In order to run this fast you have to train, a lot. I knew that to meet my goal I needed to run 6 days a week and average about 65 miles per week, more than 10 miles per day, for 18 weeks. Here was the first obstacle. I had just finished training for a half ironman (1.2mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). My training for this didn't involve all that much running, only about 30 miles per week. The first week of my training schedule called for 53 miles. I knew that increasing my mileage that much, that quickly was a recipe for disaster. I also knew that to meet my goal, I had to do it anyway. So I tried.
The first few weeks of training were brutal. Within 3 weeks I was running over 60 miles per week. I was so unprepared for that training load I fully expected that I could get injured any day and not be able to make my goal. Somehow I made it through. I like to think that all the training volume from my triathlon training helped me get through it, but maybe I was just lucky.
The weeks went by and I got stronger and faster. Finding time for training with two kids, Erin's school and new business, and a new position at my job was tough. I got up early in the mornings, often around 4:30AM, to do my runs. The weather stayed mild through the fall for a long time and I don't mind running in the cold and dark of morning. As the year progressed from fall into winter it got harder. I wasn't just starting my runs in the dark, I was finishing them in the dark too, and it got colder, motivation became tougher, 4:30 mornings became a distant memory. I tried fitting in runs during lunch at work, sometimes that worked out. I had more travel for work and getting up at 4:30 eastern, 2:30 AM mountain, to get in a 15 mile run was challenging. I still got in the training, it was just harder. Finally the snow started falling. Most days I could still run outside, but some days were just too cold, too wet, or too icy. I started running on the treadmill at the YMCA.
Here's the thing about running on the treadmill, it isn't fun. Real running, outside, is a beautiful enlivening experience. Running inside is a bad imitation of real running, you exercise your body, but it somehow robs your soul of the joy of it. Running on a treadmill is kind of like an addictive drug, you know it isn't good for you, but it becomes this crutch to get you by and somehow just becomes easier eventually robbing you of the motivation to venture outside. Eventually the reality of the boringness overcomes you and you stop running all together. For anyone who lives outside the sun belt it is a reality of year round training, but it has to be used with extreme caution, you have to get back outside again as soon as you can. In order to stave off the boredom of staring at a concrete wall for a hour or two I resorted to watching movies. After a particularly big snow storm that just wouldn't melt away, leaving an icy mess on the roads, I queued up the Matrix series of movies. Action movies are my staple for treadmill running, it is the only way I can work up the energy to get a good workout. Watching the first movie one dialogue really struck me:
Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Spoon boy: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Spoon boy: Then you'll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.
The idea that meeting my goal was more about mind than body hit a chord with me and "There is no spoon" became my motto to get me through the hard days. 11 mile workout with 6X1000 meter sprints sub zero temperatures, sun not up yet; there is no spoon.
A few weeks out I knew that I was as ready as I was going to be for the race. I had real doubts, I wasn't sure that I was really fast enough, but I knew that I was going to try. The weekend before the race I got sick. Not really sick, but sick enough to be coughing, headachy and fatigued. At that point there was nothing to do but wait and hope. I got in key work outs, skipped some and tried to get lots of rest. The race was Sunday.
On Friday morning I was definitely still sick. I headed off to work and got through a busy day before heading home to pack for the race. Saturday morning, still sick. Erin and I got up early and took the kids to Jenny and Mike's for an overnight then we headed for the airport. Hanging around the gate waiting for the plane was funny. You could look around and tell all the people headed for the marathon, there were quite a few. Sat next to a really nice guy on the plane who was running the marathon. He had an Arizona Ironman jacket and we talked about both ironman and marathon. He was on the same return flight we were on, so when we landed we wished each other luck and promised to catch back up on the return flight.
After check in we drove over to Tempe to our hotel, the Mission Palms. Very nice, I realized it had been a long time since I'd stayed at a "full service" hotel. It was great to have a concierge who actually knew what he was talking about. Once settled in the room I headed out for an easy 4 mile run with a few sprint intervals to get the legs moving. I did not feel fast. After my run it was time for a nap.
After nap we tried to figure out dinner. We checked out a couple of places but the waits were all terrible. Eventually we ended up back at the hotel restaurant for a simple pasta and chicken dinner, a special for race night. Met a nice young marine there who was planning to meet a few buddies to go out and paint the town that night. Hope he had some fun.
Back at the hotel room I did my little pre-race ritual. I laid out all my clothes in a little mini-me on the floor to make sure I had everything I would need in the morning, verified a few logistics, set the alarm, and went to sleep.
Got up race morning, and I felt really well. No stuffy nose, no head ache, no cough. Healthy. Yes! I got dressed and Erin and I headed down to breakfast. I ate half a bagel, got a cup of tea and headed for the light rail that would take me to the starting line. The light rail was full of runners and we all partook in nervous chit chat on the 20 minute ride to the start. Once at the start I tried to stay warm and hung out for a while, the sun was not yet up. I had tucked a racer's staple, a trash bag with arm and head holes cut in it, tucked into my sock and put that on to keep warm. As start time got closer I ran a mile warm up and got into my corral up at the front. Five minutes from starting time they announced that they were going to delay the start, due to bad traffic lots of racers hadn't yet made it to the starting line. Everyone groaned. I got out of the corral and headed for the bathroom, figuring one more stop couldn't hurt. I ran a few warm up sprints and headed back to the start. Once back in the corral it was nice and warm from all those bodies packed together. Lots of nervous energy, everyone was talking about their goal, their last race, anything and everything to keep the nerves away. Part of this process is figuring out who has about the same goal you do. The first corral spans a pretty big finishing time, everything from 2:20 to 3:15. I hadn't yet met anyone who was looking for the 2:55 to 3:00 time range until I joined a big group of folks. Some seemed to know each other, others didn't, but that's where I met Ashley. Ashley was running her first marathon and was really nervous. She was a professional triathlete, but this was her marathon debut. If this went well she and her coach were considering shooting for the olympic trials in 4 years. Ashley and I decided we would try to run this race together. I trashed my trash bag and finally after a 30 minute delay, the race started.
Passed Erin again at mile 13, but she didn't see me. It was still good to see her though, and miles 12-19 were an out and back so I knew I'd see her again on the way back. Ashley's mom was also there and gave her a good boost. At this point we had turned into a bit of a head wind and the course started to trend up hill. We tried to find a couple of guys to tuck behind and draft off of, but didn't have much success. The half way point came and we clocked through at 1:27:59, 6:43 min/mile pace. Ashley and I both felt strong and I was feeling confident about hitting that sub 3 hour goal. Near the end of the out and back the road really started to turn up. It was a decent hill for a "flat" course and my heart rate headed for 180 and our pace started to slide upwards of 7 minutes. Ashley started to suffer a bit I think but stuck it out and we made the turn around. At that point Ashley was around the tenth woman. I was feeling confident and told her that we could get her into the top 5. I don't think I had any idea what I was talking about, but it sounded good. After the turn around we got a bit of down hill and really let the legs roll. We overtook a number of runners through that section. At the end of the out and back we saw Erin and Ashley's mom again. Soon after we passed mile 20 at 2:13:49, 6:41 min/mile pace. We had made good time. 
A lot of people will tell you that in marathon, the race starts at mile 20, and that's true. The first half of a marathon had better be "easy". If it isn't you are in big trouble. Usually somewhere around mile 16 or 17 is where people start to suffer a little bit, you still have a really long way to go and you are starting to get a bit tired. This is often where people start to loose confidence. Somewhere north of mile 20 is where you start to think about pushing the envelop a little bit. You can start taking bigger risks as you get closer and closer to the finish. As Ashley and I passed mile 20 the thought of speeding up barely crossed our minds. We were both about topped out and couldn't envision running 6.2 more miles any faster. We were however picking people off quickly. A lot of folks were starting to fade and people who had tried to really kick it up around mile 18 were now falling back behind us. We hadn't quite kept count of how many women we had passed, but it had been a good number, we were moving Ashley up toward that top 5 position.After mile 20 the course suddenly went empty. There was not a soul in front of us as far as we could see. Ashely asked where everyone had gone and I said, "They're all behind us!". For a guy who is not used to being up at the front, trying to figure out where the course went, instead of just following the person in front of you was a new experience. I saw Erin again around mile 21, a lone spectator shouting and bouncing up and down, it was great to see her. Somewhere around mile 22 we had to go over an overpass. It wasn't a big one, but let me tell you any kind of hill at that point was brutal. I think it was there that Ashley really started to hurt. At that point it was just about hanging on. We pushed through 2 more miles, but they were hard miles and we were both suffering. We caught site of Erin one more time at mile 24, still jumping up and down like a crazy woman- I'm impressed with her navigation skills in a foreign town, to have found us so often especially amongst detours and road closures.
My heart rate had climbed to 178 by this point and I was not feeling well, but we had managed to hold on to that 6:41 pace and were on track for a 2:55 finish, meeting both our stretch goals! With two miles to go Ashley and I split up and I tried to push on ahead. Those were two hard lonely miles. I was ready to find the finish of that race. Being so near the front most of the spectators hadn't yet made it to the finish line yet, so it was a lot quieter than I'm used to. I rounded a corner and finally, there was the finish just a few hundred yards ahead. There was one guy in front of me and I broke into a full sprint and flew by him.
Final finishing stats, 2:55:09, pace 6:41 min/mile and overall place 53 of 3863. And Ashley, she finished just a few seconds behind at 2:55:17, fourth female and first place in her age group!
Back in Denver we drove back to Jenny and Mike's to go pick up the kids. They had a wonderful sleepover and had lots of fun. Mike had been sending us text messages about the kids over the two days that had Erin and I cracking up all the time. My favourite, "The little one is going to eat us out of house and home". Yep, Maya definitely has an appetite these days. With the kids loaded in the car we headed for home and some well deserved sleep.
It was a fantastic race and I am so excited about my accomplishment and for Ashley too! Qualifying standard for the women's olympic marathon trials is 2:46, hopefully we will be seeing Ashley in the Olympics in 4 years!
A marathon is a very individual event, hours of training out on your own, the mental toughness to get up and go when you'd rather sleep in, or sit and relax. There is no spoon is key to success. And yet, this race reminds me of how crucial the support of family and friends (old and new!) are to success. I owe so much to my friends for their support and encouragement through all the hours of training, Mike and Jenny for caring for our children over the weekend, Ashley for being such a great and unexpected racing partner, Xander and Maya for putting up with long training runs in the Chariot, and a dad who sometimes can't play because he has to go train, and my amazing wife Erin who is incredibly supportive and understanding, even when it is hard. Thanks to everyone!
Up next - Wisconsin Ironman. Maybe I'll take a week or two off first...
What a thrilling post to read! Not only did you get a PR, but also an extremely good time by any standards. Outstanding. I know from my limited experience how challenging it can be to get the training in (and also can appreciate the treadmill drudgery)--hats off to you for accomplishing your goal.
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