I am a “reborn” runner, who starting running late last year after taking over 29 years off. I ran my first marathon on November 17, 2002, Montgomery County, MD’s Marathon in the Parks. It was a cold, rainy day and course conditions were nasty in spots, with lots of puddles and mud. Though I hit the “wall” and was somewhat disappointed with my overall time, it was a positive experience and I learned a number of lessons.
I was a cross country and track runner in high school from 1968 to 1972. My best 2-Mile time was 9:36 good enough to win the 1972 Cronly Invitational at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. I would usually place in regional and state prep school races. After high school, when I did not receive any significant college scholarship offers for my running, I went on to college, but stopped running until last October.
In October 2001, I weighed 183 lbs., more than 30 lbs. overweight and my middle-aged stomach was expanding. My fiance, Helen Hipps, mentioned that she was going to start going to Weight Watchers. I decided to go with her. Besides promoting smart eating, in the last several years Weight Watchers has awakened to the concept that exercise has significant value in a weight reduction program. So I decided to try running again. The running helped me lose 25 lbs. in 2 months. By March, I had reached my initial goal of losing 30 lbs. Thanks to running, I have weighed between 146 and 151 since May.
In the first couple of weeks, I could barely run the one-mile circular path near my house without stopping. By December, I could go 3 miles non-stop with no problem. I continued to run 2 to 3 miles a day 4 or 5 days a week. Reston’s excellent path system allows me to do so many different runs, so each day is a new adventure. In April, I decided to try a four mile run out and back to the end of Glade Road. The first time I ran it at a 9 minute pace. By early May, I was running at an 8 minute pace and hungering for more distance and competition. Also, I wanted to enter the Herndon 10-K in early June.
In May, I went to my first Reston Runners Club’s Saturday 5-mile run. I immediately joined Reston Runners Club. The following week I ran 5 miles on Saturday and did my first 10-mile run the following day. I continued running my daily 2 to 3 mile runs, usually in the mornings. I also started keeping a running log and read several running books. By the end of May I was running over 30 miles a week.
I ran the Herndon 10-K and in 5 weeks time ran another 10-K and two 5-K races. My 10-K pace was at 7 minutes. However, I was making several mistakes in racing/pacing and in training: (1) I was running too many races in too short a time frame for someone who was not yet conditioned. (2) I was running my workouts too hard, especially the Sunday long runs. (3) In races I was not properly pacing myself, going out too fast and struggling to maintain pace at the finish.
During the summer and into the fall, I ran an average of 40 miles per week. My weekly run totals generally varied from 30 to 48 miles, except I had a 20 mile week in late July due to a minor hip injury. 20 –30 of the weeklu miles were with the Reston Runners Club. During the summer, I signed up for Reston Runners weekly interval training program. I kept increasing my long runs and in October I completed the 21.7-mile run from Clark’s Gap to Reston. I had four long runs of 20 miles or more in September and October.
I had a goal race in mind, the LAWS Run for the Shelter Half Marathon in September as I was planning to wait until next year to run a marathon. However, after running a sub 72 minute10 mile race in August and a 1:35:40 half-marathon in September, I decided to consider signing up for a November marathon. Marathon in the Parks was the most convenient one for my schedule, so the day after the Marine Corps Marathon I signed up.
I eagerly looked forward to testing my ability, with the idea that I can run it in 3:30 and qualify for the Boston Marathon. The Saturday a week before the race, I explored the Marathon in the Parks course. I drove the first 10 miles, then bicycled miles 10 through 19. I ran the last 3 miles, so I would have an idea of what to expect at the finish.
In planning my race, I wrote down the times I expected to be at the 1, 5, 10, 15, 18, 20 25, and 26 mile marks. I wanted to do my first mile in OVER 8 minutes and average just under 8 minute miles the remainder of the race. Given the net elevation drop in the first 10 miles of the course and uphill slant in the last 3 miles, I knew it would be difficult to run a true negative split. I wanted to follow Jim Nagle’s (Reston Runners Club’s experienced marathoner and ultra-marathoner) advice: 10 miles to warm up, 10 miles for fun, and 10-K to race to the finish.
Each day last week I kept my eyes on the forecast for Sunday, November 17. A wet noreaster storm was predicted, so I planned to outfit myself accordingly. I bought a short sleeve running shirt, a long sleeve running shirt, two pairs of running tights, gloves and a Polar Tech hat. I cut holes in an old pair of knee high athletic socks, so I could wear them over my arms and later dispose of them. I credit Reston Runner Ellen Mannion for the idea of using something disposable to cover my forearms. I purchased salt tablets several weeks before the race and made sure to have water-proof bags to hold the tablets, my spare bandages, my granola bars and my emergency $5 plus change for a phone call. I also packed extra socks and a change of clothes, so Helen could give them to me at the half-way point, if necessary. I packed a change of clothes for after the race. The day before the race I placed 20 ounce Gatorade bottles near the 7 and 19 mile markers, as several Reston Runners had told me bad things about the Ultima Replenisher that was to be handed out at the rest stops.
When I awoke at 5 a.m. on the day of the race, it was rainy and 39 degrees at the starting point. I decided to wear my running tights, my Reston Runners cap, my socks over my arms and gloves. I applied Body Glide and put a bandage over each of my breasts, I wore a singlet over my short sleeve running shirt. I decided it was better to be slightly overdressed than to get cold. In hindsight, I’m glad I did that, because I didn’t get overheated and was comfortable the entire race. Over my tights, I wore running shorts with back pockets, so I could easily carry my Ziploc bag with my racing goodies and emergency money. We headed over to the course and arrived about 35 minutes before the start. I drank plenty of water and Gatorade before leaving and on the ride over to the start.
I saw only a couple of familiar runners at the starting line, including David Haaga of Rockville, MD, the first Masters Runner to finish the race year. David crossed the finish line in 2:53:21. Though over 1,600 runners signed up, less than 850 finished the race. Most of the cancellations were due to the nasty weather. Some runners had tights on, a few wore sweats or long legged water resistant leggings, and some were dressed in only their running shorts and singlets or short sleeved shirts. Some were shivering. The rain picked up some before the start, so I had a plastice trash bag over me.
After a playing of the Star Spangled Banner, the race started a couple minutes after 7 a.m. Runners surged ahead, much faster than I was running. In the first half mile I disposed of the garbage bag. I expected that I was running slightly faster than my 8:15 desired mile one pace. Actually, I was much faster and passed the 1-mile marker at 7:33. In the first mile I discarded I felt good at this pace and only eased up a little running the next mile in 7:37.
For the next several miles I comfortably maintained a pace between 7:45 and 8 minutes per mile. I stopped and took water at all the water stops. In the 4th mile, I disposed of the socks covering my forearms. I wore the gloves until mile 15, putting them back on at mile 21. At the 7-mile mark I found my first Gatorade bottle, drank some, and carried the bottle with me the next 4 miles. I went through the 10 mile mark at around 1:17:30 and the halfway mark at 1:41:25.
Just after the 10-mile mark the course enters the Rock Creek Trail for the next 10 miles. I ran an even pace through the first part of this section, averaging 8 minutes a mile from miles 10 through 15. At the half marathon point, I saw Helen and our friend, Susan, cheering us on. Parts of the course were covered with water, so most runners were running around the puddles on the grass. By the time I got to some of the ponds, the grassy areas had become muddy, so after mile 13, I decided to stay mostly on the path. My shoes were already wet from the water in the muddy sections where I followed runners trying to navigate around the puddles. Running through the pools of water actually felt nice and invigorating.
I took a salt tablet around mile 15, swallowing it without the benefit of water. Around mile 16, I could feel a slight loss of energy, so I slowed down slightly, running an 8:30 mile. I picked up some in mile 17, probably with the help of the salt tablet, but slowed a bit in miles 18 and 19. I ran past my second bottle of Gatorade. I didn’t think I needed it, as I felt hydrated enough. I was still running an overall 8-minute pace through mile 19, but I had a sense that my dream of qualifying for Boston with a 3:30 time was slipping away. Still I ran on, knowing that I still had the goal to finish. Just after mile 19, I saw Jim Nagle cheering me on and I got a slight surge in energy.
Sometime after crossing the 20 mile mark in just over 2:40, I slowed down considerably. In hindsight, it was apparent that I had depleted my glycogen stores. I had indeed hit the “wall”. I never felt sick, just tired legged. I kept running, but took longer walk breaks at the water stops. I knew I could finish, so I just kept at it, now at a much slower pace. I walked part of the hill around mile 24, but once I was on the Georgetown Branch Trail, I ran the remaining 2 miles, probably at no better than a 10 minute pace. I saw several runners walking, some walk/running, so I wasn’t the only one. More than a few runners came streaming past me, still running strong to the end. They were the ones who followed that sage advice: “Don’t go out too fast.” I came through the tunnel and crossed the finish line in 3:44:41. Jim Nagle and Helen and Susan were there to congratulate me.
My legs were sore and tired, but I felt a sense of accomplishment having completed my first marathon. My only visible injury was a blister on my 2nd toe. I drained that after my post race soak in the hot bathtub and the after the big race, I hardly noticed any blistering. I took a nice long walk this morning. While my legs are still sore, the rest of me felt great the day after the longest race in my life. Four days after the run, I feel 98% recovered.
I look to entering my next marathon sometime next year, hoping to learn from my mistakes and run a better tactical race. In the aftermath, some valuable lessons I learned running my first marathon were:
I did not have a coach per se for this run, but I read a lot and talked to a lot of runners to develop a reasonable but flexible training schedule. I stuck to the schedule about 80% of the time. The support of belonging to a running club with an opportunity to run 3 or 4 times a week with a group was helpful.
I would like to acknowledge the Reston Runners Club and am particularly grateful for the advice I received from Jim Nagle (which I failed to execute properly) and Al Rider for advising me to read information on the science of training for running. Particularly, I found Daniels’ Running Formula by Jack Daniels, PhD most helpful in developing a training plan without having a coach. I look forward to running thousands of miles with the club in the next 20 or 30 years. Also, I am especially thankful for having an understanding fiance, Helen Hipps, who supported me in my preparation for and running of my first marathon.
Ed Cacciapaglia