Missoula Meltdown

I ran Missoula today with high hopes for a big PR. I had a total meltdown instead. Below is a copy and paste of my report that I posted on Facebook (sorry for the references that people might not get because of that, but you will get the gist of things). I'll try to post more details and better analysis here when I get home. I did the Hansons program and felt it helped me tremendously. I also really don't think I can blame the 16 mile cap in it. I simply don't know what exactly went wrong. But things did go terribly wrong.


Sad race report: This was a huge disappointment for me. I'm not sure what went wrong. I trained hard and felt confident at the start. I started out at my fast end, but it felt OK. I don't think I went out too fast, but I did decide to slow a bit before the hill. The large hill in the middle bonked me. I walked it and couldn't really recover. But I don't think it should have bonked me that bad. The wheels just totally came off. I knew I had lost my goal by mile 15. Maybe that 16 mile cap isn't for me after all? But I also bonked well before 16. Regardless, next time I am adding the 20s back in. At mile 16 I saw Ken, Jennifer, and Dean and burst into tears. I stopped and cried a bit then started running and realized I could still PR even if I just ran a 10:30 pace or so. I aimed for that, but a mile later my feet blew up with blisters. So even if I had stayed on pace, there would have been a problem. I started the death march at mile 17 or even earlier. Around 19 I stopped to add bandaids and thought I would have drop out because the pain was so bad. But I hobbled on. Death marching sucks, it REALLY 

SUCKS! People cheer for you and it makes you feel bad. I put on a good face and thanked them all for the support though. At mile 23 or so the 5 hour pace group caught up to me and asked me if I was OK since I was limping badly. I decided to make an attempt at running with them and found if I held my foot a certain way, it was possible. I then went in front of them at 24, put on the music and ran it in singing with the songs to distract me. I'm sure I looked ridiculous. When I hit the bridge, I turned off the music, sped up and tried to look strong. Thought about visiting medical but went for a beer instead. Very shaky for hours after, I think I over hydrated at the end during my death march. Feeling better now but my feet are killing me and I am a mix of sad and angry. I need retribution, but don't know if I can gear up for it by Naperville. I might look for a fast Dec. race and run Naperville for fun with Janine Farrell as planned. Anyway, goal was 4:10. I finished just under 5:00. I didn't bother to find out my final time. This one will take me a bit to get over, but I'm trying to stay positive and look toward my next attempt at 4:10 or better.

That's a tough report to read, Carleen, I know you were really hoping/expecting a good PR. I've done those death marches and they are no fun at all. Post your mile splits if you can. Was the weather fairly cool? I think going out too fast, and warmer or humid weather lead to performances you mention. Sorry, but I like your attitude of wanting redemption.

So sorry to read this, Carleen.  I know that you know, but we have all been there -yes, we have.  I faded so bad in Boston once, that I walked nearly 10 miles.  Who know, but sometimes, it just isn't our day.  Don't 2nd guess the only "16" miles yet, do a thorough analysis of all the factors.  And well, I feel for you -really, I do.

hmmmmm......you already know that no matter how hard, smart and consistent we train there are race days that are handed to us that are just plain crap!  No way to get around it, just a suffer fest!  You had one of those and I'm so sorry to read about it.  Lick your wounds and find another marathon for your redemption.  You certainly deserve a race day that will be as telling to you as the training you put in.

Death marches do suck, I can say from personal experience, but be pleased that you finished, as a DNF feels pretty lousy.

I don't know about blaming the 16 mile cap, but I can say that I've run a race twice with a big hill in the middle (Vermont City, in Burlington), and both times I was never the same after the hill, even after managing it very carefully. I wonder if that was what undid you? I run some hilly courses, but I would swear by the flat ones...

Live, learn and keep it in perspective!

Ill post my splits when I get home from Montana. The weather was perfect. I think I went out too fast for a race with a monster hill in the middle, so that the hill just did me in. I have run 3 now with a big hill in the middle and in all three I did poorly after the hill. I thought I was ready or this one, but I think I seriously misjudged how long and steep it really was.  I also trashed my quads running down it. I can barely walk today! Ouch! I'm registered for the Naperville Marathon November 10. I'm going to to check that it is free of large hills and if so will try again there. I am afraid of hills now, lol!

I'm so sorry that your race went so poorly, Carleen. Those sorts of outings can be heartbreaking, and death marches are so hard to endure.

But, in spite of all that, remember this: You didn't give up. You showed strength of spirit and a determination that was worthy of more cheering and applause than any of those who flitted by with effortless grace. Speed is nice, but grit matters more.

Congratulations on getting it done. It hurts now, inside and out, but it'll get better.

Carleen, who here hasn't know the death march at some point. I loved that the crowds really got behind you. That's why I love everything about marathons. You sucked it up and finished, and that was a great job. You know you'll have better days.
The best decision you made all day was that post race beer! Rest up and put the tough day behind you.

Sorry you had a rough one but you did finish no DNF that's good ! I agree several beers were in order.Hills really zap me too,maybe add some in your next training series but run a flat course . Rest up and go get em next time

Sorry for the disappointing result, Carleen.  Running can be a cruel sport, no doubt. 

I, too, would be interested in your splits, and how they compare to your long runs. My understanding of the Hanson program is that although the distance is capped at 16, the paces are meant to be more aggressive. Were you hitting 4:10 is training fairly regularly?

Oh, man, sounds like a tough day out there.  I think I've had a bunch of reports that are titled "{race city} Meltdown" so I know how tough it is to go through.  And as we all know, a tough day in the marathon is BRUTAL!!  Laugh and cry at the same time about the nutty concept that we do this for fun as a hobby.  We willingly put ourselves out there and through days like that.  Crazy, really.  But you are in good company with that craziness and your attitude is great (beer over medical treatment!) and you are already soft circling a November 26.2  Awesome.   If it wasn't so damn hard to get a payoff, marathoning and marathon training wouldn't have nearly the interest for all of us that it does.  Dust yourself off, analyze what you did well and what you can improve on and take another shot at it.

I'm sorry the day didn't turn out like you had trained for and hoped for, it stinks. But great work toughing it out and finishing. I've been there...but hey your training and fitness gains from that are not for naught, and I am hoping for a great race in Nov. for you.

I'm not home yet, so I don't have my data loaded, but I was running my pace runs rather comfortably at a pace for a 4:05 marathon. Most were really good pace runs despite how tired my legs always were on the Hanson program.  I decided 4:10 was my goal mainly because I knew the hill would knock off a few minutes and there were many turns at the end, making it hard not to run well over over 26.2. I know I hit the first half at about a 4:06 pace from the race splits. I think had the course been flat, that would probably have been OK, but I think it was too fast when there was a big long hill coming up. I should have been more conservative and sped up only after the hill.

Another new factor is that yesterday and today I have felt slightly sick and have been coughing (wet cough). I had slight allergies in Montana and was sniffling before and during the race. I didnt feel like it affected my breathing, but now I wonder if that too was a factor? Although mostly I think I just misjudged the hill and went out too fast for it.

I'm going to be super cautious with my pace at Naperville. Normally I like to let myself be a bit aggressive if feeling good, but I think I need to tone that down at least for the next one!

Thanks also for the support everyone! With the beer over medical, my dad asked me if I would have dropped out if I had passed a brewpub around mile 20. I told him that I might have, lol! Although really I was telling myself the last 6 miles or so that I was totally earning my free beer at the end, so I was pretty fixated on finding my post race beer when I finished!

That really sucks Carleen.  This is a cruel sport - and I'm a newbie.  Is there such a thing as just saying f-it and not looking back that much?  I wonder if sometimes despite good training, there are just plain crappy days.  I remember reading a race where Chris McCormack (triathlete who was huge a few years ago) had an experience similar to yours.  It wasn't bad training, just a rotten day.  I'm no expert and maybe there are some tweaks to be made, but it sounds like you are being pretty hard on yourself - hey, you finished a marathon.  It wasn't your day but that doesn't mean that next time might not be your day!  Just my 2 cents...

I gave myself a good pity party for a day or so, but I'm recovered now.  I just like to analyze things... A lot!

Mile 15 is too early to feel losing the goal. I have been there. For whatever reasons, my guess is you are right about the hill and "alergy", which probably did more damage than you thought. Also, I always believe it is normal that the majority of our marathon attempts fail. I just cheer for my good ones and write off bad ones.

Hope you had some good and more drinks in your pity party.

Here are the ugly stats. I ran all of my pace runs at 9:15-9:20 pace quite well, so I planned to run in the range of 9:15 if it felt good to 9:25 if I needed slower, knowing I should not drop below 9:33 for my goal. 9:15 felt totally fine at the start, with a way too slow feeling that I look for to avoid going too fast, so I went with it. Miles 9-11 are where I decided to slow on purpose to conserve a bit of energy for the hill. I still felt OK then. The hill started noticeably going up somewhere in mile 11 and got steep somewhere in 13. Then there were a few sharp hills after it until 16. After that I was wiped. I tried to run some but couldn't get the energy to run fast enough to still get near my goal, so I figured why kill myself and just walked a bit. Then I tried to run slower a couple of times to see if I could still PR and the blisters stopped me. So really after 16 it was all a lot of walking.  In think mile 22-23 must have been where I stopped and put on band aids based on those split times. I ran from mile 25ish on.

3 days later I am still slightly sick and sniffling. Plus still have a slight cough, so I am really thinking that was a hidden factor now too. Basically a combo of going out too fast for the upcoming hill, not at all prepared for the length hill, and apparently with gunk in my lungs that I was not really aware of!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/343941420

Wow, I have heard so many good things about the race, and in actuality, that is a pretty tough course as it is naturally "uphill" the whole way.  As Jerry said, there are good races and bad races - we celebrate the good, and just write off the bad.  I had a couple of years where every marathon looked like that one, and then it turned around.  Who knows!  Rest up and recover well, Carleen - and try not to over analyze (I know how hard that one is!)

Thanks for sharing.  Tough result.  I still support the Hanson plan.  After reading all the comments here are some observations, but "I am not a coach".

1. Your training was fine
2. Tough course
3. Interesting you slowed down just before the hill - maybe you should have even been a tad slower from the beginning and stayed steady until the hill.  I hate the tendency to slow down, for me it seems to be self perpetuating.  Get slower and slower.
4. Tough and long hill
5. When you mentally lost your goal at mile 15 its tough to continue to fight for a best time.  Most of us just then grind it to the finish.  Tough to stay mentally focused for 11 miles when you've lost some mojo.  Always good to have a 2nd or 3rd backup goal just in case.
6. The blisters just added to the misery - again tough to overcome mentally let alone physically
7. You were probably sicker than you think - you just didn't know it yet

Have a few more beers.  Let the blisters heal.  Let the dust settle.  Stick to the training plan and go smoke Naperville.

One thing I noticed in the Garmin stats that hasn't been mentioned: Elevation.

Your hometown of Shorewood, Ill., is at about 600 feet. The race was held at 3,000 to 3,200 feet. That may not be super high altitude, but it is high enough to have at least some impact on performance - especially when you're pushing the edge. That might have at least contributed to your problems.

Wow, that elevation would be brutal for a marathon - it's constant uphill, so the race gets naturally harder as you get more and more tired, a double whammy. They should have swapped the starting line and the ending line so it would be downhill. A number of marathons do that and people run really fast on them.

Unless you trained for that constant elevation, no training program will prepare you for that type course. And the higher elevation to start has to be some factor as well. Write this off and see if there is a fallback marathon you can try since you're in marathon shape. What about Erie - run it with Chris.

Since this is my list of races to run, would you still recommend it, if I weren't to race it but just run it and have fun without a really ambitious time goal?

I think the hill is the primary issue. Although the course looks to be constantly uphill, if you look at the numbers, the net gain is only about 150 feet over 26.2 miles, if I'm reading it right, which I would not view as significant. But like I said earlier, a poorly placed hill like that one has done me in before (compare the Vermont City elevation chart sometime).

Oh, and your starting elevation, too. As Mark pointed out, that's a big enough change to matter at this distance.