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<p>This marathon was all about finishing for me, having come off a disappointing DNF at Chicago in the fall. After managing to just eke out a BQ in the 35-39 age group back in 2004, post-40 running has proven more challenging (I am 44 now), with periods of inactivity and nagging injuries harder to come back from than it used to be. Having had a relatively short 10-week buildup of around 45-50 miles/wk of pretty much all easy running, I felt barely ready to cover the distance and finish my tenth marathon.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I had first thought about the Poconos a bit before I turned 40 in 2007 and was looking at marathons on my 40<sup>th</sup> birthday. I was coming off my one Boston finish in 2006 and a long tailspin of injury/laziness induced weight gain and fitness decline that followed. I didn’t pull out of it until the second half of 2007 after my 40<sup>th</sup> came and went, but the Poconos marathon stayed on my radar screen as a possible spring marathon.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As things happened, this turned out to be the year. Coming off a lingering hamstring tendon issue, I was looking for a marathon I could sign up for close in advance so I could see how things went before deciding. My dad’s birthday turned out to be the day before the marathon (it is a week later than it used to be), and I figured I could fly out from Chicago to celebrate with him and my brother and sister in New York on Friday night, and drive to the Poconos Saturday for the expo and race on Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised when my dad, who has experienced his own running renaissance in his early 70s, decided to change his birthday plans and come with me (er, give me a ride) and run the 5k.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After some high-end carbo-loading in NY Friday night, we trekked out to the expo for some sightseeing around Stroudsburg and the pasta dinner. It was a nice small-town expo with friendly people at the dinner. Going back to our hotel, we got some ice cream from a little place in town and I hit the hotel room about 8pm and got ready. Made the mistake of checking the weather forecast before bed, which had thunderstorms throughout the morning. As I lay in bed, I first started worrying that the race was going to be cancelled due to lightning. Then I started worrying that they would not cancel the race and I would be hit by lightning. Funny how the mind works the night before a marathon, I wasn’t concerned about how I was going to run much at all. I finally was able to get some sleep, and fortunately, the weather report proved to be wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, not completely wrong, it was raining steadily when the 5:00am alarm went off. I drank some water, scarfed down half a bagel and a Clif bar and made my way to the lobby where runners were gathered. Debating whether to try to catch a ride the ¾ of a mile to the finish area, I figured I would be rained on all day anyway… might as well start now, and walked. First to Dunkin Donuts, where I got my pre-race coffee and chatted with a couple of relay runners, then to the school near the finish area where I waited with other runners about 35 minutes on a warm bus until they finally left for the starting area (it’s a point to point course) around 6:35am, mostly chatting with a guy I ran into again after the race who wound up running 2:56! More waiting at the elementary school near the starting point, this time in line for the restroom, then some stretching and outside to the starting line where miraculously the rain had stopped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felt good at the starting line and was calm. I was wearing the Garmin to see how things went and where my HR was, but just wanted to keep it at an easy pace – same as all my training runs had been. I had been fighting a sore throat the last couple of days, but felt ok in the morning and resting HR was normal within a few beats. The first 5 miles are pretty flat and were 8:21, 8:23, 8:29, 8:37, 8:45 with even effort. Not a great progression, and at that point I knew things were not going to be a cakewalk but so be it. Then there were some big descents and the next few miles were 8:25, 7:55, 7:33 but I always pass people on downhills in races and get passed on uphills, so this didn’t surprise me much. Almost no rain still, but very foggy and humid, so much for scenery
A flatter section yielded 8:38, 8:30, 8:40 then a downhill 8:15 and I was at the halfway point almost exactly at 1:50. I felt fine and like I was still holding back, but knew that with the elevation changes and weather warming up to 60s the next half would be tougher.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I did not look at my watch after the halfway point until just before the end. I was completely on autopilot, counting down the miles to gel #3 at mile 16, gel #4 at mile 19.5 and gel #5 at mile 23.4. I never felt the urge to stop, but never fought the urge to slow down to keep it somewhat easy and tried encourage runners who were struggling. Looking at the results I passed 51 people and got passed by 14 from the halfway point to the end, even though my splits were 1:50, 1:57. Once you hit 20 there are as many uphills as downhills and the miles did not go by as quickly. Finally I snuck a peek as we approached the stadium at the end and saw 3:40. I remember thinking maybe I could finish under my PW of 3:43 something and picked it up a little. Then I saw my dad on the street leading up to the stadium finish and he started running with me. I asked him how the 5k went and he said good and that he’d meet me at the finish. He continued to run alongside on the sidewalk for a bit more; in retrospect it would have been cool if I’d slowed down and had him finish with me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We had a little more left then I thought and by the time we wound our way around to the stadium entrance and once around the track, I had finished in 3:47:17 so it was my slowest time by a little under 4 minutes. Or as I prefer to think of it, my PR for how long I’ve run time-wise. The 3:43 in NYC 2008 had a bit of walking in it, so if I count continuous time on my feet running, this set the record by almost 7 minutes over my 3:40 in Boston 2006. Actually, I was surprised that age-graded, the 3:47 one rates slightly better than either of those.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sure, there is still a tiny bit of disappointment in the time and sense that I should have been closer to being able to hold my easy training pace of 8:15-8:30. Less than ideal weather and a small cold may have been a factor, but given how adamantly I refused to set any time goals it seems silly to dissect it too much, and there are enough good takeaways that I am not sweating it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After the race, I hung around the finish and ran into my friend <strong>jill</strong>. Meeting her at the Philly marathon in 2009 after lurking in the Runner’s World forums got me started participating in KR this year, and I continue to be inspired by her accomplishments since then, both on the roads & trails and in the running community with her lvrunningscene.com website and upcoming trail race ventures. It was great chatting with her until my dad finally found me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dad collected some hardware finishing 2<sup>nd</sup> in the 70+ age group in the 5k and improved on his 70+ PR from the previous weekend where he got 2<sup>nd</sup> as well. I am grateful to him for coming down and the time we were able to spend together. Also to my wife and kids for giving me the time off this weekend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, it has been a lot of fun over the last year keeping touch with folks online in the daily and weekly threads here and I’m glad I finally get to share a marathon race report, so apologies if it wound up being a little long and rambly. I was telling someone the other day that signing up for this marathon was a good excuse to avoid thinking about longer-term running plans and now that it’s over I will have to do that. I am still pretty uncertain what kind of training I am willing and able to handle, but will take a little break to think about it and decide what’s next.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I had first thought about the Poconos a bit before I turned 40 in 2007 and was looking at marathons on my 40<sup>th</sup> birthday. I was coming off my one Boston finish in 2006 and a long tailspin of injury/laziness induced weight gain and fitness decline that followed. I didn’t pull out of it until the second half of 2007 after my 40<sup>th</sup> came and went, but the Poconos marathon stayed on my radar screen as a possible spring marathon.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As things happened, this turned out to be the year. Coming off a lingering hamstring tendon issue, I was looking for a marathon I could sign up for close in advance so I could see how things went before deciding. My dad’s birthday turned out to be the day before the marathon (it is a week later than it used to be), and I figured I could fly out from Chicago to celebrate with him and my brother and sister in New York on Friday night, and drive to the Poconos Saturday for the expo and race on Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised when my dad, who has experienced his own running renaissance in his early 70s, decided to change his birthday plans and come with me (er, give me a ride) and run the 5k.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After some high-end carbo-loading in NY Friday night, we trekked out to the expo for some sightseeing around Stroudsburg and the pasta dinner. It was a nice small-town expo with friendly people at the dinner. Going back to our hotel, we got some ice cream from a little place in town and I hit the hotel room about 8pm and got ready. Made the mistake of checking the weather forecast before bed, which had thunderstorms throughout the morning. As I lay in bed, I first started worrying that the race was going to be cancelled due to lightning. Then I started worrying that they would not cancel the race and I would be hit by lightning. Funny how the mind works the night before a marathon, I wasn’t concerned about how I was going to run much at all. I finally was able to get some sleep, and fortunately, the weather report proved to be wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, not completely wrong, it was raining steadily when the 5:00am alarm went off. I drank some water, scarfed down half a bagel and a Clif bar and made my way to the lobby where runners were gathered. Debating whether to try to catch a ride the ¾ of a mile to the finish area, I figured I would be rained on all day anyway… might as well start now, and walked. First to Dunkin Donuts, where I got my pre-race coffee and chatted with a couple of relay runners, then to the school near the finish area where I waited with other runners about 35 minutes on a warm bus until they finally left for the starting area (it’s a point to point course) around 6:35am, mostly chatting with a guy I ran into again after the race who wound up running 2:56! More waiting at the elementary school near the starting point, this time in line for the restroom, then some stretching and outside to the starting line where miraculously the rain had stopped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felt good at the starting line and was calm. I was wearing the Garmin to see how things went and where my HR was, but just wanted to keep it at an easy pace – same as all my training runs had been. I had been fighting a sore throat the last couple of days, but felt ok in the morning and resting HR was normal within a few beats. The first 5 miles are pretty flat and were 8:21, 8:23, 8:29, 8:37, 8:45 with even effort. Not a great progression, and at that point I knew things were not going to be a cakewalk but so be it. Then there were some big descents and the next few miles were 8:25, 7:55, 7:33 but I always pass people on downhills in races and get passed on uphills, so this didn’t surprise me much. Almost no rain still, but very foggy and humid, so much for scenery
A flatter section yielded 8:38, 8:30, 8:40 then a downhill 8:15 and I was at the halfway point almost exactly at 1:50. I felt fine and like I was still holding back, but knew that with the elevation changes and weather warming up to 60s the next half would be tougher.</p><p> </p>
<p>I did not look at my watch after the halfway point until just before the end. I was completely on autopilot, counting down the miles to gel #3 at mile 16, gel #4 at mile 19.5 and gel #5 at mile 23.4. I never felt the urge to stop, but never fought the urge to slow down to keep it somewhat easy and tried encourage runners who were struggling. Looking at the results I passed 51 people and got passed by 14 from the halfway point to the end, even though my splits were 1:50, 1:57. Once you hit 20 there are as many uphills as downhills and the miles did not go by as quickly. Finally I snuck a peek as we approached the stadium at the end and saw 3:40. I remember thinking maybe I could finish under my PW of 3:43 something and picked it up a little. Then I saw my dad on the street leading up to the stadium finish and he started running with me. I asked him how the 5k went and he said good and that he’d meet me at the finish. He continued to run alongside on the sidewalk for a bit more; in retrospect it would have been cool if I’d slowed down and had him finish with me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We had a little more left then I thought and by the time we wound our way around to the stadium entrance and once around the track, I had finished in 3:47:17 so it was my slowest time by a little under 4 minutes. Or as I prefer to think of it, my PR for how long I’ve run time-wise. The 3:43 in NYC 2008 had a bit of walking in it, so if I count continuous time on my feet running, this set the record by almost 7 minutes over my 3:40 in Boston 2006. Actually, I was surprised that age-graded, the 3:47 one rates slightly better than either of those.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sure, there is still a tiny bit of disappointment in the time and sense that I should have been closer to being able to hold my easy training pace of 8:15-8:30. Less than ideal weather and a small cold may have been a factor, but given how adamantly I refused to set any time goals it seems silly to dissect it too much, and there are enough good takeaways that I am not sweating it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After the race, I hung around the finish and ran into my friend <strong>jill</strong>. Meeting her at the Philly marathon in 2009 after lurking in the Runner’s World forums got me started participating in KR this year, and I continue to be inspired by her accomplishments since then, both on the roads & trails and in the running community with her lvrunningscene.com website and upcoming trail race ventures. It was great chatting with her until my dad finally found me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dad collected some hardware finishing 2<sup>nd</sup> in the 70+ age group in the 5k and improved on his 70+ PR from the previous weekend where he got 2<sup>nd</sup> as well. I am grateful to him for coming down and the time we were able to spend together. Also to my wife and kids for giving me the time off this weekend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, it has been a lot of fun over the last year keeping touch with folks online in the daily and weekly threads here and I’m glad I finally get to share a marathon race report, so apologies if it wound up being a little long and rambly. I was telling someone the other day that signing up for this marathon was a good excuse to avoid thinking about longer-term running plans and now that it’s over I will have to do that. I am still pretty uncertain what kind of training I am willing and able to handle, but will take a little break to think about it and decide what’s next.</p>
