OBX Marathon 11/13/2011 Recap
Standing on the edge of a very long journey and looking forward at the road ahead, the thoughts of this being a bad idea were still prominent in the back of my mind. But the gun sounded and we were off. From that point I focused on doing what I could and then taking what was given to me. That's how my OBX marathon experience unfolded.
But let's take a step back and look at the entire weekend. Mike, Megan, and I headed out to OBX on Friday. Many hours of driving passed quickly as the conversation jumped from topic to topic to topic. Of my 4 trips to the Outer Banks, this was by far the easiest. Mike took on the chore of designated driver and Megan kept the conversation moving. While I had the good fortune of having the hours pass listening. But every once in a while interject some bit of banter or what I felt was an interesting bit if information. Either way, they humored me all the while.
We arrived in the afternoon and swung by the house to change. Before heading out for our run, we dropped by the Expo to pick up our packets. Lots of interesting stuff to see at the Expo, we didn't stay long. Time for a run, we headed for the trail section of the marathon course. 6 miles on the dirt felt good to the feet but to me felt hard on the body.
Grocery store and then we headed back to the house for dinner and a running movie – The Long Run.
Saturday we headed over to the activities occurring as part of the OBX weekend – 5k, 8k, and kid's fun run. We followed this with another swing by the Expo. I picked up some gloves – just in case Sunday morning was a little too cold for my hands.
Then, it was back to the house and another running movie – The Runner – starring David Horton and his PCT (Pacific Coast Trail) speed run of the trail. Dinner followed and then another running movie Hood to Coast Relay.
Watching this movie drew us into the experiences of several teams that were running the relay from Mt. Hood to the beach of the Pacific Ocean. From this movie a quote would come that changed how our Mike and I now view the world. The quote goes something like this – "You only regret what you don't do". And, this single quote would have a major impact on the rest of our weekend.
Mike who had been battling a cold all week spent most of Saturday on the couch sleeping. He had pretty much convinced himself into not running OBX.
Come race morning, both Megan and I encouraged Mike to take his stuff to the start. Maybe it was the previous day's extra sleep or the atmosphere of the impending start, but Mike and I were talking about him running and I said something about the quote from the Hood to the Coast Movie – "You only regret what you don't do". He admitted the same quote had been bugging him as well. By the time that I returned to the car from a rest room break, (Longer than expected – I caught up with Pete Kaplin for a quick conversaton – he was making a run at the 55-59 age group record) Mike was pinning on his number. He would run with Megan and just see what happens.
With the echo of the gun passing in the distance, the 3 of us along with 1400+ runners began our adventure by foot to Manteo.
The opening 3 miles have a slight uphill grade to it. There was a pack of 3 guys and I quickly dropped in with them. We hit the first mile in 6:26 and I could feel the twining of my hamstring and waited patiently for it to seize up at any time.
After two more miles, we topped out and were running on the flatter sections of the course. I tried to relax and stay comfortable. The miles were not difficult but the 6:08 to 6:15 pace was tapping into my reserves.
We made our way through the greenway section and got a great view of the intracoastal water way. Then we back in the neighborhoods and soon we were running by the Wright Brothers Monument.
The miles were growing heavy on my legs. We passed 10 miles and in the dirt road and trail sections of the course. By this time, we had caught up with the 3rd place runner and were running as 5 guys strong. Miles 11 and 12 passed in 6:32s but they were starting to open a gap on me. Any other marathon, I would have tried to find the energy to stay with them. However, my hamstring kept telling to hold what you got.
A couple of more guys came up and passed me just before the half way point. Then, we were back out on the roads. This is the point where OBX gets out on the open highway. Long stretches of road where one can see for miles. Also this is the point where the runners are no longer shielded from the winds by the houses. They have no choice but to take the winds head on. On this day, the wind was blowing about 8 to 12 mile per hour. The force wasn't enough to stand you up, but the drag was felt throughout my body.
I had been alone since the half way point. My miles had dropped to 6:45 pace. I kept thinking – just hold what you have. Don't push, but just don't slow down.
I negotiated the final two neighborhood loops at 6:45 pace and 20 miles soon passed. The road really starts to open up here. We begin a 3 ½ mile trek over the intracoastal water way and over the 4% grade bridge.
The wind really starts to wear on the runners including me at this point. Plus, not having done much hard running since August, I felt like I was at the mercy of the running gods. My pace pushed over 7 minutes. With no houses to shield us, the wind chills the body and causes the legs to tighten. Things are helped along as the lactic acid makes the muscles feel stiff and the feeling of fatigued grows.
My trek up 4% grade was struggle. Then, these two women on bike came up saying first woman – please move the right. I didn't have the heart to look back – more than anything; I just wanted to be finished.
But I did wonder who it was. Potentially, the lead woman could have been Heather. She works out of the TrySports store at Wilmington, NC. I thought about asking one of the women the bike what the lead woman's number was. I knew Megan's Bib number, but I wasn't really expecting it to be Megan. Her goal was about 2:59.
Then the pass occurred. Glancing to the left, I see that it is Megan. She was looking strong and tells me to come on. I believe I mumble something unintelligentable back to her. She soon moves away and I am left alone with my thoughts of just getting the finish. Off the bridge, I feel another runner starting to pass me. Mike is having a decent day for a sick guy after all.
He passes me and I try to stay with him, but legs just will not respond.
Turning off 158 for Manteo, the wind is finally at our backs for the first time in 25 miles. More instinct than mental strength guides me through this mile. Mike is a short distance head of me and I see he is running the wide side of the road. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why.
Closing through the final mile, I realize that I am actually closing a little on Mike. We pass 26 miles and hurt has already passed the point of screaming. Mike is just ahead but I decide effort is not worth the additional pain.
Mike crosses the finish line 7 seconds in front of me. He immediately goes for the wheel chair and they wheel him to the Medic tent. I follow grabbing some water and getting my medal. Pain of running has ended but the body was still struggling.
Going back to the quote " you regret what you don't do". Mike didn't regret running the race. He finished 2nd in the Open USA T&F NC marathon Championship and I finished 3rd in the Open and won the USA T&F Master's marathon championship in 2:57:04 and 13 overall. Do I regret not chasing him down – regardless of the pain – may be a little, but I was also very happy for him and have great respect for his effort and his determination.
We both battled our inner demons and finished only 7 seconds apart. Megan scored the open women's title and USA T&F NC Women's Marathon Championship title. By the way, Pete just missed the 55-59 NC age group record but did grab 3rd place in the USA – T&F NC Master category. Good Job Pete.
After the awards ceremony, we made our way back to the house.
Megan and Mike headed over to the ocean for a little ice bath. I tried to talk myself out of it. Soaking in the salty ocean water, let me be first to say if you don't already know this, the Atlantic Ocean water is cold – very cold – 50 degrees cold. I was the last one out and my feet and legs were absolutely numb.
From there, we cleaned up and started our drive back to Charlotte which was filled with music, talk about the race, and a ton of other stuff – making the ride feel far shorter than it actually was.
When all's said and done, the day was a good one for the Charlotte Crew.
Setting here now and getting a chance to reflect upon the race, my right hamstring really never did melted down. Many times, it felt like it was close. A few times, I could feel my left hamstring wanted to cramp. The other factor that was brought home to me is my right hamstring is still not extending properly. My right foot got a blister just behind the mid foot which is a strange place to get one. My suspicions – the cause is a change in landing patters due to my overly tight right hamstring.
In reality the missed two months of good training was really what made me suffer to the end. That and I clearly went out too hard for the conditioning of my body.
Don't get me wrong. I was happy that I finished and didn't break down into a walk. That was my worst fear going into the race.
At the end of the day, I finished OBX standing on my own two feet and was able to walk away. That's a good effort any day of the week.
Sharing one thought at a time,
The Cool Down Runner
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