June 1, 2008 Steamboat Springs Marathon Race Report

Event: Steamboat Springs Marathon, Steamboat Springs , Colorado

Starting Elevation:

Ending Elevation:

BD January 9, 1953

Age on Race day: 55

18^th Marathon since 1999

4^th Marathon during 2008

Best Marathon - Houston 2006, 3:33:25

Current Marathon Training pace – 7:48

Goal pace for Steamboat Springs Marathon – Mid 9’s, finish about 4 hours.

Bib#: 292

Training Summary

A few weeks before the Boston Marathon I learned that I would have a Business trip to Chicago and Colorado at the end of May. I had recently read an article in Marathon and Beyond about the Steamboat Springs Marathon in Colorado so I quickly checked the date and to my surprise it was scheduled for the weekend between my Chicago and Denver Trips. I quickly signed up. I would have 6 weeks, after Boston, to recover and train for Steamboat. My shortest time between Marathons was the 4 weeks between the 2003 NYC Marathon and the Dallas White Rock Marathon.

The Steamboat course is tough: it starts at 8500 ft above sea level and concludes at Steamboat which is 6500 ft. above seal level. Most of the decent occurs during the first half. Historically temperatures start n the mid 30’s and finish in the 70’s.

The past six weeks of training has been lack-luster and my legs have been tired and dead. My last 18 miler was difficult and my taper didn’t seem to help. Based on this I knew I would need to run conservatively and enjoy the scenery. A start-finish goal was in order.

The final week before Steamboat I was in Chicago and enjoyed running on Lake Shore and Burr Ridge Harvester Park.

Running along Lake Shore was a real treat. I think the excitement of running in different surroundings caused me to run a bit too fast. During this final taper week I should have been training at recovery pace. Instead I found myself running in the mid 8 range.

Friday, May 30, 2008

I was fortunate and was able to get an earlier flight out of Chicago and arrived in Denver at 4:00 PM instead of 5:30 PM. Upon acquiring the rent car we left Denver and began the 3 hour trip to Steamboat. In no time we were at an elevation of 11000 feet. Since I had not been to Colorado before I did no realize how quickly the elevation climbed as we drove west out of Denver.

We stopped for Dinner and finally arrived at Steamboat at 10:00 PM.

Our reservations were at the Alpine Rose B+B

Saturday, May 31, 2008

I was up and out the door for a 30 minute run by 8:15 AM. The temp’s were in the mid 40’s but the sun was very warm. I felt great. Afterwards we had a nice breakfast provided by our host.

The family is “Marathon Friendly”. Most are runners. They all planned on running the Half Marathon on Sunday.

After breakfast we went to Christy Sports to pick up my Bib packet. My wife decided to walk the 10K.

After picking up our packets we decided to drive the marathon course. As we drove toward the starting area we noticed that the mile markers were in place and some porta-potties have been set up.

The race starts at Hahns ???, an old historical mining town. All that exists today are some old shacks. The area was setup with about 10 porta-potties. It looks like everything is ready.

The ride back was very eye-opening. The grades down are very steep and seem to go on forever. My guess was we descended along a 5-7 degree grade for the first 5-7 miles.

My quads hurt just thinking about the decent. I will have to be very cautious in order to finish the race. As we drove back to Steamboat we passed many bicyclists climbing the hills. I was so impressed that they could ride such a long upward grade.

There was not a sponsored pasta-party so we went to???? Restaurant and had a nice carbo loading meal followed by a movie in an old theater. Downtown Steamboat was very busy all through the day and night. After the movie the town was still hopping.

I went to bed at 10:00 PM with the alarm set for 5:00 AM.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

I rested well and before I knew it the alarm sounded. I was up and moving and out of the house at 5:45 AM. The bus pickup area was just a few blocks down the road and needless to say I was one of the first to arrive. The brochure said that the first bus would leave about 6:00 AM... As we traveled up to Hans??? Village the bus became increasingly cold. I noticed that one of the windows was open. I was quivering from the cold. After we arrived I learned that the heater was right under the open window and the people near the heater were very hot. Most of us, however, were freezing from the open window.

Even though it was cold, today’s weather was supposed to reach the mid 80’s and considering the elevation, dehydration would be a real problem. My plan was to carry a bottle of Gatorade during the first half of the race and walk through the water stops.

Hans??? Village is on the east side of the road and protected by the mountains: with no sunshine the temperatures were near 35 degrees. It was actually warmer in the Porta potties. A few of us noticed that some runners had crossed to the other side of the road where the sun was shining. We took refuge there and soon all the runners were joining us.

As race time approached the air temperature was very comfortable. I packed my sweat pants and shirt and dropped them off at the bus (for pickup after the race) and moved toward the starting line.

As I stood there I noticed Amos (a friend); I was surprised to see her as I had no idea she would be here. We wished each other well.

Before I knew it the starter gun blasted and we were running back to Steamboat.

The race starts off flat for the first mile or so and then begins to take a long 5-7 degree decent for the next few miles. I held back so as not to go out too fast. Runners were passing me like I was standing still. Based on my experiences with Boston, I felt that the quick decent would soon catch up with most of the runners.

It would have been very easy to run fast, much faster that I was running, but I was trying to be careful not to over do it. Since I had no experience running in the altitude, my plan was to run a conservative, enjoy the scenery, start-finish race. Still, it was difficult to watch so many runners pass me in the early stages of the race.

The water stops were every few miles and well stocked. It was easy to grab water/Gatorade without having to negotiate a long line.

We ran on the left side of the road and controlled most of the left lane. The few vehicles that came along easily moved to the right hand lane. There was only a few times when race volunteers directed traffic. And the spectators were so few that I could have counted them all on one hand.

The scenery was nothing short of fantastic. There were still piles of snow in the shaded areas along the side of the road and of course the mountain peaks were a shiny white. At one water stop there were lamas within reach.

The half way point is where the half marathon started and it is a perfect place for a potty stop (since there were at least 10 stalls). I found a vacancy and was quickly relieved.

The downhill descents were difficult and there were times that I prayed for a flat section or even a hill.

Some time around mile 15 the runners began to spread out. There were no groups of runners, just individuals trying to finish. A few times I would pass one sitting on the side of the road, exhausted. But only a few, it became clear to me that all those fast runners were not slowing down much. I was not catching up like I had anticipated.

We were patrolled by bicyclists. They would ride up the hills then back down at incredible speeds These folks, runners and bicyclists alike, are strong: no doubt about it. Train on these hills and you will be in great condition for the most challenging race.

When mile 20 arrived, I didn't experience the wall and I was relieved to have made it this far. At mile 23 I felt recharged and kept thinking “only a 5K left”. It was at this stage that those that had found the wall were really struggling. My conservative plan was paying off.

The last few miles are along Highway???. The Sunday traffic was crowded. We were now running on the shoulder. No spectators: just typical Sunday traffic. A cheering crowd would have surely helped.

As I approached the finish line (they repeat your name over the PA system) I merged in with the kids run which would have been frustrating if I was looking for a fast time. Instead I just ran around the kids. No problem.

I crossed the finish line feeling good but slow. I had not run a marathon this slow since my first marathon in 1999.

Within a few minutes one of the volunteers presented me with my personal results printout. I was impressed that they found me and was able to produce such quick results without Championchip timing. And to think, some races mess it up when they have Championchip timing. This was a fine example of how to keeps things simple yet accurate.

The post race feed was nice, the served Subway sandwiches and water.

This was a great race and I had a blast but this is by far one of the most difficult marathons I have ever run.

The winner clocked a finish time of 2:36:02

Results:

Pace 10:05

Official Time 4:24:00

Overall 170/315

Gender 122/184

Division Male (50-59) 17/36

Summary

I had a blast and highly recommend this race. Just be careful, the locals are “STRONG”.