Marathon Number 50: The Shamrock Marathon's 50th Running
There is a thin line between a monumental achievement and just another solid marathon. For a few miles of my running of the Shamrock Marathon, I made a tactical choice to go for it. It didn't work out, so instead of a PR in the 2:57-58 range, I "settled" for just another solid marathon time of 3:01. Which is ridiculous that I even typed that considering it took me 11 years to even break 3:01. Maybe as I gain more marathon experience, I also gain an appreciation that I'm even able to constantly flirt with sub 3s and that just missing means I still ran a good race. And my streak of winning marathons ends at 1.
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| At the expo |
Saturday update March 19
I drove my family down to VA Beach. It was an uneventful ride as the boys mostly slept. Upon arrival, we dropped off our bags at the hotel and got lunch while waiting for our room to be ready. We grabbed sandwiches at a lunch spot a few blocks away. Then we went to the expo at the convention center to pickup my packet. I bought myself running socks with a four leaf clover. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at McDonald’s so Laura could finally get her Shamrock shake; it was gross. Before dinner, we went down to the beach and took photos with our feet in the water. It was cold! But it was relaxing. We walked the beach. Aden was afraid of the tide coming in.
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| A family walk along the beach |
We got ready for dinner at Isle of Capri, but we didn't last five minutes as we had to walkout because there was nothing for the boys to eat on the menu and Aden was too wild. He was also too wild for the hotel restaurant so we ordered room service. There wasn't a pasta option for me, so I ordered a Beyond Burger and fries. I guess this is one way to see if the pre-race meal matters.
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| Aden on my shoulders at the beach |
Shawn and his family arrived after 7 PM because the kids had a concert in Baltimore, so we agreed that I would bring him his bib in the morning. As we were settling in, Aden was on our bed between Laura's legs watching TV. Then he pooped and the diaper didn't full contain it. So we had to order maid service and ask they bring us new sheets.
We finally fell asleep, but the next calamity happened as Miles vomited around 10 AM. We never figured out what upset his stomach. He was sleeping in the same bed as Aden, and he got it on Aden's blanket and birthday bear, but none got on Aden. I grabbed Miles to rush him to the bathroom toiler and he vomited on floor. I slipped on it, and luckily didn’t hurt myself. He was up throughout the night moaning, so I did not get a great night's sleep.
Sunday update March 20
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| Competing in 40-49 male age group, DC Road Runners |
I met Shawn in the hotel lobby, gave him his bib, and we chatted and warmed up. We met up with Michael Rohlf. Shawn was very nervous. The weather was in the upper 50s with mostly clouds and a cool breeze. We saw some other runners from DC Road Runners and Montgomery County Road Runners Clubs. And then it was time to race.
The first few miles, I just tried to find my groove. It felt okay, and I didn't push it. Laura Ramos from my Tuesday morning track at Northwood ran with me for a bit. She was all business. She was only running the half. Then I settled into the sub 3 pace group. I got comfortable, cracked a few jokes, and talked with people around me. Shawn was all business. I met a young woman in her 20s who was living in DC, Jewish, and from New Jersey. I hope I gave her some confidence. Around the half, I left her and didn't see her again.
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| Waving to Miles just before the half |
It was near the half where I unexpectedly saw Miles who was with Laura and Aden as well as Shawn's family. I got so excited because I didn't know for sure that Laura would come see the race. But she met with up Shawn's family and they all hung out (his parents were joined by his wife and kids). So I darted over to say hi, but in the process, I cut off another runner. He yelled something nasty at me, I replied in kind, waved to Miles and my family, and took off. That burst of energy from seeing my family combined with the emotions of the confrontation increased my pace. So I ran down the boardwalk faster. That's when I made my decision to go for it. I reasoned that I felt good and I had done a 1:27 half marathon in training, so I could do that now. It worked, for awhile. I held that pace through 17. I met up with two other runners about my age and we agreed to help each other. That lasted for 3-4 miles before I started to fade, which was in mile 20-21 in the army base. Coming back, I saw one of my friends at the medical tent. She usually runs a 2:55 and might have been aiming for a low 2:50. It was just a bit too warm for that goal today. I found out later she did finish, but it was a struggle for her. I told her husband at the finish what I saw, and he was concerned.
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| "Limping" my to the finish with a mile to go |
The last few miles, I tried to hold it together. My right knee started bothering me and when Shawn passed me at 23 on the bridge headed back, I told him I was done. He thought I meant I would drop out or walk, but I merely meant that my goal wasn't achievable. I hung on, grinded out the last 5K, and finished in a respectable time. With a mile to go, I saw Miles again and this time slapped him a high five. After the race, Shawn and his son walked back with Miles and me to the hotel (a mile or more) quite gingerly. He put down a 2:59:15 - solid race for the day. We changed and "showered" in a bathroom sink then walked to Catch 31, for lunch. And then, our family got in the car and headed home. It took 5 hours due to traffic, but the boys were exhausted as they slept for 3 hours. To recap:
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| Family photo after the race |
I finished the Shamrock Virginia Beach Marathon in 3:01:38, my sixth fastest of my 50 marathons. The weather was warmer than my preference (high 50s with a slight breeze). I also had a nightmare previous marathon night of parenting calamities: Aden wouldn’t behave in the Italian restaurant, so we left and ordered room service which didn’t have a pasta option (got Beyond Burger with sweet potato fries); Aden pooped while on Laura’s lap, so we had to call maid service for new sheets for our bed; while asleep, Miles vomited on his bed (luckily just hitting Aden’s blanket and teddy bear) and then on the floor as I rushed him to the bathroom (I slipped but didn’t hurt myself). I was up on and off throughout the night with him. Given all that, I did pretty well.
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| Marathon 50 is in the books! |
Splits: 6:47/48/51/50/48/51/49/54/50/45/45/48/38/39/24/49/39/44/41/47/7:04/05/29/25/46/19 / 2:07 (.30)
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