I'll also take a second to point out just how far a marathon is, to put things in perspective for those of you that haven't been privy to my previous blogs. A marathon is 26.2 miles, or 42.2 kilometres. That's really, really far. If you were to get into your car and drive 100 km/h, it would take you a little under 1/2 hour to go that far. It's far. And it feels even farther when you're standing at the starting line realizing that you're gonna be running for a minimum of 4 hours.
My training and the whole lead-up to the race didn't go as well as normal. I had several bad long runs in the last couple months where I just couldn't maintain a decent pace to save my life, and when I got home after them I was so wiped I couldn't do much but lay on the couch and watch TV for the rest of the day. I have no idea what could have caused them, and I'm still at a loss to explain exactly why they turned out so badly. But my confidence definitely took a hit with those bad runs, and I don't think it really helped my endurance tolerance either. I also normally run the full marathon in May, but the NOD Marathon was the first week in June, so I was running a month later than I'm used to. The training thus lasted a month longer than normal, and it felt a bit long to me. I think the same race done a month earlier might have gone a little better for me 'cause the training would've been shorter and quicker.
A couple days before the race I managed to tweak my right foot playing ultimate frisbee. I was really nervous that it was going to start hurting so bad that I would have to stop, but fortunately it didn't. I did my best not to aggravate it, and it held out and didn't really bother me much at all. That was one of the few things that went right for the race.
Normally, during the race I drink water and eLoad (basically a powdered energy/electrolyte drink), and that's enough for me, and works quite well. Today not so much. eLoad has always been my old standby. It's always worked. It tastes like crap when you're not actually running, but when you are running, it hydrates and provides energy and electrolytes enough to get me through a race. It's sweet but no so sweet that it leaves that sticky gatorade feeling in your mouth. Today my stomach decided that it didn't like eLoad, and started churning with the first sip. And it didn't get any better as the race went on. I just kept feeling more and more nauseous. So there I was, running a marathon, trying to stop myself from throwing up, but at the same time trying to choke down the eLoad enough that I have the energy to finish the race. Yuck. I ended up switching solely to water at one point, just to make the nausea stop.
The course itself was another of the reasons I had such a terrible finishing time. For the most part it was beautifully, mercifully flat and very enjoyable. It followed the North Olympic Discovery Trail, which is an amazingly long, paved trail that goes through fields, over streams, and is for the most part isolated from actual roads. It's lovely, really, because there's no traffic noise, and it's surrounded by trees so it's very peaceful. Well, peaceful when you're not trying to cover 42.2 km on foot in as little time as possible. There were, however, several ravines it went through where it dipped down a steep hill into the ravine and then climbed a steep hill on the other side. Even the race officials recommended walking the steep sections (the picture below is of me walking up one of the steep parts). So that's a spot where your time takes a hit. There was also a section where the trail went over some rolling, short hills. Unfortunately they were nearer to the end of the race, where any hill really spells sudden doom for your finishing time. Hills. Hills will always be my undoing. Someday I must accept this. But not just yet, my friends.
The one problem with carrying my own hydration is that I have to have someone along the course to switch bottles with, as my fuel belt can't hold enough for the entire race. This race was a little tricky 'cause it was linear, and we had to figure out where were good places for Glen to be (and how he was gonna get there) in order to swap bottles with me. Luckily the race course was conducive to that, and he managed to get around pretty well in the car, after we did some quick reconnaissance the day before.
So now some of the little tidbits I can remember.
The hotel. We stayed at the host hotel, mostly just for convenience sake, as it wasn't exactly the cheapest place in town to stay. It ended up being a good choice, as it was literally almost on top of the finish line. We could see it from our balcony. And it was right downtown, so no need to walk too far to get to any restaurants. Port Angeles is actually a pretty nice little town.
Race expo. The race expo is always a bit of a treat for me, in that it usually has some type of free samples, and I get to be surrounded by "my people" (read:runners) for a little while. This race expo was teeny, it only really had 4 or 5 tables. But one of them was a company called "One More Mile", which makes running gear with funny sayings on it. I had to buy some stuff, obviously, and I gotta say it was pretty hard to hold myself back. Should I get a t-shirt? Or maybe 2 hats? Would it be wrong to put more than 2 running-related bumper stickers on my car? Luckily sanity won out in the end and I didn't buy much.
The volunteers. I love the volunteers at any race. The race really can't exist without them, and myself and all the other runners out there are more than grateful for their time and effort. This was a small race, but extremely well organized. There may not have been as many volunteers at the NODM, but they made up for it in enthusiasm. It was awesome and I give major props to the organizers this race.
The water stations. There was a contest for the best water station, as voted on by the runners. I don't know what the prize was, but some of them were quite impressive. I didn't actually manage to vote, as I was too preoccupied with trying to remain vertical once I crossed the finish line. My favorite was the Roman station, they had inspirational music, we got to run through columns, and the kids had togas on. Who doesn't love a toga? There was another one that was straight out of the 70's (tight polyester pants and all), one with pink flamingos, and one based on Finding Nemo. The Finding Nemo one even had people standing out front blowing bubbles. And yes, I did turn into a 5-year-old for about 5 seconds when I ran through the bubbles.
The old guy. There was this old guy that caught up to me near the end. And when I say the end, I mean, like, kilometre 33. He was wearing a grey sweater, and was running up the hills still. I have no idea how, given that the hills were wickedly steep, but he was. I shook my fist angrily at him, but he kept right on going. I had almost caught up with him in the last 2 km, but somehow he got away from me. I always find it a little embarrassing when old guys pass me.
The Relayers. I have, and will always, hate the relay runners. They come out of their exchange stations all fresh and ready to go, and there I am, an inch from death after having already covered 30 km on my own. And I feel as though they pass me with their smiling faces, wondering why I look so exhausted. Evil, evil relay runners. Is it wrong to hope someone trips on their own shoelaces?
Size of the race. This was a small race. It was capped at 1500 people for both the half and the full. I think the full may have only had about 700 or so people in it. So it was tiny compared to what I'm used to. And I liked it. There were less people to dodge.
The Chafing. This section's for Kari, 'cause I know she loves reading about my chafing issues. I knew from the start line I was gonna have chafing issues. Why? The timing chip for the race came on a velcro ankle strap. Yes, fellow runners, you know where I'm going with this. Velcro isn't exactly cashmere. Now strap that around your ankle and run for 42 km. I'm pretty sure it's gonna scar. I also had some issues with my fuel belt. Not in the same spot as I had for the half marathon, but a good strip along my back. I'm pretty sure that's gonna scar, too. So I guess my modeling career is over. Oh well, I'll just add it to the long list of running wounds I already have.
So how salty does one get whilst running a marathon? Pretty salty. I think the picture below illustrates this quite well.
So how salty does one get whilst running a marathon? Pretty salty. I think the picture below illustrates this quite well.
So that's it for today's adventure, I hope you enjoyed the ride. Next up, the West Coast Trail. Stay tuned!