Yesterday I got up bright and early and drove to Frontier Field for the 2010 Rochester Marathon. The weather was absolutely perfect with temperatures in the 50s and a very light mist in the air. It looked to be a good day.
As you know, I hadn't planned on running the marathon but a friend of mine requested that I run it with her. She ran the Green Lakes 50k with me two weeks ago. I hesitently agreed to run the marathon.
The first half of the race went pretty well. We had planned on going slowly and finishing around 5 hours. We hit the halfway mark at about 2:15. Well ahead of pace, but certainly not breaking any records. Shortly after this I started having some issues. The outside of my knee started to really hurt. Bad.
I continued to plug along before telling my friend several times to take off without me. As expected she refused. Around mile 20 I told her to take off because I was going to pull myself at the medical tent near mile 21. She said she'd run that far with me and I told her that was silly, no sense slowing down on my account. She took off and I slowed considerably.
I didn't pull out of the race. It didn't hurt bad enough to quit, but I was certainly hobbled. Around mile 24 I came accross a volunteer that I've talked to at numerous races. When he asked "what are you doing way back here?" I could only answer "hurting."
I kept trucking along and eventually made it to the finish line. I didn't even bother looking at my time as I knew it was horrendous. But I finished. Now I need to figure out what is up with my leg.
Showing posts with label Ultra Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ultra Marathon. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Green Lakes Endurance Runs 50k - First Ultra Completed
Yesterday I ran the Green Lakes Endurance Runs 50k race. This is the first ultramarathon that I've participated in. The race started at 6:45 am, with a 100k starting at 6:00 and the packet pickup beginning at 5:00 am. Green Lakes State Park is about a two hour drive from my home so I got up at 2:00 am, showered and ate some left over rigatoni and hit the road.
The course was set up as a 12.5 km loop that we ran four times. The first part of the trail was through the woods and featured two fairly steep climbs. There were a few rocks and roots thrown in, but overall the trail was pretty smooth. The hard part of the course is nicknamed "The Serengeti" which is an open field with no shade lasting about 5km. After The Serengeti we came back into the woods for a nice long downhill and then some flats back to the starting line.
Starting early in the day was nice and we had some cool temperatures to run in. The first lap went very uneventfully and I finished the first lap in 1:30. I hit my drop bag and grabbed a PB&J sandwich and went off for the second lap which I finished in 1:32. Some far, so good, but the temperature was starting to rise pretty quickly.
The third lap started getting a bit more difficult. I was running with a friend and she has had some medical issues lately. She started to not feel well and we walked a bit on this lap. The heat on The Serengeti was brutal. The average race day temperatures in this area is 78 degrees. This race day climbed to 92. With zero shade and clouds the heat was pretty oppressive. This lap took 1:51.
The last lap was a bit tough on me. I started getting some cramps in my quads. I'm not quite sure if my lack of fitness was coming through or if my nutrition was lacking. Most likely it was a little of each. We kept moving forward, running when we could and walking when we needed to. At this point I was very glad to have a friend along with me. Having someone to talk to when you're not feeling well is very helpful. I know I could have gotten through on my own but it would not have been nearly as enjoyable.
Out on The Serengeti we came across one of the 100k runners that was looking pretty rough. He had been having stomach issues all day and couldn't keep any food or drink down. We walked slowly with him for a while to make sure he'd be OK. He ended up dropping out at the next aid station. This final lap was completed in 2:04, giving me an overall time of 7:01.
Before the race I thought I could complete the course in about 6:30. When I saw the weather forecast I revised my goal to seven hours. I didn't break any speed records in this race but I was happy with the results considering the heat and that it was my first ultra. It was a great experience and I will certainly be back for more. Most likely the Mendon Ponds Trail Run in November. I'll wait until next spring to go beyond the 50k mark.
The course was set up as a 12.5 km loop that we ran four times. The first part of the trail was through the woods and featured two fairly steep climbs. There were a few rocks and roots thrown in, but overall the trail was pretty smooth. The hard part of the course is nicknamed "The Serengeti" which is an open field with no shade lasting about 5km. After The Serengeti we came back into the woods for a nice long downhill and then some flats back to the starting line.
Starting early in the day was nice and we had some cool temperatures to run in. The first lap went very uneventfully and I finished the first lap in 1:30. I hit my drop bag and grabbed a PB&J sandwich and went off for the second lap which I finished in 1:32. Some far, so good, but the temperature was starting to rise pretty quickly.
The third lap started getting a bit more difficult. I was running with a friend and she has had some medical issues lately. She started to not feel well and we walked a bit on this lap. The heat on The Serengeti was brutal. The average race day temperatures in this area is 78 degrees. This race day climbed to 92. With zero shade and clouds the heat was pretty oppressive. This lap took 1:51.
The last lap was a bit tough on me. I started getting some cramps in my quads. I'm not quite sure if my lack of fitness was coming through or if my nutrition was lacking. Most likely it was a little of each. We kept moving forward, running when we could and walking when we needed to. At this point I was very glad to have a friend along with me. Having someone to talk to when you're not feeling well is very helpful. I know I could have gotten through on my own but it would not have been nearly as enjoyable.
Out on The Serengeti we came across one of the 100k runners that was looking pretty rough. He had been having stomach issues all day and couldn't keep any food or drink down. We walked slowly with him for a while to make sure he'd be OK. He ended up dropping out at the next aid station. This final lap was completed in 2:04, giving me an overall time of 7:01.
Before the race I thought I could complete the course in about 6:30. When I saw the weather forecast I revised my goal to seven hours. I didn't break any speed records in this race but I was happy with the results considering the heat and that it was my first ultra. It was a great experience and I will certainly be back for more. Most likely the Mendon Ponds Trail Run in November. I'll wait until next spring to go beyond the 50k mark.
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