Monday, April 11, 2011

The Windy Wall: Eastern States 2011 Results

Though I am now well into my fifth year of running, I am still learning from almost every race I run.  This one was no different - in fact the lessons may have been a bit rough this time around.

Eastern States Results
Overall Time:  2:30:33
Pace Per Mile: 7 minutes, 32 seconds
Overall Place:  65th
Age group finish:  36th (1-39 age group)
5-mile splits: 34:30, 37:31, 36:35, 41:57

This was one of those races where I felt great going into it and even started out ahead of my PR.  I nailed the first mile at 7:10, about exactly where I wanted it to be, then hovered around a 6:50 pace for the next 4 miles.  I had some bad side stitches briefly at mile 3 but worked through them as I weaved through the sheltered area of 1A.

Once exposed to the ocean at mile 6 the wind started to hammer down.  The west-northwest wind made that experience a little better than last year's bitter south wind.  The sun, however, teamed up and made for a perfect storm of dehydration that would become an increasing factor in the race.

I experienced side stitches again around 8 or 9, then again at 14.  This combined with a dull stomach ache through the majority of the run served me a hard lesson:  eat closer to the race.  The fact that I ate breakfast at 6:30 and didn't have anything else going into the race at 11:00 caused my body to lose energy fast after a certain point.  Though I would still run solidly through the next 8 miles, I felt myself already tapping into my energy reserves before I had hit the half way point.

Every time I turned away from the ocean - however brief the turn was - I hit the cold wind head-on and struggled through every step.  The water stops were my salvation, but they were a little far apart for comfort.  Save for the last two stops, every station was 3 1/2 miles apart.  This would make matters worse for me.

The runner's wall came hard.  I started to fall apart at 13 but tried to hold it together until the aid station at mile 15.  It was a vain effort, made worse by the gel packet that wouldn't open for me.  My plan was to use the packet and try to salvage the energy from that and finish strong.  In spite of my effort to rip the packet open with my teeth, I couldn't get it to budge, and I hurled it into the nearby trash bin in frustration.  I was going to have to fight through the last 5 miles with practically nothing in the tank.

I haven't felt that bad over miles 15-20 since my first Marathon.  Every mile was a battle that got worse as I got closer to Massachusetts. I tried to extend my stride but surges were very brief and only served to slow me down more after the surge ended.  Miles 19 and 20 were a little scary. I started to feel lightheaded and began to get a little dizzy in the last several hundred meters.  I almost didn't think I would make it.  Somehow I managed to collect myself enough to push to the finish. 

It was an ugly race, but at least I got to the end unassisted.  I forced myself to keep walking to the bus that would cart be back to my car.  I got the drink out of my gym bag that was stored on the bus and downed its contents pretty quickly.

It was then that I realized how horrible the new Vitamin Water Zero drinks taste when I'm dehydrated.  I let out almost everything I had just consumed and it left an awful aftertaste that took a long time to get out.  Luckily someone nearby had a bottle of Poland Springs for me to have.  Water is better.

I didn't even come close to any sort of PR, but I can take some harsh lessons from this race and make sure I don't repeat them in Boston.