National
Marathon to Finish Cancer
Jacksonville,
FL
Feb
12, 2012
My journey to this event has
been a long one. I began using the
Galloway Method of running some 8 or 9 months ago. During that time, I stumbled across a fantastic podcast by
Kevin Gwin called “The Extra Mile Podcast – Galloway Edition”. Each of the 10 podcast episodes
featured an interview with Jeff Galloway.
The podcast program starts the runner basically from ground zero and
takes them through a typical Galloway marathon training program in 10
installments, so that by the end of the 10th podcast, you have
completed the training program and are ready for your marathon race.
“The Donna”, as this race is affectionately nicknamed in
honor of its founder, Donna Deegan.
A three time breast cancer survivor and Jacksonville, FL news anchor,
Donna founded this race back in 2008 to help raise funds for breast cancer
research and also to offer financial support to families experiencing financial
hardship as a result of their battle with cancer.
The idea that a race was
actually donating 100% of its profits to charity is a huge draw for me. Most races do claim to support various
charities, but nowhere else have I heard of one where 100% of the profits are
earmarked for charity. On top of
that, “The Donna” is the only marathon in the entire country that offers pace
groups that use the Galloway Method.
What that means is that the pace group leaders will actually incorporate
walk breaks into their run per the Galloway running formula. How awesome is that!?!?!?
Another big draw about this race
– It takes place in Jacksonville, Florida. You cross the intracoastal heading out and coming back,
affording beautiful views, and then you actually get to run on the beach for 3
miles of the marathon course. I
have a hard time imagining a more inspirational or beautiful backdrop for a
race.
In the past, all the road races
I’ve run, I felt a bit of an outsider using my Gymboss interval timer and
stepping to the side of the race course so I could take my prescribed walk
breaks. The idea of running an
entire marathon surrounded by fellow Galloway runners was just awesome. I figured if I had a chance of
achieving a really solid PR, it would be at this race using the Galloway pacers
to hopefully help pull me along to a sub 5 hour finish.
Well, that was the plan anyway
;-)
I arrived in Jacksonville mid
afternoon on Friday. I wanted to
get to the expo before all the Saturday crowds showed up and I especially
wanted to take advantage of getting to listen to Jeff Galloway during some of
his breakout sessions. It was a
good move. The drive down was an
uneventful and enjoyable 450 mile road trip.
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| Race Swag |
The expo took place in the
Jacksonville Convention Center. A
huge main room packed with tons of vendors. I picked up my bib and goodie packet (including a really
beautiful multicolored backpack) and began perusing all the vendor booths. I took advantage of Jeff’s
mid-afternoon presentation on “Motivation and Mental Toughness”. I approached Jeff after his
presentation to say hello, give him a personal thank you for all that his
coaching and advice has done for me and also so I could mention to him that I
was an Extra Mile Podcast fan.
What a gracious and personable guy Jeff is! No matter how chaotic and swirly the environment, as soon as
you approached him it was like you entered a sea of calm and he completely
focused on you and what you had to say. I also asked him if there were any
chance he might do a book on ultra running or similar topics. He immediately introduced me to Chris
Twigg, the Galloway program director and Chris and I talked for some 10 minutes
about ultra running and the differences and similarities with marathon
training. Of course I got a picture with Jeff while I was there!
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| Me & Jeff Galloway |
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| Joan Benoit Samuelson |
The next day, Saturday, was the
main expo day and the place was packed.
I did a bit of shopping at the expo, caught another presentation by Jeff
Galloway, listened to Bart Yasso and Hal Higdon as well. My main goal for the expo was to hear
Joan Benoit Samuelson’s talk.
Among her many running accomplishments, Joan won gold at the 1984 summer
Olympics in the marathon event.
She was so unassuming and humble up at the podium but you still got the
feel that this was a woman made of steel.
She was sporting a cast or brace on her ankle from a recent skiing
injury, so she wouldn’t be running the marathon with the rest of us and you
could tell she was hugely disappointed.
She shared a bunch of personal stories and fielded some questions from
the audience that she answered with a unique spin. She seemed to focus a lot on the personal commitment aspects
of running.
I met briefly with my DailyMile
friend Kristin from Colorado and her daughter. Kristin was shooting for a BQ at this race and was totally
psyched. I also bumped into Adam
Tinkoff (Zen Runner) while perusing one of the booths and enjoyed getting to
chat with him for a few minutes.
Adam and I made plans to rendezvous in the hotel lobby the next morning
at 5 and catch the shuttle to the race together so we could have some time to
visit with each other.
 |
| On Ramp to enter beach |
I left the expo at around 3:30
as I wanted to head out along a bit of the marathon course to see what was in
store. I headed across the
intracoastal on the bridge I’d be running the very next day and parked at a
local city park where the race course first takes you out onto the beach. It was a gorgeous afternoon. Cool temps, brisk wind, blue
skies. The beach was
deserted. I decided to just walk a
mile or two up the beach along the course and then head back to my car. It was lovely and I imagined in my mind
what the beach might look like the next morning filled with thousands of
runners.
 |
| View down Jacksonville Beach |
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| Jacksonville Pier |
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| Off Ramp |
On the way back to my hotel, I
found a Target and ran in to try and pick up some inexpensive outerwear that I
could use in the morning to keep me warm and then cast off along the side of
the race course once I started to warm up. I scored a red plaid lumberjack hoodie lined with heavy
weight fleece for just $8. I was
going to be sorry to give this one up ;-)
 |
| Me and Zen (Adam Tinkoff) |
Race morning came way
early. Like 3:30 in the morning
early. Temps when I awoke were in
the high 20s. Zen Runner and I would
be meeting in the hotel lobby and walking over to the nearest shuttle stop from
there. A banana, some coffee,
going over my gear for the last time, applying my temporary race pace
tattoo…the time flew by. Zen and I
headed out to the shuttle at 5.
Just as we walked up, a shuttle bus was pulling away. Just a half dozen folks were left in the
parking lot, so we joined the line.
Little did we know that the wait would be long, cold and rather
stressful. By 5:30, we were really
starting to get a bit concerned that perhaps they had forgotten us. By that time, there were well over a
hundred runners lined up behind us, huddled up in coats and blankets in the
dark. Finally, at 5:37, a bus
pulled up and we crammed in as many runners as we could. People were sitting on one another’s
laps, standing in the aisles, cramming in wherever they could.
We arrived at the runners
village in the dark. They had
plenty of lighting available, but I still felt a little disoriented trying to
figure out where I was supposed to go.
I’m so glad we had a little bit of time before the schedule 6:30
start. Portajohn visits, runners
bag check, finding the appropriate starting corral for my predicted finish time
and I was all set. Thousands of
runners were grouped in the starting corrals. I wasn’t exactly with the 5:00 pace group, but at least I
could see their banner up ahead.
Officials announced the race would be delayed and there was a general
groan from the crowd. No surprise
there though as I think our shuttle bus woes were just the tip of the iceberg.
 |
| Runners gathering in their start corrals in the dark |
We were packed pretty closely
and moving along at a shuffle. I
would say I was roughly 2/3 of the way back in the crowd. Lots of elbow rubbing and jostling, but
everybody was in a good mood and just glad to be moving at last in the cold
morning temps. As we began the turn
onto the highway that would take us over the intracoastal, I was able to catch
the 5:00 pace group and hang with them.
As we crossed the waterway, the sun was making it’s first appearance on
the horizon and the skies were illuminated in a magical glow of oranges and
pinks.
The pace group was great to hang
with those first few miles. They
used a 2:1 run:walk ratio and announced each change over between running and
walking by raising their arm. I
would say that our pace group numbered roughly 20-25 people at this point. I had no problem keeping up with them
as we made our way over the first few miles. As always, those first few walk breaks always feel
unnecessary, but I knew that they were putting endurance in the bank for the
later miles.
By mile 2, I was feeling all
warmed up and was able to cast aside the heavy fleece coat. Temps were still right at freezing, but
with gloves, hat , running tights , arm warmers and wind breaker, I was doing
fine. I pulled ahead of the pace
group at this point, trying to put just a few minutes to my credit so that I
could take advantage of a potty break at some point in the near future. As we turned onto the beach, I looked
to my left to see miles of runners strung out along the hard packed sand for as
far as the eye could see. It was a
pretty awesome sight. The wind was
pretty brisk out there on the exposed beach, but with the sound of crashing
waves to my right, beautiful clear blue skies and the warmth of the early sun’s
rays touching our skin, it was all good.
Two miles up the beach, the half
marathoners make their turn for home while the full marathoners head under the
Jacksonville Pier and continue on up the beach for another mile. At the turnoff for the full marathon
course, we climbed up over the sand dunes one last time and hit hard pavement
again. At this point, I made my
first pit stop. I was a few
minutes ahead of the 5:00 pace group, so I knew I had some time. As I exited the portalet, I was
relieved to see the 5:00 pace group just making their way by. I fell in line with them and resumed my
2:1 ratios.
It was about now that I got my
first inkling that things weren’t exactly right for me. I was starting to feel a little queasy
and had a bit of an uneasiness in my gut.
I had been conservatively sipping on my nutrition flask . It was a slurry of Hammer Perpetuem
powdered drink and Hammer Gels. A
tried and true concoction that I’d used on all my long training runs without
issue. Unfortunately, something
was going amiss today and my gut was starting to make itself known. I hung with the pace group until around
the 8 mile mark and then I had to make another pit stop. I wasn’t too concerned yet as I knew I
could catch them again, but that second stop was only the beginning of a long
line of pit stops for me.
I was able to keep running at my
planned race pace, but literally every mile or two, I was scrambling to find
another portajohn. Lower GI upset
is no fun at any time, but on a 26.2 mile run, it can be disastrous. My planned race, that I had worked so
hard for and that had started so well, was falling by the wayside. Mentally, I was disappointed for sure,
but I never even contemplated giving up.
The race was not going anything like I had planned. I was hopelessly behind the 5 hr pace
group that I had traveled hundreds of miles to be a part of. I wasn’t able to fall in with any other
runners for companionship because every mile or two, I had to make a pit
stop.
The crowd support was
awesome though and they invariably kept me smiling with their cheers and
decorations, signs and antics. I
settled in within myself to just do the best I could.
By mile 18, my body was really
starting to flag. At this point, I
decided to cut myself back to a 1 minute run:1 minute walk ratio just to try
and regroup. I started taking some
additional food from the aid stations (orange slices were my favorite) and
tried to regain some energy and strength.
This strategy seemed to serve me well and by mile 21, I was back on
track with my original 2:1 ratios and feeling stronger.  | |
| Race Pace Tattoo |
Earlier this morning, I had
applied a temporary race tattoo on my left forearm that had given me the mile
splits for my original finish time goal of 5:00. Looking at these splits and comparing it to my present
location, it looked like even with all my pit stops (a total of 7 of them!), if
I pushed it these last few miles, I had a good chance of coming in right at
5:15. Still a fabulous achievement
for me as my previous marathon time had been a 5:52.
At mile 22 we turn back onto Hwy
202 to cross the intracoastal and bring it on to the home stretch. I was really focusing on my time at
this point and pushing myself to hit those mile marker points to keep me on
track for a 5:15. The 5:15 pace
group was still behind me (I couldn’t even see them yet) and I wanted to keep
it that way.
The bridge over the intracoastal
is the only “hill” along the entire course. You cross it on the way out at mile 1 and on the way back at
mile 25. The bridge is a big
gathering point for spectators.
There were large groups of them lining the bridge holding signs,
cheering us on and helping us make that one last push. Hitting the 25 mile mark, my watch was
telling me that I still had to keep pushing myself if I wanted to make the 5:15
mark. I managed to give it one
last push up and over the crest of the bridge and enjoyed the feeling of relief
to see the downhill slope ahead of me.
The last mile flew by for me as
I ran down the last of Hwy 202, took the curvy off ramp and headed on in for
the home stretch. As soon as you
leave the off ramp, you can hear and see the finish line up ahead. It’s a straight half mile shot down the
finish line shoot and I ran it with all I had left. The final hundred yards are lined with bleachers and
cheering crowds and was quite a welcome sight. As I approached the finish line, the emotions just welled up
inside of me for all that I had endured to get there and I was overcome with
tears. Tears of relief and
exhaustion and emotions I couldn’t fully describe. It had been one heck of a race. Although things hadn’t gone as planned, I had completed the
race, endured some serious discomfort, and improved my previous marathon time
by over 38 minutes! My final race
chip time: 5:13:44.
Postscript: Looking back at my
experience, I came away with a few thoughts and observations. I had traveled
450+ miles across several states so that I could run with a specific Galloway
pace group and rely on them to help carry me to a 5 hour finish. Not even 1/3 of the way into the race,
that plan completely fell apart and the remainder of the race, I had to rely on
myself and my own resolve to carry me through. Yes, it would have been fabulous to hang with that pace
group the entire way and achieve a sub 5 hour marathon, but perhaps the way
things turned out was even better.
I really had to dig deep to finish this race. My stomach issues were completely unexpected and could have
proved disastrous. Despite it all,
I toughed it out and achieved a very satisfying finish. My Garmin has a neat feature that tells
me not only my time, pace, splits, elevation, etc, but it also tells me what my
“moving time” was. i.e. the time I
actually spent running and not in a portajohn or waiting in line for a
portajohn. If I look at my “moving
time” for this race, it was a 4:51 race!
Basically, each of my 7 portajohn pitstops cost me roughly 3 minutes or
more.
I am confident that I will hit a
sub 5 hour marathon finish in my not too distant future ;-)
WARNING: Boring technical stuff follows. Only real geek runners need proceed, and even they must use caution.
WARNING: Boring technical stuff follows. Only real geek runners need proceed, and even they must use caution.
Nutrition plan:
Pre-race dinner: tortilla chips, tortilla stuffers on
whole wheat tortillas with some salsa and sour cream. I also indulged in 1 blueberry beer.
Race morning breakfast was a
banana and some coffee, maybe 6 oz water upon waking.
Race nutrition – about 1K
calories of a Perpetuem/Hammer Gel slurry mixed up in my 20 oz handheld and
topped off with 5 electorlyte capsules that I threw in the bottle the night
before to try and make them dissolve.
I mixed the gel, water and electrolyte caps the night before and stored
in the fridge. Morning of the race
I added in the Perpetuem powder and topped it off with a bit more water.
Gear:
Asics 3020 Gel, size 10.5
Injinji toe socks
Asics tights
New I LOVE 26.2 bamboo t-shirt
Asics arm warmers
Windbreaker
Fleece ponytail hat
Bandana
Nathan Handheld 20 oz
Spibelt to hold my iPhone for Endomondo tracking.
Red plaid lumberjack fleece hoodie!
Red plaid lumberjack fleece hoodie!
Post race nutrition:
within first 30 min - Banana, water,
within 1 hour - hot chicken noodle soup, more water,
within 2 hours of finish - 2 beers, Recovery bar, more water
Total expenses – roughly $500
$130 for race registration
$170 for 3 nights at the hotel
$200 for gas
I ate all my meals in my hotel room (Homestead Suites) as I
had a kitchenette for food preparations. |
| My Mile Splits (7 "blips" for potty breaks!) |
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