Marathon #4 of 7
Overcast and comfortable for the 5:00 a.m. start. Jan and I walked from his house about three blocks to the race site. His wife Irene was doing the official results for the race. I made a point of going to meet Graham, one of the race coordinators. They all knew I was coming, it seemed. My big goal for the day was to finish under the 5 hour cutoff. Next was to finish faster than in Florence on Sunday and keep my streak going of doing each marathon faster.
The marathon had only about 340 people. They wore their license numbers, mostly sewn onto their singlets. In South Africa, everyone is in a club, and they buy a license for the year. So they don't have specific race numbers for any given race. We got little tags that we'd pin to our shirts and turn in at the end so they could post our results. I had to buy a "temporary license" in order to run in SA.
The weather was fairly comfortable, and I went out just a fraction faster than in Florence. I was feeling strong, even though my previous marathon was only 6 days ago. At about 18K, the sun came out for about three kilometers. As I approached the half-way mark, it occurred to me that the way I was feeling, I could run another negative split. It was getting warmer, but I felt good and was still running steady. It was along straight run from 17 to 21K, and at 21K my split was 2:17:20. that would make the half-way mark right about at 2:18, over a minute ahead of Florence.
"OK, Marathon Don, let's see what you've got."
I stayed on it. Kept my pace and didn't spend much time at that aid stations. Every three kilometers another aid station, serving water in little plastic sachets and little glasses of Coke. I carried packets of energy gel with me and used one about every hour. At 25K, I was still a little ahead of pace. Keep pushing. The 27K aid station took me by surprise, I was thinking it would be at 28K. (Divide by 3, Don.) I grabbed a quick coke and a bag of water and kept going. Still not fading.
30K, and still on pace. 33K I got a cookie and a couple jelly babies (think gummy bears) at the aid station. 9K to go and I'm at 3:35:28. No time to goof around. At 38 I was starting to feel fatigued, but turned a corner and thought about what it would feel like to say "Two negative splits in the same week!" The final aid station would be at 39K, but it was a little early. I breezed through it, taking a final drink and setting my sights on the guys in front of me. "Relax your legs and run, Don." 40K. "DON'T SLOW DOWN." I encouraged other runners as I passed them, trying to get someone to pace with me to the end. No takers. Past Jan & Irene's house into the last kilometer. Made the final turn back toward the start line. 42K - 4:33:50. Got it! 195 meters to go as I turned onto the grass to the finish. 4:34:47! YES!
First half - 2:18:00 Second half - 2:16:47. Did it!
Post race, Jan was there a the Harmony club tent. I went over there and had a couple beers with the guys and made some new friends. Before too long, Irene came over and got me. They called me up to the announcing stand, introduced and interviewed me and made a big deal about my record attempt. Pretty neat. Later on they called me up and gave me one of the staff shirts. (The race didn't have a shirt for the runners.)
Oh, did I mention that I was the first American finisher of the race? (Yeah, yeah, the answer to your next question is "one," but the rest of you COULD have entered.)
Lots more to report when I get to New Zealand on Tuesday or so.
4 down. 3 to go.
Overcast and comfortable for the 5:00 a.m. start. Jan and I walked from his house about three blocks to the race site. His wife Irene was doing the official results for the race. I made a point of going to meet Graham, one of the race coordinators. They all knew I was coming, it seemed. My big goal for the day was to finish under the 5 hour cutoff. Next was to finish faster than in Florence on Sunday and keep my streak going of doing each marathon faster.
The marathon had only about 340 people. They wore their license numbers, mostly sewn onto their singlets. In South Africa, everyone is in a club, and they buy a license for the year. So they don't have specific race numbers for any given race. We got little tags that we'd pin to our shirts and turn in at the end so they could post our results. I had to buy a "temporary license" in order to run in SA.
The weather was fairly comfortable, and I went out just a fraction faster than in Florence. I was feeling strong, even though my previous marathon was only 6 days ago. At about 18K, the sun came out for about three kilometers. As I approached the half-way mark, it occurred to me that the way I was feeling, I could run another negative split. It was getting warmer, but I felt good and was still running steady. It was along straight run from 17 to 21K, and at 21K my split was 2:17:20. that would make the half-way mark right about at 2:18, over a minute ahead of Florence.
"OK, Marathon Don, let's see what you've got."
I stayed on it. Kept my pace and didn't spend much time at that aid stations. Every three kilometers another aid station, serving water in little plastic sachets and little glasses of Coke. I carried packets of energy gel with me and used one about every hour. At 25K, I was still a little ahead of pace. Keep pushing. The 27K aid station took me by surprise, I was thinking it would be at 28K. (Divide by 3, Don.) I grabbed a quick coke and a bag of water and kept going. Still not fading.
30K, and still on pace. 33K I got a cookie and a couple jelly babies (think gummy bears) at the aid station. 9K to go and I'm at 3:35:28. No time to goof around. At 38 I was starting to feel fatigued, but turned a corner and thought about what it would feel like to say "Two negative splits in the same week!" The final aid station would be at 39K, but it was a little early. I breezed through it, taking a final drink and setting my sights on the guys in front of me. "Relax your legs and run, Don." 40K. "DON'T SLOW DOWN." I encouraged other runners as I passed them, trying to get someone to pace with me to the end. No takers. Past Jan & Irene's house into the last kilometer. Made the final turn back toward the start line. 42K - 4:33:50. Got it! 195 meters to go as I turned onto the grass to the finish. 4:34:47! YES!
First half - 2:18:00 Second half - 2:16:47. Did it!
Post race, Jan was there a the Harmony club tent. I went over there and had a couple beers with the guys and made some new friends. Before too long, Irene came over and got me. They called me up to the announcing stand, introduced and interviewed me and made a big deal about my record attempt. Pretty neat. Later on they called me up and gave me one of the staff shirts. (The race didn't have a shirt for the runners.)
Oh, did I mention that I was the first American finisher of the race? (Yeah, yeah, the answer to your next question is "one," but the rest of you COULD have entered.)
Lots more to report when I get to New Zealand on Tuesday or so.
4 down. 3 to go.
2 comments:
Don,
Congratulations on another marathon run very, very, well! Good Luck with the Kiwis!
Cheers,
Alan
Hay there Daddyo, glad to see you made it past the halfway mark, was starting to get a little worried after not seeing anything in two days. Love you, be safe, the girls look forward to mommy reading from Grandpa Don's adventure book every day.
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