Shamrock Race Report: Part I - Getting to the Start Line

This is part 1 of my race report for the Shamrock Marathon

Making the decision to go for BQ
The idea of qualifying for the Boston Marathon first came up in 2004 when I began running again. My supervisor was a serious runner and he talked about the Boston Marathon and the qualification process. I remember going to the BAA website and looking up the times. My first thought was wow, that's fast. Then I figured out the pace, 7:15, and realized it was way beyond my capabilities. The idea of qualifying for the Boston Marathon quickly faded away.
Two years later I attempted my first marathon. I signed up for the Marine Corp Marathon and started training. 2006 was a tough year both personally and professionally. I didn't train well, put on weight, and tried to make up the missing mileage a month before the race. Long story short - I got injured and didn't race. My lasting memory of this incident was going to packet pickup, telling them I wouldn’t race, and refusing to take the race t-shirt. I didn't want the shirt for a race I didn't complete - especially a marathon.

2006 - DNS

One year later I reentered the Marine Corp Marathon and followed a solid (but abridged) marathon training plan. I felt confident that I could run a solid race given my training and went in with the goal of finishing. I finished the race but suffered through one of the hardest and most painful moments of my life. I went out too fast, hit the wall at mile 18, and hobbled home with seizing cramps.

2007 - 4:05

I didn't want to run another marathon ever again. But, I made a last minute decision to enter the Baltimore Marathon in 2008 with the idea of supporting Karolina. I was going to start with her and see what happens. I was better trained overall in 2008, but I hadn't focused on the marathon. I started the race with Karolina and slowly ran my own race after a few miles. I used my experiences from 2007 to temper my efforts, focus on nutrition and hydration, and run a steady and relaxed race. I made it to the line without bonking in complete shock of my time.

2008 - 3:33

After Baltimore I realized that I could actually run 26.2 miles without killing myself. I also started dreaming about what I could do if I focused on the marathon. How fast could I go? Could I qualify? By the time we got home from Baltimore, I'd made the decision to go for a BQ.

Picking the Plan
I consulted with my coach, Eric Sorensen, and my cadre of running friends about marathon-specific training. I grew up a swimmer and all I knew about running came from triathlon training. I needed to build a marathon training plan that would take me from my current form to BQ. I'd need to run more miles per week then ever before and run consistently for at least 18 weeks over the winter months. I consulted with friends, family, and researched the internet across running forums and websites.

I eventually decided on a plan developed by Pete Pfitzinger known as the Pfitz 55/18. The plan goes 18 weeks with a max mileage of 55 miles a week. I started my marathon training three weeks prior to the formal plan to get some base miles down and not jump to quickly into high mileage running. The Pfitz 55/18 plan comes from the book Advance Marathoning. It's an excellent guide to 'racing' marathons. This was one of the big differences in my training - going from training to finish a marathon to training to race a marathon. I liked the simplicity of Pfitzinger's training, the focus on one key workout a week and simple pacing guidance during longer runs. The main difference from my past training was this plan included 10-14 mile runs during the middle of the week. These 'medium distance' runs kept the weekly mileage up while allowing two days off from running a week. Once I decided on the plan - I completely committed to the schedule.

Dark Cold Winter
The only drawback to spring marathon is that training goes on during the winter. I initially dodged the outdoors when I started training and hit the treadmill whenever possible. Once the individual workouts exceeded 8 miles - I found myself resorting to run outdoors. Although I initially fought it, I eventually embraced the dark cold evening run workouts. I convinced myself that they made me tougher and that the harsh conditions would make race day feel easy. By December I was limiting the treadmill to select recovery workouts and doing everything outside on the W&OD trail. I did all of my evening runs alone and rarely saw a single runner on the trail. I adopted the image of the 'lonely long distance runner' - training alone and driven by my own unseen demons. As I ticked through the workouts, the longer I stayed on schedule, the more galvanized and driven I became with completing the program. Looking back, I missed only four workouts in 21 weeks.

Challenges Along the Way
No quest would be complete without some challenges along the way. I had a few scares but at no point did I train myself to injury. This was my ultimate fear. I'd get within a few weeks of completing the training and suddenly wake up injured and unable to run. While this never happened, I did manage a trip to emergency room with a severe abdominal infection. As bad as it was, the timing was almost perfect, coming near the end of the hard training cycle. The time off corresponded with a scheduled recovery period and I bounced back quickly. My life outside of running also brought a few challenges. Work demanded much of time and I found myself exhausted from the challenges in the office and the demands of training. Once again, when things really became tough, the timing worked out. My late nights in office came during taper when my run training decreased dramatically. Had this come during a major training cycle, I would have likely snapped under the pressure. Everything seemed to happen at the opportune time, and I started to think that I just might be successful.

Confidence
As my training moved through the two key months of January and February, I started to believe that I could BQ. The tests I completed in training gave me the confidence that I could run 26.2 miles at 7:15 pace. I was running faster then ever around the track and able to hold the right pace on select long runs. Each milestone in training sowed the seeds of confidence that would bloom during taper. The final few weeks were largely uneventful. My challenge was balancing work with my life at home. The other item to control was my mental strength. It could make or break the race and I needed to balance confidence, patience, relaxation, and excitement. "The work is done, now you need to execute" and "Execution: running the race according to plan" became phrases I repeated over and over. I was nervous no question about it, but I was also excited.