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Steamtown Marathon 2011 Race Report

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Alex Kubacki
mul21
Chris M
Diego
Michele "1L" Keane
Seth Harrison
Michael Enright
John Kilpatrick
Stephanie
Jack_Scaff
Jerry
Nick Morris
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Post  Nick Morris Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:24 am

Steamtown Marathon Race Report

Northeastern Pennsylvania in fall is supposed to be cool right??

Race morning, 10/9, I was up and eating my prerace nutrition by 4am.
Steam town is a point to point marathon, so I had to be to the finish
line early to catch a bus ride up to the start line. I got to the buses
at 5:30 and took the 45 minute ride up to Forest City and the start
line. once we got there, we were greeted by a bunch of kids at the
Forest City High School. We were able to keep warm, stretch, and what
not in the school's two gyms. I hit up the porta johns a couple of
times and before I knew it, it was time to get ready to run, as 8am was
approaching fast. I did some stretching and warm ups, then headed to
the start line. The race gets started by the firing of an old civil war
cannon and let me tell you this, it is loud!. I plugged my ears as
they counted down and BOOM the cannon went off and the race began.

The first 8-10 miles of the race are downhill, so my strategy was to
take it easy through this part to safe my quads. I got off to a clean
start and before I knew it the first few miles clicked away. The race
ventured down through the valley and I was cruising along at an easy
7:00 minute pace. Miles 4, 5, 6, 7, they all passed by with relative
ease. I made it to mile 8, which was the first spot that I was going to
see my family. I spotted my mother, ran over and gave her a high five,
and continued on my way. Miles 9, 10, 11, 12 all flew by and I was
still holding an easy 7:00 minute pace.

At the halfway point, the course started to flatten out, but I was still
on pace to hit my goal. By mile 14, I hit the first portion of the
rails to trails sections. The trail was a nice little change up from
the asphalt that I had been pounding and it was also a relief from the
sun that had been pouring down on us, as it was starting to get warm.
The trails continued on for a couple of miles to where I saw my family
for the second time.

After mile 17 the trails took a break for a mile and a half and it was
back into the sun. I was still holding a 7 minute pace until I hit the
trails again at mile 19. The last trail portion only last a mile, but
my pace slowed to the 7:15 range and I knew that I was going to have my
work cut out for me the rest of the way. The trails ended just short of
20 and my I was struggling to hold pace. That is when the heat started
getting to me. I noticed on one of the bank signs (not sure what town)
that the temperature was 68. I now knew that the last t10k was going
to be tough.

So, 6.2 miles to go, mostly uphill, and the temperatures rising fast. I
continued on 21, 22, 23, with each mile my pace slowed. By mile 24, I
was fighting to hold an 8:30 pace. My over pace was steadily rising and
I knew that my goal was in jeopardy. As I continued on, the gas tank
was starting to empty. It was warm, I was drenched from sweat, and my
goal was gone, but I continued on up the Electric Street hill. I passed
the St. Joseph's center and headed towards the final hill on N.
Washington. The hill just seemed to keep going and going and going. I
made it to the crest and could see the finish line a little over a
quarter mile away. Thank god it was all down hill from there. I let
gravity do a lot of the work as I made my way toward the finish. I hit
the shoot and crossed the tape. It's over!! And man was it warm out!!
I looked at my garmin and it said 3:13:31...not the time I was shooting
for, but still a substantial PR.

After collecting my medal, I grabbed some carbs and began to refuel. I
made my way to baggage claim and then went and got a massage. The
massage felt great, as my calves and hamstrings were tight. But on a
good note, my quads were not shredded and felt great. I am glad I put
in the hill work during my training...After the massage, I met up with
my family and we took some photos and then head back to the hotel so
that I could take a shower.

My official finishing time was 3:13:30, which is a 26 minute and 10
second PR for me. Although I did not meet the goal time, I still rain a
fairly decent race. Especially considering that it was in the lower
70s when I finished...not the ideal race conditions. I will take this
new PR and the experience that I gained and put it towards my next
training cycle.

I want to thank all of the 365ers for all of your support along this
journey!! I am blessed to be a member of this running community...THANK
YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH!!
Nick Morris
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Post  Jerry Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:50 am

Great race, Nick. You would definitely have done better had the weather been better.
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Post  Jack_Scaff Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:39 am

Freaking amazing PR - well run!
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Post  Stephanie Wed Oct 12, 2011 12:22 pm

A 26 MINUTE 10S PR!!!!!!!??!!!!!! That's is INCREDIBLE!!!! Way to go Nick!!!
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Post  John Kilpatrick Wed Oct 12, 2011 12:41 pm

How do you set an insane 26 minute PR and then claim you ran a "decent" race? Talk about overachievers! I think you did spectacular! All kidding aside, I know you missed your time goal, but you ran a hell of a race and I hope you can savor it. I will miss your blog - you need to pick your next race and start training so you have new posts! I hope to follow in your footsteps one day and stick a marathon sub-3:15. Great job, Nick!

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Post  Michael Enright Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:08 pm

Awesome PR on a warm day!
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Post  Seth Harrison Wed Oct 12, 2011 3:05 pm

Nick, a 26 minute PR is crazy, especially in those conditions. I don't recall what your call was, but you should be thrilled. You had a great day! Congratulations!!!
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Post  Michele "1L" Keane Wed Oct 12, 2011 4:03 pm

Woohoo!!! Great run, Nick.
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Post  Diego Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:58 pm

Well done, Sir Nick. 26 minute PR's don't happen every day. Just wait until the weather cools.
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Post  Chris M Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:37 pm

GREAT JOB, NICK!
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Post  mul21 Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:47 pm

Not much to say other than well done! A fantastic PR in not so great conditions and the uphill at the end sounds brutal!

Stupid KOA......... Steamtown Marathon 2011 Race Report 235134252
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Post  Alex Kubacki Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:42 am

That's a monster PR in not ideal conditions. The right day would have been a BQ. Congrats.
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Post  T Miller Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:13 am

That is CRAZY good to end up with a 26 minute PR on such a warm day. You should be proud of what you've achieved here and carry this momentum into your next one. Congrats on a race well done!
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Post  Dave-O Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:08 pm

To repeat what everyone else said - a 26 minute improvement is a massive improvmenet. That doesn't mean I don't think you have even faster times in your, but in terms of a incremental improvement, it doesn't get much better. Congrats!

Sorry about the Brewers though. Ugh.
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Post  JohnP Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:31 pm

Nick, fantastic race. That's an amazing amount of time to PR. Keep up the good work, I'm sure lots of PRs are still on their way. Really good job getting those last 6.2 completed too with the warmth and the hills. I hope you can get to run a marathon in the 40s next. Congrats.
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Post  Matt W Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:40 pm



Nice job in earning such a giant PR. That is very impressive in the conditions. There are big things ahead for you. Keep up the good work.
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