Icebreaker Indoor Marathon

Overall I give this event two thumbs up! For whatever reason, I really enjoy running in circles on a track. Maybe all the treadmill training has numbed my senses.  Maybe the lack of trails in Chicago has skewed my perception of enjoyable running.  Or maybe the fact I consider myself very much a rhythm-runner is best served by the monotony and predictability of a track. 

This wasn't a true race. The plan was to treat the first 20 as a moderately hard training run, and then hopefully have something left in the tank to close hard.  Truth be told, I’ve never done that in a marathon.  Even the times I've PR’d, I've hung on for dear life in the closing 10k.  My coach and I are trying to change that.   This event was part of that plan.  

The track, Petit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, is .275 miles per lap.  That makes nailing down exact pace a little tricky.  I decided to take my split every 4 laps, which is 1.1 miles. Here are the first 19 splits, with the corresponding pace in parenthesis: 

1. 7:26 (6:45)
2. 7:15 (6:35)
3. 7:08 (6:29)
4. 7:12 (6:33)
5. 7:16 (6:36)
6. 7:12 (6:33)
7. 7:17 (6:36)
8. 7:13 (6:33)
9. 8:21 (7:35, bathroom stop)
10. 6:51 (6:14)
11. 7:33 (6:52, quick shoe change, shouldn't have worn flats)
12. 6:59 (6:21)
13. 7:11 (6:32)
14. 7:13 (6:34)
15. 7:18 (6:38)
16. 7:15 (6:35)
17. 7:15 (6:35)
18. 7:18 (6:38)
19. 7:14 (6:34)

So after 19, I was at 20.9 miles, with 19 laps to go. I felt fine, and was confident that I could maintain the 6:30-6:40 pace and finish comfortably. And for a few laps, that’s what I was going to do. I was contemplating wussing out of the “finish hard” part of the plan.

Then a fellow runner told me that the leader was bonking. Hard, he said.  The leader was 5 laps up on me (2nd place had 2 laps), and like I said, my goal wasn’t necessarily to win.  But, the plan was to finish the last 10k hard.  That comment was all I needed to throw caution to the wind and 2 laps into split 20, I starting hammering. 

20. 6:55 (6:17)
21. 6:31 (5:55)
22. 6:32 (5:56)
23. 6:24 (5:49)
24. 5:34 (3 laps, .825, 6:45) – 2:51:25 finish

I gotta say --- It was FUN! After a few laps, the crowd and other runners noticed I had dropped the pace and after I lapped the leader twice, starting screaming for me to chase him down.  He was in bad shape – trust me, I know what the “marathon shuffle” feels like.  Ultimately, his lead was too big for me to run down (and 2nd place sped up after I passed him once), and I had 2 laps left when he finished.  After he broke the tape, I backed off and cruised my last 2 laps as a cool-down of sorts. In retrospect, maybe I should have dropped the pace a few miles earlier.

Regardless, I accomplished exactly what I wanted: Finish the last 10k of a marathon feeling strong.  I put in 15 laps at sub-6:00 pace and felt good doing so. As I now start 12 weeks of marathon specific training, I’m as confident as ever that my base is there for a PR in Boston.

Way to go, Dave. Looks like a good way to usher in the Boston cycle. Crazy amount of laps.

Nicely done, Dave! It must have felt fantastic to be able to go to the well so effectively in that last 10K. The crowd support sounds great, too.

Good report and race, Dave!  So at Boston, will you spring into your mind the idea that some person way in front of you has imploded and then you kick it in gear for a fast finish?

And yeah, I'd say you're ready for the next 12 weeks, too.  Good luck.

Woohoo!  Congrats on an excellent run and on the 3rd place!!!!  Nicely done!

There was an indoor marathon in Ada, OH yesterday and I wish that I had known about it earlier as I would have loved to run at least the half.  I hate the treadmill, but I have never minded running around in circles even if it is for 3 hrs!

Great job on the training marathon!  I wouldn't have pegged you as someone doing the indoor track event but after what you mentioned about the treadmill...why not!  At least this has supporters and might be a bit more distracting than the TM.  Looking forward to your Boston report.

There are several of these indoor marathons.  Scott Kalina enjoyed his in Madison years ago.

That is AWESOME, buddy!  I didn't even realize you were doing that this weekend.  Way to go.  All signs point to you coming off a huge base building block with a great engine in place.   Negative splitting those last miles in a 26.2 run?   Not something either of us have any prior experience with so I'll just have to take your word for it that it felt great and made the race FUN.

cool race.  nice job Dave.  Maybe that in control first 20 is a good idea.

Nice! I have been curious about the indoor marathon. I don't know that I could do it without going insane, lol! Sounds like you are on good track with your training plans!

Haha

Great job, I just hope you are recovering a bit from this run before doing too much in the first week of this program.

nice job! I like running in circles too - sounds like you may like a timed race at a track. like a 6 or 8 hr if you ever want to try going beyond marathon distance.

Nice job Mr. Strubbe, think if you don't have a bathroom stop and a shoe change.

Oh by the way Kristina and I have been getting a lot of use out the Mill! 

Awesome run, Dave!  That does sound like a blast to finish that way and having a true kick at the end of a marathon would be a great skill to have.  I've never even heard of a marathon like that, but I would totally do it!

Suh-WEET!   

Awesome Dave, you are a machine, great run !!!

Awesome!