Sean's Running Blog

Windermere Marathon

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Location:

Snoqualmie,WA,

Member Since:

Feb 24, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

  • 2011 Boston Marathon -- 2:27 (Top 50)
  • 2011 Steilacoom 20k -- 1:04:57 (1st)
  • 2010 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon -- 2:26 (7th) 
  • 2010 Fall City 10k -- 31:06 (1st)
  • 2009 Indy Mini Marathon -- 1:07:53 (7th)
  • 2009 WWU Invitational -- 10000m (30:58)
  • 2009 UW Indoor Meet -- 5000m (14:49)
  • 2008 Orem Turkey Run -4 miler -- 19:55 (1st)
  • 2008 Seafair Torchlight 8k--25:03 (3rd) 
  • 2008 Time to Fly 5k -- 15:35 (1st)
  • 2008 Newport Marathon -- 2:22:47 (1st)
  • Steilacoom 15M--1:18:30 (1st)
  • 2007 Olympic Trials -- 2:30:41 (91st)
  • 2007 St. George --2:18:55 (3rd)

Short-Term Running Goals:

  • Feb 23 -- Ft Steilacoom 15M
  • March 23  – Ft. Steilacoom 20k
  • April 15  – Boston Marathon
  • June 8 – Sound to Narrows 12k
  • June 22  – Grandma’s Half Marathon (USATF Champs.)
  • July 7 – Run of the Mill 5k
  • July 27 – Torchlight 8k
  • September – SJJ Half (maybe)
  • October/November – Fall Marathon (maybe)
  • December – Club XC Nationals

Long-Term Running Goals:

 Stay healthy

Personal:

Ran track my junior and senior years in high school and cross country my senior year. Went to BYU but did not run. Served LDS church mission to San Bernardino, CA. Started running again in April 2005. Marathon debut was St. George in 2005.

I coach the Mount Si High School Track Team (distance)

Been married for almost 17 years. My wife, Mara, and I have four kids ages 16, 14, 13 and 11.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Brooks T5 Lifetime Miles: 34.00
Ravenna Lifetime Miles: 250.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
173.2535.206.000.00214.45
Ravenna #3 Miles: 146.50Brooks Ravenna #2 Miles: 10.00ST4 Miles: 57.95
Weight: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

A pretty successful half marathon today. 983 runners. Not bad for a first year event. Ran a very tired 9 miles. I'm looking forward to sleeping tonight.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 9.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

10 miles in an absolute downpour. And it was only in the upper 40s. Hating the weather

Ravenna #3 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

Well what do you know...10 more miles in more frigid downpours.

Brooks Ravenna #2 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.004.000.0010.00

So three workouts remain before the marathon. Today's was a 3x2k at 5:04-5:06 mile pace which is about 6:22-6:23. 3 mins rest in between. The continued terrible weather combined with several meetings at work necessitated a late afternoon workout which I did at the home track at about 5:45. I got there, started jogging and decided that today was going to be my day off instead of tomorrow. So I got back in my car and was halfway home before I realized that I have no time tomorrow for a workout. So I turned around and ended up doing the workout despite not being too excited about it. I felt pretty sluggish. Fortunately the rain had stopped but the clearing skies and setting sun made things even colder.  

Ended up with 2 6:20s and finished with a 6:19. Pretty happy with the workout.

ST4 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.250.000.000.008.25

8 beautiful miles along the Sammamish River

Ravenna #3 Miles: 8.25
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.255.001.000.0012.25

Finally a warm day. Mid 60s by the time I got to my workout. Ran from my house down the Lake Alice Road. Very steep downhill...not all that fun but beautiful. My son had a baseball game down in Fall City so I decided to do my workout on the new Chief Kanim MS track. THey have had a track for ever but it just got surfaced this year. Workout was a 5+1 with the first 5 at marathon pace (5:30) and the last one in the 5:15 range. Focused on drinking and GUing. Hit or beat all of my times. Felt good, but I question whether or not I can keep that up for 26. .

ST4 Miles: 12.25
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

10 easy mile on a nice day in Redmond. Taper week is always a bit weird.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.004.001.000.009.00

Final workout before the marathon on Saturday. 4+1. After doing some math and looking over the past few months of workouts and comparing those with my fitness at this point last year, I have revised my marathon pace a bit. 5:30s are just too fast I think. I have no empirical data to justify that pace. So I am now shooting for 5:35s which is what I did for the workout today. It felt a bit more comfortable andf a bit more doable over the long haul. Weather looks pretty good for Spokane. Supposedly overcast with a race time temp in the high 40s to low 50s. Hoping to cross the finish before it crosses 60.

ST4 Miles: 9.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

REST DAY

Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

A stunningly beautiful day in Seattle. Perfect for my final six miles before Saturday's marathon.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Race: Windermere Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:32:18, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.5026.200.000.0026.70

**UPDATE** the official time is posted as 2:28:02 so not counting the silly turnaround at the finish.

Where do I start? It was simply a beautiful day. But of course, a beautiful day is not what you want on marathon day. It was 48 degrees at 5am when I woke up but it was probably close to 60 by the start and near 70 by 9:45 or so when I finished. Met up with Michael Bresson who was the clear favorite to win the race. He is a few months older but has had a much more profitable training year than I have had. His plan was to go out in 1:10 and then hang on for dear life.

The race got started 15 minutes late because they had to synch it with the start of the half marathon because they only had one clock at the finish line. Not acceptable. But I would have let it slide if that had been the only hiccup today.

The plan was to run 5:35s shooting for a 2:26.

The start of the race was the only portion of the course that was remotely confusing so since I knew I would be toward the front of the pack, I asked three different volunteers at the star, including one of the lead bikers, which direction the first part of the course took. I got three different answers. I should have seen the writing on the wall. They finally got us started and about 1.25 miles into the race we passed the 2M marker. Ummm…what the freak? I set a world record in the 3M crossing in 12:10. Awesome. I have to say that it was a pretty deflating thing to know that just more than a mile into the race I was no longer running a certified, full-length marathon. I spent much of the race trying to figure out if I should drop out and look for another marathon in the next week or two, but I couldn’t think of one so I plugged along. I thought again about dropping out and thought about maybe the Newport marathon in three weeks, but that would have a really negative impact on my summer race schedule. So I carried on. I think what really kept me going was the desire just to finish the marathon regardless of the actualt distance. I hadn't finished a marathon since Newport in 2008 so I really "needed" to finish this.

Mile 3 – 5:34

Mile 4 – 5:28 (By this point, no one was in sight. It was me, myself and I which is how it stayed until Mile 18 or so when I started catching up to a few of the half marathon walkers. Beautiful, but lonely)

Mile 5 – 5:31

Mile 6 – 5:37

Mile 7 – 5:32

Mile 8 – 5:31

Mile 9 – 5:35

Mile 10 – 5:38 (Somewhat of a guess because they were still putting up mile markers when I got to this point. Seriously)

Mile 11 – 5:36

Mile 12 – 5:41

Mile 13 – 5:45 (Knew I was slowing down but was hoping to hang on to sub 6:00 miles for the rest of the race)

Mile 14 – 5:51

Mile 15 – 5:50

Mile 16 – 5:54

Mile 17 – 6:00

Mile 18 – 5:57

Mile 19 – 5:56

Mile 20 – 6:03 (10k to go and at this point, I was getting pretty upset about the course screw up. All this effort and training to run 25.5 miles.)

Mile 21 – 6:03 (Things are getting pretty crammed with half marathoners. Narrower trail combined with many packs of walkers and slow runners with headphones on made for some frustration)

Mile 22/23 – 12:35

Mile 24 – 6:20

Mile 25 – 6:22

Final ¼ mile to FINISH LINE -- 1:23 (2:28:02) – So about ½ mile before the finish some guy was yelling at me to go to the finish, turn around and run back to him, presumably because he was standing at a place that would make the course the right length. So with hundreds of people, including my family, standing at the finish, I arrive there only to turnaround and try and find where this mystery man was running against a constant stream of half marathoners. Fortunately, I was the second place guy as the winner, Michael Bresson, flagged me down at the "new finish" to tell me I was no done. No clock. No one there to take my time. So my time from the real finish line to the new finish line was in 4:15 for a total time of 2:32:18. I don’t know if this was actually a certified distance. Probably not. My watch said 26.17. So it was closer, but who knows.

Bottom Line: I had a mediocre performance. The course fiasco wasn’t the cause for me falling 6 minutes off my target finish time. It was probably a small mental factor, but it wasn’t six minutes worth. I still continue to struggle in warm marathon conditions. I had cramps from Mile 6 on such that I could get my stomach to accept the amount of fluids my body needed to perform at the desired levels. That is frustrating because I feel like I had the fitness to achieve my time but I simply haven’t figured out how to hydrate in warm weather.

Observation: My marathon PR days are almost certainly behind me. I’m fine with that. At some point, that becomes the case for everyone. It just so happens that at age 37, that time has come for me. No worries. That said, I do feel like I have a 2:25 left in me which is something worth going after.

Observation: Nice course for the most part. Lots of potential but very poorly managed.

Observation: It was nice not having any pressure on me this time around. No Trials to qualify for. No crazy, unrealistic time to shoot for. It makes running a lot more fun.

Observation: The one thing a race director absolutely has to get right – especially for a marathon – is the course. I am a race director. I direct for races a year. Getting the course right is where 90% of my focus is each and every race. It is simply unacceptable to get this wrong. This is especially true for a marathon which people train months for. There are 400 people today who will not be eligible for the Boston Marathon because the race director screwed up the course. The course records are out the window. It’s as if the race didn’t happen because a marathon is 26.2 not 25.5. My so-so performance had more to do with poor hydration than the course screw up. But I feel for those who spent $100 and months of training to qualify for Boston and now can’t. Total bummer. The ironic thing is that their motto is “we don’t bring elite athletes to our marathon. We bring an elite marathon to our athletes.” Ummm…not so much.

I don't know what time they will put me down for...the 2:28 or the 2:32. There wasn't anyone at the end of the "26.2" to take my time, so I guess they will have to go wit the 2:28. What a mess.

So now the recovery begins. A few days of no running and then ramp up for the summer road race season leading up to Club Track Nationals in SFO.

ST4 Miles: 26.70
Weight: 0.00
Comments(8)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

5 easy miles along the Snoqualmie River this evening. Feel pretty good considering.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

6 miles through Marymoor Park during lunch.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.500.000.000.007.50

Classic Seattle spring day. Warm and sunny one minute and then cool and pouring down rain the next. Got caught in one nice downpour. Dried out after though.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 7.50
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.250.000.000.0010.25

Have to measure two courses tomorrow and a baseball game to go to tomorrow so wasn't sure how much time I would have for a run. Longest run since the marathon. Felt pretty good although I don't feel like I am ready to do anything fast.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 10.25
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

12 easy. Yes it rained.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 12.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.250.000.000.0010.25

Shocking...I ran in the rain.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 10.25
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.250.000.000.008.25

Nice run despite the rain

Ravenna #3 Miles: 8.25
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.500.000.000.008.50

Ran at home this afternoon between my son's 1600m run and his 800 meter run. It was his final track meet. He ended with two PRs: (6:27 and 3:03). Not bad for a kid who does zero training.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 8.50
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.000.000.009.50

 

Ravenna #3 Miles: 9.50
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

COmpleted a solid week of running..no speed work just easy runs. I will jump back into speed work next week in preparation for the Seattle RnR Half in four weeks. Another rainy day. I am so over it.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 12.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.000.000.000.0014.00

Ran from Maple Valley up over Tiger Mountain to Snoqualmie. A beautiful run. It was a bit rainy but pretty warm. Could have gone short sleeve. The biggest downside of this run was the traffic and somewhat narrows shoulders. It's a pretty popular highway for truckers and RVs as it connects the south Puget Sound with access to I-90 and the Cascades.

What I liked about the challenge was that it is a dead steady climb for almost three miles. Unlike the Snoqualmie Parkway, there are no breaks and shallow points. It's just a straight up climb of 1,000+ feet in about 2.5 miles. Ran at about 6:15 pace which was in the comfortable range. The worst part was running downhill.

Ravenna #3 Miles: 14.00
Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
173.2535.206.000.00214.45
Ravenna #3 Miles: 146.50Brooks Ravenna #2 Miles: 10.00ST4 Miles: 57.95
Weight: 0.00
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