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FLRC Newsletter - October 2004 |
| Another Perspective from Monster | |
What is rambling here the report or the race? You decide (wow, hard decision)
The Monster Marathon, for some time has been one of my favorite races. Decent distance (half-marathon), fun course, and a prolonged chase scene. I think it is the chase that entices me the most. Why else did I fall in love with running fast when I was about halfway to ten years of age? It wasn't standing on home base.
Being a few days short of a nine-minute head start, I instead went out with Chris Muka and someone else to whom I rudely neglected to introduce myself. But I did get to run the race, just about the whole thing, within a half minute of Chris. The first half in front, the second behind, and a few miles with. We had a running conversation when we ran together.
I often get carried away in a race, in the chase. I really meant to go out slower going up that hill. That big hill. Mostly, I did go rather easy, but I think I should/could have done that—go slow—more consistently for those 13 minutes.
However, the better explanation for my having tired sooner and more than I was expecting was being less fit than I thought I was and/or being not as well rested. I had my first speed workout on Tuesday, and instead of resting on Friday and Saturday, ran sorta hard for 85 minutes on Friday and then an hour on Saturday.
That I did run slower just about every part of the course was readily apparent to me. I think I took it all in stride pretty well. Actually, it felt good to pick up my pace the last 20 minutes or so. I went with the flow.
Talking about flow, I thought the course would be dryer than it was. Mostly it was dry, but there were numerous patches of mud. Some deep, most but not all small, discrete patches—and they were all slick. I found myself slipping a lot, and was cautious more than in the past due to being older, wiser(?), and weaker. Also, there were more branches or logs across the path than in, say, 1998. But here I quibble.
Back to the chase: I passed most I was to pass in the first 20 minutes, and most of the rest by the turnaround. The thrill is no longer there like it used to be. I also was first passed 15 minutes in (I think that was first, but maybe I had already been passed once, I forget)—and then by others, including Tom M. and buddy around two-thirds of the way to turnaround. I said something to them, but they were going faster than the speed of sound. The group of three (others) that I finished with came up to me in the second half, and seemed to recede and pass again several times. Shoe tying, water drinking, and maybe for other reasons, someone or other would take a break. And, obviously, they were no longer racing with the speed that they must have in the first half the race.
Exchanging pleasantries with the full-marathoners was inspiring. I also enjoyed seeing Tom P. and Fred M. near the turnarounds. Fred is running great this year, and it is good to see Tom getting back into running.
I plan to take it easy and go to my next races better rested. Cross-country on Saturday, Ithaca 5&10 Sunday, and Philadelphia the following Sunday. Hopefully, I will be running a little closer to normal, but whether or not there is always next year.
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