Oct 7, 2008
Race report.
The Twin Cities Marathon may be the end of the seaon for many, but
for me, it was the kick-off to 2009. After Steelhead, I
kicked into gear, and started my training for Ironman 70.3 New
Orleans. My plan is to stay in shape and work on my
weaknesses. I also really want to take my running to the next
level. I thought Twin Cities would be a great place to
start. I was also looking forward to the first marathon with
my "proven" nutrition strategy.
I was planning to drive to Minneapolis the Friday before the race,
but got delayed in Madison. My wife had been on travel, so I
hated to leave right when she got back. I stayed in Madison
Friday night and left at 4:30am so I could meet my teammates Rob
and Michelle at Hell's Kitchen by 9:30. I made good time, and
was only a few minutes late. We met Scott from BMC, and had a
great discussion about the 2009 season. After breakfast
(lasted until almost noon), I picked up my race packet and ate more
food. I also drank plenty to top off my tank.
The forecast looked OK, but I was prepared for anything. I
put out clothes for scenario 1, scenario 2, and scenario 3!
After a great night of sleep, I woke to rain. Looks like it
will be the scenario 2 outfit that consisted of shorts, Ironman
Wigwam socks (love these), a long sleeve shirt, visor, vest, Garmin
and my nutrition. I was prepared for cold and wet. I
got my wish. As for nutrition, I was wickedly excited to test
my Ironman successful nutrition strategy. The key has been NUUN and
Carbo Pro. As I have said before, whatever works for YOU is
the key. The key is that I just cannot take pills (salt tabs)
and without them I was never getting enough electrolytes. Gatorade
makes me totally sick after about 2 hours, and so I was left with
very little. I used my 1.5 NUUN tabs per bottle and went from 1.5
scoops of Carbo Pro to 1 scoop. I find that on the run, I
take in just a few fewer calories to keep my stomach in check.
In order for me to carry this, and really the only down side, is I
need to carry the mixture in a Camelbak. It holds almost four
full bike bottles. I don't see many runners with them on, but
I love it! After a mile, I forget it is on. During a
marathon, and in training, I can make it to about mile 19 before I
run out. That is a huge benefit as I don't need to stop at
water stops, and my nutrition is in perfect sync. I mix the
bottles to make sure I get my perfect mix, and dump them in the
Camelbak.
After stretching at the Dome (where the Vikings play), I went to
the start line. I somehow made a mistake and was about 10,900
of 11,000 runners. It took me over 5 minutes to cross the
start line. I could see people laughing at my Camelbak, but I was
determined to see if my nutrition strategy was going to work.
In my past 10+ marathons, the last 10k has been miserable at
best. Time to see what happens.
So I start the race just trying to not fall over the people around
me. It took the first mile just to see the street below
me. My first mile was 9:40. Nice! Anyway, I was
really only trying to run sub 4 for the day, and it was early in my
season. I watched the Garmin and knew that I could certainly
run very easy and make 8:35 pace until mile 20. It was 20-26.2 I
was not sure about this early in the year. Mile 2-8 were
perfect. I was feeling like a nice jog in the park, only is
was more like a jog in the pool as the rain was coming down
hard. I had predetermined I would walk for 3 minutes at mile
8. It was early in the race, but had done it by accident in
training, and it felt great. All my miles from 2 - 8 where
about 8:15. Mile 9 was 9:50 with the walking. I was
back to running and felt incredible. I had a 7:43,
7:50, 9:01 and the rest at about 8:15 until mile 18. I had
decided to walk 3 minutes again. I was feeling awesome, but
didn't mind the walk. After that I got back and was preparing
for the melt down. In all my races, it didn't matter how I
felt, it just happened. The WALL! My NUUN and Carbo Pro were
gone. Bummer, but it got me to mile 20 feeling like a million
dollars. NO WALL!
At mile 20, I ran an 8:06. What? Huh? Mile 21 was
an 8:46. Huh? Where's the wall? Mile 22 was a
9:06. I walked for 2 minutes and decided after that I would
give it all I had. I was still feeling perfect. Nothing
hurt. I was smiling and chatting with the crowd. I
thanked as many volunteers as I could and said "Good Morning" to at
least 1000 people. So at mile 23, I felt a tad tired, but I
still felt nothing. I felt a slight cramp from time to time,
but said, not today and kept running. I didn't look at the Garmin,
but the next day I saw I ran 24 = 8:46, 25 = 9:14 and 26 =
9:12. I didn't feel like I slowed at all, but I must
have.
I finished in 3:47. Not too bad for my first run of the new
season. I'm completely convinced that my problem for all
those years was not the work. It was not the training, it was
the nutrition. Plain and simple. I did not get the
proper nutrition. At the end I was well hydrated, felt great,
and never hit much of anything during the race. I cannot say
enough about my NUUN / Carbo Pro combination. I know I have
to carry it, but it got me to mile 20 singing in the rain!
Literally! Please remember that nutrition is so individual,
but for me I finally get the right balance of electrolytes and
calories. I walked out of that race wanting to do another.
That has never happened before! I'm totally excited and
already looking to run at least one marathon in 2009! Now I
know I can do it. I can race and not feel like death at mile
20. Now I know I can get my times down. I can't wait
for 2009!
Stu - a late but very resounding congratulations! It was great to see you last weekend, and I\\\'m glad TCM brought you some fast times. Wish we could have had drier weather for you. Maybe next time!
Nutrition is a big part of training. I am pumped that you got it dialed in.
Hey Stu: Great job. I run with a CamelBak BlowFish pack and hydration system and I don\\\'t notice it either. With inclement weather it\\\'s great because you can keep a jacket or arm warmers in there and just take it out when you need it.
Nice Job! I\\\'m glad your nutrition plan worked out for you. Don\\\'t get too comfortable, though!
NICE JOB STU!! Way to maintain your pace and completely miss the wall.
Way to go!!
Way to get it figured out, man. Some people never do! Great race and great report (as always)... BQ next time??? ;)
Good to hear from you.
Congrats Stu! You totally give me incentive to play with my running nutrition to find an optimal mix for me. Reading about the impact solid nutrition had on your race is so revealing. Great season opener and I think you are on your way to rock New Orleans...
Hi Simply Stu,
Great race report...ppl laugh b/c ppl don\\\'t know. I am glad to hear how Nunn and carbo Pro works well for you. I was looking at Nunn this season as I am trainign for a marathon and a number of my long runs, I do not take anything (no calories but needed the electrolytes).
I am right now tapering for my marathon (oct 19th). Your race report give me a confidence that it is better to slow down a bit (even walk) and finish strong in the end :)
Stu! Awesome race! I thought you were done with this blog thing....(scratching head). I\\\'m glad you had a really good day!
You are def. on your way to not buying any postage. :-)