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