Atlanta ING Marathon Race Report

On March 30, 2008 I ran the Atlanta ING Marathon. This was my first marathon and I knew going into it that it would be very difficult. I just didn't know how difficult.


I signed up for the marathon with two other people that I know about 10 weeks out from the start. Looking back, I did two things wrong. I should have alloted a couple more weeks of training and I should have had a less aggressive training program. I was on the same program as another friend, whose base weekly mileage was a lot more than me. Instead of indicating that I had a base of about 15 miles per week (high), I signed up for a program with a base of around 30.


About three weeks prior to the marathon, I started having some pretty bad achilles pain in my left leg. I'm blaming it on trying to run too much without a very good base. Not sure if that's accurate or not, but it makes me feel better. So, from three weeks out, I ran a total of about four miles leading up to the marathon. I was still convinced that I could finish the marathon with a respectable time.


Going into the marathon, I thought I'd be able to finish under 4 hours. Although I love competing in triathlons, running is by far my weak area. I just don't like it as much as the other two disciplines. Following my achilles injury, I was still hopeful that I could finish in around four hours.


I arrived in Atlanta with my friends late Friday night (the race was on Sunday). Just in time to go to the hotel room and try and get some sleep. Saturday, we made it to the Expo. At the expo, looked around for a while and met up with my friend Ryan, who lives in Atlanta. Four of us went to the Georgia Aquarium, which was pretty cool. I've always been infatuated with water and whatever's in the water, so I thought this was great. From there, we went back to the hotel to get ready and grab some pasta. The food was good and I of course had my pre-race Bud Select...carbs + hydration.


We got up early (weather was pretty crappy...was hoping for hot and sunny, but got cold and windy). The start was kind of uneventful, but we were off. I started out probably too fast. Two of the people that I started with were keeping about a 7:30 pace. I kept this pace up for about 3-4 miles, but finally came to my senses and "let" them go ahead of me.


Soon I was running by myself, but with many other people (hopefully that makes sense). I continued to keep a pretty good pace, just ahead of the 3:50.00 pace group for 13 miles. At the halfway point, I crossed in about 1:55.00. I was still feeling pretty good at this point, but that would soon change. Although my achilles was feeling pretty well, every muscle in my lower body would soon cramp.


I was still happy with where I was at through 15 miles and the crowd support was pretty good. Having never been to Atlanta, what better way to take in the scenery than running 26.2 miles? As I started to slow down a little bit, I kept hearing "Let's go Iowa." I decided, and what was a saving grace, to wear a bright yellow Hawkeye shirt. Whenever I started to falter and wonder what in the hell I'd gotten myself into, someone would yell some encouragement...with the exception of the Iowa State Cylcone fan that I met during the race.


It was probably about mile 18 when I hit the notorious "wall." I could start to feel my legs cramp everywhere. I'm not sure if hitting the wall implies being tired and out of breath...but if that's the case, than I never hit the wall. It was just cramp after cramp after cramp. I had baseballs knotted in my hamstrings and golf balls in my calves. Every step I could feel the cramps getting worse. About mile 19 I started walking through the water stations, making sure to take a cup of gatorade and water each. Oh...I forgot to mention the other thing besides the cramps that got to me...HILLS. Very, very long and steep hills. It was almost depressing to finish a hill, than hurt going down the hill only to find another steep, long hill staring me in the face.


Eventually, I had to walk a little bit after the water stations. About mile 20, I made it about halfway to mile 21 when I could barely move my feet. My hamstrings were cramping horribly. I staggered off to the side and stopped to stretch. After a minute or so, I tried to run again. About a quarter mile down, I had to stop and stretch again. Luckily, a good samaritan gave me some BenGay. This stuff saved me. I lubed the legs up pretty well and although I smelled like a medicine cabinet, I was relieved and plugged on.


At this point, the 4:00 pace group had passed me and I seemed to be barely moving. I don't believe I passed anyone for the last four miles, but I kept managing on. Soon I could see the finish line, or at least hear it. I tried to pick up the pace and look good (well as good as possible) for the cameras...and ladies.


About 400 yards to the finish line, there was an alteration. A week earlier, a tornado had swept into downtown Atlanta, causing damage to the original finish line. Therefore, the finish line was moved and we had to "jump" up onto a sidewalk. Although the sidewalk was probably about a foot high, the highest I could possibly jump at that time was 13 inches...and it took everything I had. Of course, I also sprinted a little bit to make sure I was the only one around when I crossed the finish line. I started to raise my arms and pump up the crowd, but then realized that I just couldn't move fast enough so I had to put the arms down to keep going. About seven feet later, and what seemed like an hour, I put my arms up again.


I crossed the finish line at about 4:25. Although I had blown up and did not come anywhere near my goal time, at the moment I crossed the finish line, I didn't care about any of that. All that mattered was that I had trained, dealt with some setbacks, and gave it a great effort. Although I am a fairly fast shorter distance runner, I was incredibly proud of my effort in this race. Did I want to quit. Yes. Did I want to at least stop by one of the pubs on the course for a few minutes and beers. Yes. The bottom line is that I didn't.


I wish I would have written this earlier, instead of about a month later, since I could rehash some of the race in a little more detail. That being said, there are many things about this race that I will never forget. First of all is not that I finished, but that I finished with a couple good friends. Even though one of them smoked me from the start and the other caught me someone in the 10-12 mile range and passed me while making fun of my shoes, the experience was incredible. My friends ran great races and although they would have liked to do a little better, the course was pretty damn hard.


I've been asked whether or not I will do another one. At some point, I'd like to do an Ironman which finishes with a 26.2 mile run. However, I still would like to to another marathon. I know that I can get under 4 hours. I know how to prepare better both physically and mentally. I know to hydrate more during the week instead of just the night before.


There will be more race reports to come and I promise they will be better than this one. I can't really describe the marathon experience for those that have not done one. For those that have, I'm impressed. The marathon threw a bunch of curveballs at me and though I definitely did not hit a home run, I hung tough and am proud of myself.


I will close with perhaps the most important part one has to deal with when completing a marathon. If you have a few hurricanes and Jack & Cokes, they will affect you a heck of a lot more after you've burned roughly 8 billion calories a few hours earlier. Also, be prepared to have people give you some weird looks the next few days when you try to walk around. I think that this link is hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-hCuYjvw2I


I'd like to thank the following people. Christina for kicking my butt and the course's butt. Ben for kicking my butt and making fun of my shoes. The guy that gave me his BenGay. The lady that asked me if I was ok while I was trying to walk back to the hotel. Southwest Airlines for their warm chocolate chip cookies, the ING Georgia Marathon finish line video for capturing my laughable arm raise finish and whoever drank the 9 captain and cokes on my bar tab...impressive (no it was not me).