Ran the Friendly Massey Marathon July 17th
A small marathon, only about 56 running it, with another 90 doing the half and 70 doing the 10k.
It’s a two loop course for the marathon.
They start the races at 6am to avoid the worst of the heat, but this year we still got hit by some. Starting temp was 65F and it got to a feels like of 90 by the time I was done (it was hitting 100 for some of the later finishers). Fortunately there was also some breeze and a fair bit of shade on the back half of the loop.
I ran this race last year in a time of 4:11, the day after running a 56k trail race. No long trail race this year as I had to pick up DD at the airport in the afternoon. I thought of doing another shorter trail race, but it sold out before I could register, so I was going to volunteer for it instead. Before I could leave, DD called and informed me that she would be arriving 2.5hrs early. Okay so much for volunteering.
So Saturday was spent driving to the city and picking up DD. Timed it perfectly and arrived at the airport as her plane was landing. 40 minutes later we’re heading out of the city. Since we’re so far ahead of schedule, I decide we should stop on the way home and visit my dad. Last week he had a colonoscopy and was given a clean bill of health in that department after successfully undergoing treatment. But they discovered an irregular heartbeat and put him on a pacemaker. He plans on going back to work on Friday.
The visit ended up being longer than planned, so a little later getting home than planned. Had dinner, wieners and beans, for my pre-race meal. Finished getting my gear ready and hit the road much later than planned. Arrived at the race site at 11:40pm. Decided I was too tired to set up my tent and ended up with a fitful sleep in my car. Massey is a very small town, with two small motels, that are sold out well before race day.
Up at 4:30 and fired up the camp stove for coffee and oatmeal.
Finished getting ready and met up with some of my group, who had come up much earlier the day before.
Also met up with a couple of Marathon Maniacs at the start area.
Race starts off just after 6 and shortly we’re running along the main highway. The only road they close, is this highway, during the start of the first loop. All the other roads are open to traffic, as well as the highway during the second loop. Fortunately not a lot of traffic on the other roads and a good size shoulder on the highway, which is good since we’re running with our backs to traffic.
No spectator support on the course, except at the start finish area, but lots of enthusiastic volunteers at the aid stations. Since there are two out and back loops on the main part of the course, you’re hitting an aid station approx every 2k.
With the minimal traffic we’re able to use all the road and avoid the worst of the camber as well as take advantage of the shade.
For the first 28k, I was only taking water at every other aid station. After 28k I was alternating water and Gatorade at every station. As well, I took gels at 9, 17, 24, 30 and 36k.
Legs were not feeling it today, but I still went through the half in approx the same time as last year. In the second half, I wasn’t passed by anyone, while I was continuously passing others. Still with the heat and rolling hills I faded more than I liked and finished in 4:15.
Not the results I was hoping for, with not having run a race the day before, but I’m happy with the fact that I wasn’t passed, but passed quite a few in the second half.
My friends from my group finished just about 15-20 minutes ahead of me. I headed to my car and grabbed some of my recovery drinks and made it back to the finish area to cheer in the one maniac. After that I joined the guys from my group and enjoyed the pancake breakfast provided.
I headed back to the finish area after that to wait for the last maniac to finish. My group and the other maniac headed out in the meantime. The last maniac finally finished as they were tearing down the finish area and was the last to receive a chip time (although it’s not showing on the official results) There were still two runners out on the course, with an estimated finish of the last being still an hour away (they were going to get gun time results and the timing company would adjust after). I would have liked to stay until all runners were finished, but it was already past noon and I had a 4.5-5 hour drive ahead of me.. Made it home in exactly 5 hours, with two stretch, eat/fuel stops. Only running into the usual cottage traffic backup with 2k to go before I got home.
A little nap after and some dinner and looking forward to the next race.
I think I have to add some speed work back into my training, since I have a little break before the next race, since the bulk of my training has been long/slow. I also need to run earlier in the evening to get more heat acclimatization, instead of running as the sun goes down and it cools.
