Tri Cities Marathon

I woke up Sunday morning ready to run. My ankles were a little sore from the sand yesterday, but otherwise I was feeling great. After a quick coffee and biscotti (my latest “breakfast of champions”), I walked over to the lobby of the Shilo Inn. People were gathering for the early start and there were several faces I recognized from yesterday. The general consensus was that yesterday’s course was slow… mostly due to the 5 miles of sand… and that everyone was feeling fatigue in their calves/ankles. A little before 7 we were ushered outside to begin our run. There were a dozen of us taking the 7:00 start, and rumor had it that 25 took the 6:00 start. I was excited because the weather was cool and there was no wind! The 2006 race was so windy I was almost blown off course a few times. I lined up with Jill and once again we decided on a strategy. Today it would be a 1 mile run followed by a 10th mile walk until the half way point, then I would drop down to a ½ mile run, 10th mile walk.
I started off faster than I expected, churning out solid 9:30 minute miles. Jill dropped back by mile 3 and I decided to proceed on my own. It was one of those days where I wanted to be alone with my thoughts and push myself from within. Just me and the marathon.
I kept a good pace as I ran alongside the Columbia, then over a bridge. Once over the river we turned back towards the start line and bam! There was the headwind. The wind is like that, you can be fooled into think there is no wind, just easy, effortless running. Then you make a turn and realize the wind had been pushing you all along. At mile 12 we turned again and got to experience the joy of wind-at-your-back for the next few miles. I passed the halfway point feeling much better than I expect. My two previous attempts at doubles left me tired and fatigued on day two, struggling to complete the distance. I didn’t feel like that today. All too soon, we crossed a beautiful suspension bridge and turned for a final 12 miles into the wind. I considered shortening my run/walk ratio like originally planned, but decided instead to push through to the 20 mile mark before making any changes. At mile 21 I let myself slip into the 5/1 ratio. I was starting to feel a little tired and the change felt great. By mile 24 I was refreshed enough to run the final 2.2 miles (with the exception of a brisk walk up the last bridge). As is customary at Tri-cities, a local runner met me at the 26 mile mark and paced me the final .2. He kept trying to get me to stretch out and sprint for the finish, and I gave it my best shot. Unfortunately that was the wrong decision and I felt something give way in my calf. Still, I finished strong in a time of 4:34, giving me a weekend double time of 9:13, a Double-Marathon PR 45 minutes.

Back at the hotel I took an ice bath and immediately notice my calf filling with fluid. I think the stress of the soft footing yesterday really took a toll. I’m planning on resting all of next week and letting myself heal up before starting my final training cycle for the Across the Years 24 hour Ultra.