2008 Dallas White Rock Marathon

Well, another marathon, another crappy weather day for me, and another non BQ run. In fact today was my worst marathon finish ever. We awoke to temps in the mid 60s and high humidity with a huge wind (25MPH sustained, gusts up to 40MPH from the south). We were watching the TV and it said 42 degrees in the corner of the window. I was thinking another miracle, but it wasn't to be. We joined the group of Gazelles in the lobby around 6:45 and headed off to the starting line. I had on my MP3 player of pre-race tunes and was actually unfazed by the weather. The first sign of bad things to come was seeing the big, heavy, metal finish line barriers blown over on our way in. I took off my warm warmup pants, put on some Body Glide and checked my bag. We hit the potties and then got in the starting corral. I had on my potty bag and Gatorade bottle, but didn't add too much to it. The pre race stuff was cool with two fighter jets doing a fly over.

The gun went off and we took off. Rachel, Brian and I were in contact for the first 5 or 6 miles and then Rachel dropped off. I ran with Brian until we hit the lake around mile 10 and he got a bit ahead of me. I was still on 3:30 pace still so no biggie. I could tell I was working too hard even without my heart rate monitor on.

First 10 mile splits -
8:15, 7:56, 7:50, 7:53, 8:06, 8:01, 8:02, 7:41, 7:46, 8:02

I kept plugging away around the west side of the lake, but I was getting tired and started dropping some time. On the bridge on the north side of the lake (mile 12) I got passed by the 3:30 pace group. They passed me like I was standing still which was very disheartening, but I kept going. Once I turned south into the wind I knew it was over for a BQ run, but I kept going. Mile 14 was a bear and as I entered mile 15 I saw Rachel's family along with some cheering Gazelles. I decided to pull over and think briefly about another DNF. I have to say that my Chicago 2007 DNF still bothers me so I decided to wait for Rachel to catch up and see what her plans were. When she came by I jumped back in and decided to finish with her. I didn't want another DNF on my marathon resume and I wanted to be a role model for my girls and not quit. We did a lot of run walk into the wind around the lake which was brutal. The support was really great and we had a good time despite the conditions.

Mile 11-19 splits -
8:15
8:14
8:25
9:21
17:05 (rest break waiting for Rachel) :)
9:53
10:18
12:41
10:37

We finally got off the lake and thought we were out of the wind. The Hooter's water stop was great :) and the men dressed as Dolly Partons were hilarious. The guy with the halter and hairy beer belly was the topper in that area. Once got up the hill and into the last neighborhoods we went right into the wind again which really sucked. I reverted back to my Galloway days with run walk and we were doing some 5/1 and 4/1 to get us to the finish. Once we got onto the finishing straight I think we ran faster, but who knows. I just wanted to be done with the damn thing and get a beer.

Mile 20-26 Splits
12:09, 11:07, 10:33, 11:29, 11:37, 11:15, 10:22

Official Time: 4:18:43/9:52 pace

I crossed the line, got my space blanket, which I didn't need and headed for some water. I was not feeling good at all. I was seeing "snow" and felt like I was going to pass out. I grabbed my bag, and just sat down on my space blanket for a bit to get it together. I felt better, but as soon as I stood up it came back again so I sat back down. I was finally able to get some water and drink my Endurox. That did the trick. I couldn't believe how much salt was on my body. It looked like I went to the beach and rolled in the sand. We found Jay and started walking back to the hotel. My legs didn't feel too bad, but me feet were really sore. I have never spent that much time on my feet and my longest training run this season was in the 3:35 range. I have a new appreciation for those folks that run 4:30 - 5:30 marathons.

Once we got cleaned up Jay and I piled in the truck with Amy and Brian for some post race pizza. We killed off a huge pie. We dropped off Amy at the airport and headed to our hotel in Las Colinas for the Cowboys game. Once we unloaded all of our crap we headed back toward Texas Stadium where we waited awhile to park and then hooked up with my cousin and some of his friends. I had a few beers there and headed into the old stadium. We had a great time at the game.

Overall the weekend was a blast…other than the race. I am very grateful for the all the support I have to pursue this crazy hobby. My family takes the brunt of my training and I love them so much for letting me do this. All my friends and coach Gilbert are awesome. I had a bad day, but live to try again. A lady from Austin, Erin Lahr, lost her life during the race. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.