but things were going badly.
Crossing onto the 14th Street Bridge, I could see the 20 mile mark. I could still see the Navy runners and I saw another runner just ahead of them. I figured out it was Miranda and he was falling apart. Somehow, I got back into the race and when we reached the other side, the two Navy runners had passed Miranda. However, he was still hanging with one of them and he would eventually pull away again.
I ended up passing Will Christian at around 22.5 miles and then I put Miranda in my sights. There was a little bit of tactics involved here and I didn't want to push it like I did earlier and then die at the end. I hung back a little bit, but just after 23 miles, I passed Miranda. I really couldn't see Duquette in 3rd until we headed onto 110 with about a mile left. Spinnler told me to concentrate on smooth form and it seemed like for 2 minutes that I was doing really well, but I absolutely bombed the last 1/2 mile. It was upsetting not getting up there for third, but last year I got dumped at 18 miles and lost by 3:00. This year I got dumped at 12 miles and was closer to the winner.
Anyway, the guy that won was a real horse. Very smooth. His 20k-25k split was 15:50 - there was a reason I couldn't hold onto that pace. He was an academic All-American at University of Virginia and was a NCAA qualifier in the 10k with a PR of 28:55 and a 5k PR of 14:07.
2nd place Fred Joslyn runs for Hanson's and has quite a pedigree himself. He ran at SUNY-Cortland and was the 2007 NCAA Division III national champ in the 5k in 14:33. He has a track PR of 29:55 for 10k, which Dan watched him run at Bucknell.
3rd place Corey Duquette ran for Virginia Intermont and was on their multiple NAIA national champion cross-country team. In 2006, he won the 10k at Penn Relays in 29:05.
7th place Will Christian is a Great Mills High School graduate and I believe he ran 9: 14 for two miles at the Maryland State Meet. He ran for the University of Virginia and was ACC champion in the 5k in 2004 and ran 29:55 for 10k.
I'm confident that I am better shape than what I ran. I ran the majority of the race by myself - from 12 miles on. I felt that I was in 2:22 -2:24 shape, but I really think that pounding it to try and catch Joslyn on the backside of Hain's Point did me in. That was the 5 miles in 26:49 and Joslyn would have covered it in the same time, but his mile by mile splits would have been more consistent where mine were erratic and desperate the last 2 miles of it.
I still think I will have a shot to qualify out of Boston. Spinnler and I talked last night and he feels that Sunday's effort is worth 2:22 at Chicago, however he believes that I need to run 2:22 before even thinking about running sub 2:19. I think it is more of a wait-and-see what kind of shape I am in. If I can go and pop a good 10 miles somewhere, then we'll think about 2:19.
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Post by frojoe23 on Oct 29, 2008 13:43:02 GMT -5
To add to the list of other finishers:
John Hamilton 33 M Lavale, MD 4:26:58 Maria Hamilton 37 F Lavale, MD 4:41:10 Scottie Samples 42 M Lavale, MD 4:18:49 Randall Stroup 49 M Lavale, MD 3:34:18 Jason Ward 30 M Cumberland, MD 5:44:36
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Post by kevinspradlin on Oct 29, 2008 14:34:53 GMT -5
I wish I'd had the time to know those other local runners were in the crowd. I would certainly have included their efforts in the newspaper. Another lesson learned for '09, if I go there.
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