This picture was taken after the race at the American Airlines Center, Redraiderrunner (left), Spareribs (center), Me (right). 

Arrived Saturday afternoon.....saw Spareribs (bib 7797) at the Cross Country Club of Dallas booth....talked a bit.....went to a movie....ate dinner.....got to bed about 11:00 PM.
My goal for the year was to get under 1:40 in the half (my best was 1:41:26, the year before), which would lay a solid base toward a possible BQ....I had just missed a BQ by seconds in 2004....
I needed to be better prepared in 2005. My previous two half's were not close to my goal, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do at the Whiterock Half.
I told Ribs that I would probably run MP and pick it up in the second half, but before bedtime I decided to attempt a Tempo type run, 7:30's for a few miles, a little recovery and so on.
Up at 5:15 AM...immediately ate two Accel gel's, started drinking some water and Gatorade....Another Accel gel 30 minutes before the start of the race...
About 37 degrees at the start..very sunny...
I positioned myself close to the front...but not too close...
The gun went off, and I said the heck with it…I’m racing and there I was weaving around trying to position myself in an open lane. Within a few hundred yards we were merging in with the Marathon runners. It took about a half mile for me to find my rhythm.
At mile two I noticed that I was running with the 3:10 Marathon pace group….I knew I was going way too fast, I backed off a bit. I also knew the hills were coming, so whether I wanted to or not, the hills would slow me down, which is a good thing.
If I could get through the hills close to a 7:45 pace, then I would be in a position to run a decent race. No PR in mind at this time, I just wanted to get close to my best half marathon time.
Things started leveling out at mile 6, but the roads were not in the best shape, I almost stumbled a few times.
I missed mile marker 7, and 8: I knew I was running good, the terrain was flat, I just keep looking for a mile marker. When I saw 9, my split was 21:39:53, ohhh…..that averages out to 7:13’s….Can I run faster than 7:30’s the rest of the way? Now, I am heading into negative split territory for the second half of this race.
I’m thinking PR now and Swiss Avenue is in sight, flat all the way to the finish.
As each mile passes, I see the Marathon Mile markers and when I see mile 22, I think wow that is the fastest 22 miles I have ever run..hehe
Mile 11-12 is hard, I feel my pace slip a bit, I really want to stop now…I really do….my legs are slightly tight, my right hamstring is warning me to back off.
I make it to mile 12, with a 7:40 split….I didn’t loose much, now I am beginning to feel charged up…short of a disaster I have a PR.
Now, I have run the Whiterock Marathon 6 years in a row, I know the course by heart, so why in the world did I get confused at about mile 12 ¾…I thought the finish was around the corner so I started picking up the pace, for the final “lap”. I turn the corner, no finish line down the road, geez, so I try to keep the pace a bit longer.
When I finally do turn the “real” corner for the finish line, I still have a little energy left, so I sprint (well, it’s a sprint for me..hehe) to the finish line…
I look up…1:39:14…a 2:12 PR…I was absolutely ecstatic. I was disappointed that I had broken my 6 year Whiterock Marathon streak…..but now it was worth it…
I hills probably helped me by making me run slower in the first half, which led to a negative second half…Hey, I also got a 10K PR out of this effort…
Based on Sundays Whiterock Half results, the McMillan Running Calculator, has me training at an 8:00 MP, which is exactly what I have been doing.
So, I feel a lot better about my chances at the Chevron Houston Marathon in January, we shall see…….
I hooked up with Ribs later and got a pic of him, redraiderrunner (yes Virginia, there is a redraiderrunner).
My main disappointment…missed meeting breger.
Hopefully there will be another opportunity.
And, I am sure it was the Chocolate Chip cookies from Mrsribs that gave me all that energy….thanks..

Splits:

Mile 1 7:34:44 Flat.
Mile 2 7:41:07 Flat and down hill.
Mile 3 7:37:30 Flat Uphill.
Mile 4 7:50:12 Flat Uphill,
Mile 5 7:42:09 Flat Uphill.
Mile 6 7:36:10 Flat and downhill.
Mile 7 7:13:18 Flat.
Mile 8 7:13:18 Flat.
Mile 9 7:13:17 Flat.
Mile 10 7:25:28 Flat Swiss Ave.
Mile 11 7:28:94 Flat Swiss Ave.
Mile 12 7:40:82 Flat.
Mile 13 7:22:63 Flat.
Mile 13.1 1:34:88 Flat.

Bib 6135
1:39:14 (unofficial results)
Overall 250/3889
Division Place 15/157
Male Place 218/1768
10K 46:35

Sat. the 15th, 9:00 AM, Oklahoma State Championship Half Marathon...Madill Oklahoma.
Start Temp hi 50's, Daytime high of 88, clear skies, almost no wind.
Not sure of the runner count, probably 75 or so in the 1/2 marathon.
Not real large, but big for southern Oklahoma. A very well organized race, with a small town atmosphere.
I try to use this race as a gauge of my marathon conditioning.
So, to make a long story short, my conditioning is not where it was at this time last year.....
I was hoping to have a different discovery.

The start was slow, weaving around the 5k and 10k'ers.....and the kiddo's...Leveled out my pace at about the 3 mile mark, breathing was good, felt great...was not sure of my pace since the mile markers are hard to find.
But when I made the half way point I had a 50:49 within 10 seconds of my goal which would put me close to last years PR of 1:41:26. I am about 10th place overall, which is good for this race. I am extremely shocked, (the first 10 places are declared the State champs, obviously there are faster runners in the state, but, hey the competition is who ever shows up). I was hoping for a PR this year, but I would satisfy for a similar performance as last years.
Mile 7, legs are getting tired, the heat is getting a bit tougher, a 37 year old training friend (Kevin) passes me, I wish him luck.
Mile 9 is where I usually know if I am going to have a good day, 3 more pass me.
Now I am hoping for at least a sub 1:45.
I see my friend up ahead, he is being passed, so I know he is struggling, which surprised me.
Later I see him walk through mile 10, I figure I will likely catch up with him eventually.
At mile 11 I feel a little better and begin to pick the pace up, of course the downhill slope has nothing to do with it.
My friend is a few hundred yards ahead of me. I catch him with 3/4 of a mile to go, hoping I can help him pick up the pace, but he was wasted. I keep going hoping I could a least maintain my current position. There are 2 runners a few hundred yards behind me.
I start picking it up....the finish is in sight, I manage a impressive (at least to me, hehe) sprint to the finish, I don't see anyone behind me...
Final 1:45:58, my worse 1/2 in years.
Final place was 17th, 3rd in my age group....(last year I was first in my age group, but with a similar overall position).
They award special trophies for the first 10 male and female positions, this was the first time that I might have had a shot based on my first half position and this years competition.
Disappointed, to say the least, but mostly, since this race reaffirmed to me that I am not where I need to be in my training program.
I am usually running about 50 miles a week by now ( I am only getting in 4 days a week instead of 5), I am in the low 40's and my overtime will continue until mid November.
Well, I guess I will have to take whatever I can get.
Better luck next time, I suppose.

Ran a 5K today at 7:30 AM...Ringling Oklahoma....
I really expected the worse....this summer has not been good to me...
Did a nice warm up...and boy did I need it.....stretched and before I knew it...the gun went off.
Kevin (37 years old) came up on me at about the 3/4 mile point. I knew he was looking for a similar finish time so I stayed with him for a while.
11:00 minutes at the 1/2 way point which puts me on a PR pace.
At the turn around it is an uphill grade.....not easy...
Kevin slowly pulled ahead..I couldn't keep up, but I figured if I kept him in my sights it would keep me going.
I concentrated on my 180 steps per minute but I think I was closer to 170...
At the 2 mile point Kevin is still in sight and now the grade is slightly downhill, gotta make up time here...
A 13 year old girl passes me just before the next turn and onto the final stretch, which is a slight upward grade....
No one is behind me, so I coast to the finish line at 22:23....21 seconds slower than my best and this might have been my second best time...I am not sure...
I was very surprised, considering my summer running has stunk, big time.
Next race is October 15, 1/2 marathon ..Madill, Oklahoma..
It is the State Championship for the !/2 Marathon.

OKC Memorial Marathon. 

Usually we head down to the Hotel a couple of evenings prior to the race, but due to other commitments we were unable to leave town until 11:00 AM the day before.

We arrived in OKC at approximately 11:00 AM and headed to the Expo to get my race packet, a new pair of shoes and a nice massage.
Afterwards we drove to the Hotel, checked in at 3:30 PM and prepared for race day.
At 5:30 PM we headed to the Pasta Supper which was outside and overlooked the memorial. If you haven’t experienced the Memorial you are really missing out on something.

Saturday evening I rested but due to some sort of Convention at the Hotel, I only slept about 2 hours. The 4:00 AM alarm came really early. I quickly consumed my 2 PowerAde packets and 16oz. of Propel and then I began sipping Gatorade.
The weather man predicted an unseasonable cool day, 38 degrees with SE winds at 6-14 MPH.
We were lucky, the morning temperature was about 43 degrees, but still cool enough to wear some warm cloths during the pre race hours. The hotel bus took us to the starting area where I immediately made the porta-potty rounds.
30 minutes from the start and I checked in the warm cloths, kept the gloves and ear protection and crammed in to the 3:30-3:40 area where we were packed like sardines awaiting the start.

The gun went off and 25 or seconds later I crossed the starting line still at a walking pace.

I missed the first mile marker; at mile 2 I was slightly slower than pace (better than going out too fast, huh) when I noticed that my right hamstring was getting sore. I knew it had not totally healed since Whiterock, but I didn’t expect it to be this tender so soon.
The race was televised by a local TV station and at the 29 minute mark I managed to get right into the camera for about 20 seconds or so, my few seconds of fame…hehe

Things went good during the first half of the race, as it should be; my right hamstring tenderness subsided at mile seven where I breathed a sigh of relief.
The first half of the run is very hilly until mile 11, so it is quite challenging to maintain pass up the hills.

At 14 I was still feeling fine and slightly under pace. All is good with the world.

The course flattens out and heads S/SE (for the most part) after mile 14, so now I am heading into the wind but it is very manageable. The weather has been absolutely perfect, no complaints here.At Mile 15, I loose bout 15 seconds. Mile1 16 I loose about minute a loos in pace that I was totally unaware of. I made it up at mile 17 by gaining back about 4o seconds.

As each miles passes I check my pace band wrapped around my wrist ( I have 2 , 1 for an 8:12 and the other for a 8:02 pace); I am on target taking it one mile at a time.

As mile 18 arrives my legs are staring to get a bit stiff, sooner than I expected and I begin to believe that I am loosing my pace a little bit, which is confirmed as I reach mile 19. I am beginning wonder if I can hold on to this pace. I am in a mode of total concentration.

Mile 21 to about 23 is almost directly south and on a slight up grade; Mile 21 ½ arrives with a terrible cramp in my right hamstring; I have to stop for about a minute to massage my hamstring. When I arrive at mile 22 I see that I am about a minute off of my goal time and for a moment I tell my self that it is time to give up the pace….Very soon afterwards I figure I might be able to make it up with an increase in pace of about 15 seconds per mile.
I pick things up and at mile 22 ½ the left hamstring cramps. I massage and walk it out and start again, still trying to pick up the pace. Mile 23 ¼, the right hamstring cramps. A volunteer offers me a GU supplement, I say, no thanks, I am OK. The cramps are relentless and I wonder what kind of fool submits themselves to such misery. I decide that I need to slow down and just get the race over with before I spend the rest of the day trying to get to the finish line.
I manage to move my legs in a comfortable jogging mode until mile 26 when the right hamstring talks to me again. More massage and short walk, a hobbling jog and something that might appear to be running to the discerning eye carried me to the finish line.
Finish time 3:46:12, I had lost more than 10 minutes during the last 4-5 miles and not even close to my planned 3:35 finish.
What’s even worse is, after I cram down the food, I head to the Massage tent and talk to a guy in my age group that finished at 3:38, his 109th marathon; give me a break….
And on top of all that, after all the miserable cramping, while I was on the massage table I was planning my next marathon attempt…How sick is that …hehe

All in all I had a great time, cramps and all.

The question is; what happened to cause such relentless cramping?

There are some things that I did different this time, good bad or indifferent:
1. I rushed around the day before the race; I really need to arrive two days ahead of time so I can take it easy the day before the marathon.
2. Almost no sleep….before making reservations make sure they are not having a convention at the Hotel.
3. My race day morning routine was slightly rushed; I usually drink about 16-24 oz.’s of Gatorade a couple of hours before the race, instead I had 16 oz’s of Propel and a few sips of Gatorade. I am not sure why I didn’t drink any more Gatorade…beets the heck out of me.
4. I did not get all of my business done at the Porta-potty; I started cramping in the lower intestinal area 3 minutes before the start. I was lucky that I didn’t have intestinal problems during the race.
5. I chase my Gel down during the race with water, which worked fine, however, the rest of the time I always have Gatorade or PowerAde (what ever is offered), but this time I got confused a few times and had to get water instead.
6. I stretched at the Hotel, no chance or room to stretch in the coral.
7. I did not do a good job of stretching during this last training period. I need to put this back on the priority list. I am considering starting some strength training in a couple of weeks and maybe yoga to gain some flexibility.

Was it the lack of electrolytes? I don’t know but it is my only explanation.

Any suggestions? I need to figure this out; the cramps in my hamstrings are holding back my potential marathon performance. In fact my right hamstring is still recovering from muscle cramps I experienced at Whiterock 2004.

Since I have been babying my right hamstring since December, I did not feel I was prepared for OKC.

Goal Marathon pace 8:02 - 8:12

Splits:
Mile 1: 8:25
Mile 2: 8:24
Mile 3: 7:43
Mile 4: 8:04
Mile 5: 7:49
Mile 6: 8:05
Mile 7: 8:08
Mile 8: 8:02
Mile 9: 8:23
Mile 10: 8:02
Mile 11: 8:03
Mile 12: 7:56
Mile 13: 8:02
Mile 14: 8:06
Mile 15: 8:34
Mile 16: 9:13
Mile 17: 7:38
Mile 18: 8:37
Mile 19: 8:19
Mile 20: 8:20
Mile 21: 8:48
Mile 22: 9:17
Mile 23: 10:14
Mile 24: 10:45
Mile 25: 10:35
Mile 26-26.2: 12:28

Bib #895