So on Saturday, I ran the Utah Valley Marathon. It was, in theory, my last attempt to qualify for Boston for 2013. I love running Boston. It’s the only reason I train to run fast. I’ve run it each of the past five years and I can’t fathom not being there next April.
I don’t have the budget to travel to races this year and time’s a ticking. I got to this race on a pretty light budget. I was comped into the race, my flight cost me $10 because of points, my rental car was $12 and my motel was $45. $77 for a marathon getaway. I don’t have ~$500 to spend nowadays on going to a race. So this was it. Utah Valley is a big downhill course. Those aren’t gimmes, because they can chew you up and spit you out. They pound your quads and I equate them to the Golden Goose; you can take a little if you want, but if you get greedy and try to kill it, you’ll be done for and there won’t be anything left.
I went into the race on a bad hamstring. It’s been bothering me for the past three weeks. I’ve run maybe 15 miles in those three weeks and about 13 of them hurt. I knew this one would hurt, but I had no choice but to fight through it. It was going to be a matter of will to fight through the pain and I was excited about the opportunity to see what I was made of.
I felt kind of OK Friday night before I went to bed (and got my 4 1/2 hours of sleep) and felt decent when I woke up. I put on a strip of KT tape and it seemed to help. I ran about a half-mile warmup just to see if I hurt at all so that I’d know where to put a second strip on before the race. I got a little bit of inflammation, but it wasn’t terrible. I was actually optimistic that I’d be able to give it a good go.
We got rolling and my legs felt like lead, but they were moving just fine. My hamstring felt great! That was for the first half mile. Then I felt it. And then I knew it was on. Man vs. hamstring for 26.2. It was manageable for about the first two miles and then it took a step up and got worse. I was strong mentally and fought through it, but I’m thinking it impacted my stride because even though I felt like I was moving the same, I slowed down about 20 seconds per mile. I knew I had a long day ahead of me, that it would really be a marathon, but I wasn’t worried.
I was running in the high 6s (I needed a 7:15 pace) through the first six miles and thought I had a pretty good shot. I was comfortable with how I was able to fight through the pain in my hamstring. I don’t know what direction we were headed, but we made a left turn at mile 7 and turned straight into a headwind. A strong headwind. I’d guess it was around 25-30 mph. The 3:05 group passed me and not too long after that, the 3:10 group passed me. It didn’t faze me. A marathon is a long race and if the wind ever let up, I knew I’d be OK.
I hit the half in about 1:36:30, but again, I wasn’t tremendously concerned. I knew I needed a three-minute negative split, but if the wind let up, I was extremely confident I could do better than 1:33:30. But it never let up. At least not until mile 19. By that point, a 3:10 was looking like an extreme longshot. I wasn’t doing precise math, but I figured I needed 6:45s or so at that point. I started to push it โ a 7-mile finishing kick is a stretch for me and a bit risky, but I was going for broke. I could tell after a mile or so that my pace was about 10 seconds/mile too slow and started to think it wasn’t going to happen. I kept trying, though, not willing to let myself throw in the towel.
By 21, I did the math and knew I was all but done. I started having a bit of a pity party for myself at that point and the pain really started kicking in. I felt blisters on the bottom of both of my big toes, which never happens and it hurt quite a bit. My left hamstring was starting to hurt, too, and I was running with a waddle. I slowed to about 8 minutes per mile, maybe even a little slower. I was cooked and I knew it, but I tried to hold on and have a somewhat respectable day. I went into the race wanting to leave everything out there, and that’s what happened. There wasn’t much left.
When there was one mile to go, I was at 3:11 and change and in disbelief. I needed to be in the high 7s just to finish with a 3:18, which was much slower than I was aiming for. And I couldn’t even run that fast. I tried and waddled and tried and waddled and kept focused on the finish line, which I could see in the distance. I did everything I could over the final half mile to find another gear. I was able to step it up a little bit, but not enough. As I closed in, all I could think of during my awkward push was, “I’m not running โ I’m just throwing my body forward as fast as I possibly can.” My final official time was 3:19:11.
Two days after the finish, I feel as bad physically as I ever have after a marathon. I can’t hardly move. I went in wanting to leave it all out there and run myself into the ground, and that’s exactly what I did. So in that sense, I’m glad. I’m glad I have the ability and the heart to do that every now and then.
So now, I’ve talked to my wife and I’m going to take one last crack at qualifying. I think I know the race, but I need to lock in my logistics. I’m going to put everything I have into getting into the best shape of my life this summer and seeing what I can to. This will be a tough one on me for a while, though. This feels like a pretty stinging defeat. 26.2 handed it to me on Saturday. But that’s going to drive me in training now. It’s going to be a long, hot summer, but it’s going to be a good one.
Amy says
That is a major bummer. It’s like the weather knows you are already struggling, and it decides to throw in a headwind just to keep things interesting. I’m very impressed with your ability to push pretty hard through the pain regardless. Hopefully you’ll get your shot in the next few months!
Jeremy says
Sam, let me know if you need anything for the race. I have a ton of marriott points and don’t mind helping you get a place to stay where ever that is. Just let me know.
Krissy @ Shiawase Life says
The next race is going to be it, I know it ๐
katie says
ugh. I’m sorry to hear you lost the hamstring battle. ๐
Maniac191 says
I had the same experience at UVM–that wind wiped me out. I watched helplessly after mile 15 as the slower pace groups passed me amd I could not keep up. ugh.