Two Oceans Race Report

Race day came too early, as it always does. My alarm at 4am was 30 minutes later than Disney, but that's not much of an improvement. How I'll ever get through Dopey in 2015, I have no idea. I crawled out of bed and settled into my pre-race routine: eat Clif bar slowly, sip on Powerade, and kill time until having to get dressed and out the door. The wind howling outside seemed even louder than the past few days, making it all that much more difficult to get ready. I finally stopped stalling and threw on my typical racing stuff: BodyGlide, compression shorts, KT tape, Sport Science tie-dye shirt, lucky socks, Kayanos, Qatar Airways pajamas to keep warm.

The shuttle from the hotel to the start got us there in plenty of time. Even with a few trips to the porta-potties, we still had plenty of time to sit down and relax for a little while. Before too long, though, the South African national anthem started playing and the runners in the half were sent on their way. 30 minutes later, it was our turn. I was amazed at how fast the runners are able to clear the start line. Two Oceans has a very strict 7-hour time limit from gun to gun, and I was afraid that even though I was in the third of six corrals, I'd lose precious minutes just getting across the line. I was on my way within 30-45 seconds, and Holly and Joel, three corrals behind me, only lost two minutes or so. Very efficient. Here's hoping Comrades next year is just as efficient because I think I'm going to need as much of their 12 hours as I can get.

The first few miles of the race are pretty boring. The course runs through town and doesn't look much different than any other big city marathon - shops, apartment buildings, and people from the neighborhoods out watching and cheering. The gale force wind certainly didn't help make this very enjoyable either. I did my best to hide behind larger runners or packs of runners to cut down the resistance as much as I could. The 6-hour buses, as they call their pace groups, were right around me, and I toyed with the idea of joining them and going for a sub-6 medal. Side note: the medals are different colors depending on your finishing time. I think sub-6 is bronze. Anyway, I kept them in sight, ran with them when the wind was strongest, and fell back when I thought I was going too fast.

After eight miles, the course finally became interesting. We left the suburbs and started to see some of the real beauty of the area. The Indian Ocean was to our left, a vast raging stretch of greenish-blue covered in white caps and sea spray. To our right, nothing but towering cliffs and mountains. We followed the road along the coast for five miles or so before heading inland and across to the Atlantic. As we climbed the small hill away from the water, a running centipede passed me. Five guys in the apparatus with three or four others running alongside providing water and fuel.

Side note about the water: the water and Powerade came in small sealed plastic sachets. No cups, no bottles, just little plastic bags. By the end of the race, I thought they were the greatest thing in the world, but it took me a long time to figure out how to bite into them just enough to get fluid out without it spilling all over me.

About sixteen miles in, we started the ascent of Chapman's Peak, Chappies to the locals. Having done next to no hill training in Doha leading up to the race, I knew I was never going to rocket up it, but I told myself I'd at least try to run the whole way. Thanks to my friend Peter, a running buddy in Doha from SA who has run Two Oceans many times before, I knew Chappies would be a long but manageable climb. I even remembered his warning not to get fooled by the false summit a few kilometers from the real one. I ran the whole thing, only stopping a few times to take pictures. This part of the course is where Two Oceans earns its claim as the "World's Most Beautiful Marathon."

 The views were absolutely stunning - the Atlantic spreading out as far as the eye can see, the cliffs of the mountain on both sides interrupted only by the road we were running on, and the other peaks and bays of the coast off in the distance. The low fog and mist gave it an almost sinister look, as if the peak was trying to make sure we knew we had to earn that trip over the top.

As I reached the top of the pass, I felt relieved to be done with the first climb and was looking forward to gaining some strength back on the downhill section. I could not have been more wrong. Coming around the corner at the top, we ran smack into the cold gale that had been absent (behind us?) for the last hour. I have never struggled so much physically and mentally to run downhill in my life. I grew freezing cold as the wind sucked the sweat out of my shirt. Doubts and fears crept in as I seriously began to wonder if I was able to, or even wanted to, complete the last 14 miles. I had plenty of time - I'd only been running for 3.5 hours at this point - but I was struggling to fight both my brain and my growing nausea. As I told Mary in my email to her with my first thoughts after the race,

"My stomach can only handle so much gel before getting nauseous. Came close to puking more than a few times, though that might also have something to do with my mental state at the time. I was thisclose to packing it in, skipping Sugarloaf, and just calling it a year until the fall. I was really in a bad place, but managed to pull myself out and keep going. Guess that bodes well for running Comrades next year. :)"

At the bottom of Chappies is Hout Bay, a really pretty little town right on the beach with hundreds of people all along the course cheering us on. I fell in with a woman from Durban when she said hello to me going through one of the water stops. International runners have a different color bib from other entrants, and they (one on front and one on back) also have your name and number of Two Oceans races completed on them, so it wasn't hard for her to chat me up. That happened quite a lot, actually. Lots of very proud South Africans asking me all race long how I was enjoying the course, the city, and their country.

We ran and walked together until we reached the bottom of Constantia Neck, the second of the two peaks in the race. She was going to keep running and walking, and I, certainly, was not. I knew at this point that I'd be able to finish well under the time limit without running, and I also knew this was not nearly as nice a climb as Chappies. It's much shorter, steeper, and higher, all the more reason to join nearly everyone else for a power walk. As I crossed the summit, I almost let out a sigh of relief until I remembered Peter's caution about the three little switchbacks that come after the top. On the downhill sections, though, it was all about falling forward and letting gravity do the work, just like my friend David in Houston taught me.

The lack of crowds along the route back into Cape Town was a bit disappointing, but I can't fault anyone for staying home instead of going to sit by the side of the road for hours on a chilly and blustery day. I made sure to thank all the ones that were there. Not sure they heard me through the hats and scarves they all seemed to be wearing.

A few lefthand turns later, and the stadium came into view. The finish line is on the rugby pitch at the university, and last year was mostly mud due to all the rain. I started pumping my fists, high-fiving the crowd, and making the most of the last few minutes of the race.

I had set out to conquer one of the most famous and challenging ultras in the world, and I had. I felt great and drank in as much of the moment and atmosphere as I could.

After crossing the line and finding someone to take my picture, I went to find Holly and the rest of my friends who were there. International runners have a special tent for them that provides free food and beer. The burgers were cold and raw and the beer was crap, but that didn't seem to stop us from all celebrating together. I even got to see the saddest part of the race - the first people to reach the finish line after the time limit has been reached and the rope has been drawn across it. I can't imagine the heartbreak of struggling and fighting for 35 miles and seven hours only to come up 5 seconds short. The slumped, heaving shoulders and hanging heads told me enough.

Some more thoughts from my email to Mary written without much though, just gut reactions to the day's event:

Hills suck without training. Made it up the first peak ok but walked all of the second.
I need to have a plan in my head going in whether I'm going for time or fun. Kept waffling about trying to break 6 until it was too late.
I'm in much better shape than I thought I was. My default easy pace isn't 10 anymore. It's more like 930 or so. Had I realized that early on, I might've gone under 6.
Not having a running buddy with me definitely makes it harder. Having someone to talk to, keep pace with, etc. improves my racing.
KT tape works great to prevent nipple chafing but it's not sweat proof. The extra strips I packed came in very handy.
I am beyond thrilled to have done this race. It was an amazing experience. 

Some more pictures from the route:

Running Humor

I probably shouldn't be laughing at this a month before Two Oceans.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wadi Bih Race Report

This past weekend, we took a trip to Oman for the Wadi Bih run. Well, ok, I went for the run, and Heather came along to sit on the beach and get drinks from the pool bar. We left Doha on Wednesday afternoon for Dubai and planned on staying with Holly that night, sleeping in on Thursday, and leaving for Dibba around noon. When we arrived in Dubai, there were more people heading to passport control than either of us had ever seen during any of our previous trips. The lines at passport control were so long, they ended up sending people with American and European passports through the Fast Track lines to help clear the congestion. What could have been an hour-long wait, and probably was for everyone from Russia, southeast Asia, and other countries whose citizens need paperwork to enter the UAE, took us less than 10 minutes. After a quick stop in duty free (just as packed as the arrivals area) and a not-so-quick wait in the taxi line, we were on our way to Hotel Holly for a dinner of pizza and champagne.

Heading through to the coast

We slept in the next morning and got on the road for Dibba around noon. The directions on the hotel's web site were less than helpful ("Follow the road to Fujairah, then to Dibba. Once in Dibba, follow the road signs to the hotel.") given that there are no signs to Fujairah when leaving Dubai. Apple's Map app wasn't any real help either. It couldn't even find the hotel or the town we were going to. Thankfully, we are loyal users of Google Maps and managed to find our way just fine. The drive was easy and uneventful, taking us across acres of desert and through small villages selling Arabian tents, carpets, and tacky souvenirs. Our only excitement came when a donkey wandering across the road to the median decided to head back to the shoulder. With some nimble steering and braking, Heather managed to not only avoid the donkey but also keep from getting rear-ended by the local in the BMW SUV behind us traveling a bit too fast a bit too close.

There really is a nice beach on the other side of the wall

The hotel itself is really odd. It's in a beautiful location, right on the water at the foot of the mountains, but it blocks the view of the beach with a wall. The rooms are large and very nice, but there's no direct way to get to them from the lobby. The advertised free Internet is really a 5-year-old desktop in a tiny closet that requires a SIM card and adapter from the front desk to use. Oh, and the pool bar isn't open on a regular basis, putting quite a damper on Heather's plans for Friday. In our quest to find a beer to enjoy by the pool, we get turned away from the indoor bar because they're not open until 6. The waiter at the restaurant is happy to take our order, though, and proceeds down the hall to, yes, get our beers from the closed bar. Lots of head-shaking happening all weekend long.

Can't get much closer to the start than this

The race starts on the beach next to the hotel and consists of 12 stages of varying length for 36km up to the top of a mountain and then same stages in reverse order for another 36km on the way back down. Solo runners can start any time after 430am, while the teams are allowed start between 6 and 830. Our team decided to start right at 6. We guessed it would take us 7 hours or so to finish, and we wanted to spend as much time running before it warmed up as we could. Starting early also meant there would be fewer other teams out on the road with us and thus less congestion and dust to have to deal with along the way. Much to our surprise, when we walked up to the line, there was only one other team in line to start. We waited for all of two or three minutes and then were on our way.

Our plan going in wasn't really much of a plan at all. Angie and I were using the run as hill training for Two Oceans, Fleur had this as one of her last long runs before her upcoming marathon, and Erin was coming along for the fun. Holly was supposed to be running with us too, but since her shoulder is taking a long time to heal, she couldn't. She crossed the start line with us and did five miles out and back instead. We set off into the darkness to meet Evelyn and the car at the first checkpoint half a mile down the road. Fleur and Erin volunteered for the next leg, so Angie and I hopped in the car and went to wait for them at flag #2.

Roughly 20 minutes later, Fleur & Erin came into view, passed us the baton (yes, the official runner for each leg had to carry a baton with our number on it the whole time), and waved good-bye as we took off up the road. This leg turned out to be much hillier than we expected, with a good uphill right in the beginning offsetting a long downhill at the end. So much for the relatively flat stage we thought we signed up for. As we made our way up the hill, we got passed by a woman from one of the teams that started in front of us. About halfway down the hill, we saw her in front of us and getting closer. Without saying a word to each other, our pace quickened slightly, and any notions I had about taking it easy disappeared in the dust as we overtook her a quarter-mile before the checkpoint. It was game on for the rest of the race.

Fleur handing off to Erin

Each stage was between 1.4 and 4 kilometers, and we took turns running them. On a few, like the really steep ones near the top, two or three of us ran together for training, but usually there was just one of us on the road. If you weren't running, you were either recovering from a leg or getting ready to run a leg. With only four of us, we didn't have the extra rest that most of the other teams did. Once we settled into our groove, though, the day just flew by. We all got in some running up (slowly but running) and down (flying with a big assist from gravity) the steep sections, the flat sections, and in the dusty ones too. The dust wasn't too bad in the early going, but once we started back down and ran into all the teams and their cars still heading to the top, it got pretty thick. We all had a pretty bad cough by the end, and our hair was a lovely crusty mixture of salt, sweat, and dust.

We finished in 6:20, a whole lot faster than expected. The finish line is at the hotel about 50 feet from the pool bar, which thankfully was open. I grabbed a beer for everyone (fortunately Heather was there with cash since the bar wasn't let anyone charge to their room) and wandered down to the beach to soak my legs in the water. We spent 10 minutes drinking, soaking, and watching a young sea turtle swim around us. A great way to end a really fun race. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Sunrise on the canyon walls

Goat pens built into the cliff walls

This guy came right down to the road to check us out

One of the other teams in the race posted this video showing the highlights of what the run was like. The only real difference between us and them is that we didn't wimp out and change runners during the "and now it gets steep" stage like they did.

Goofy Challenge, Part I

Unlike in previous years when we've been able to start Goofy weekend on Thursday morning and spend the rest of the day riding coasters at Universal, our short time in the US meant we had errands and medical appointments to take care of on Thursday instead. I knew this meant the expo would be much more crowded, so we tried to get as early a start on Friday as we could. First stop was IHOP for a big pancake breakfast. Just following my coach's instructions, really. She told me this was the most important meal before the races, said I had to have lots of carbs, and finished with "eat until you're full. Then have one more pancake." This is why I love Mary.

When we arrived at Disney, packet pickup was not as mobbed as I thought it would be, though the lines upstairs in the Goofy area were fairly long. Even if you take out the time I spent getting my corral changed to a faster one, Heather still had her packet well before I did. Where things really got crowded was the line to get into the expo. Rather than being 20-30 people waiting right outside the door, a line of several hundred went down the stairs, wrapped around the entire grassy area in front of the building, and back to the field house where the packet pickup was. Once inside, things didn't get much better. It was easy enough to get our shirts and goodie bags, but that was the only uncrowded area. Just like when you get off one of their rides in the park, Disney funnels you through their official merchandise area before letting you out into the rest of the expo, and there are always tons of people shopping or waiting in line to buy stuff. We pushed past them and made our way through the throngs to the only two vendors I really wanted to fight the crowds for, Asics and CW-X. Asics didn't have any of the socks I wanted (strike one), and CW-X only had one of the two shorts I was looking for (strike two). On the plus side, we got out of there pretty quickly.

Next stop was our home for the weekend at Disney's Boardwalk Villas. Our friend Holly and her family graciously let us stay in one of the rooms in their villa, so not only did we have a great view of the water and the nightly fireworks at Epcot, we also had fun people to hang with. Definitely a much better option than staying in a hotel. After running some more errands Friday afternoon, we finally got to put our feet up and rest for a few hours before dinner at Jiko at Animal Kingdom. Heather's choice, and it was a good one. The food and service were excellent, as was the company, friends from In Flight in Houston and from my days in business school at Michigan. Those of us running the next morning skipped dessert and went home to bed.

The alarm went off on Friday at 330, and I started into my new pre-race routine: Clif bar right away and sip PowerAde for the next hour. I hate eating right when I wake up, but I can't argue with the results of doing this in my last few races. About 415, we left the hotel for the race. Huge thanks here to Holly's father who, despite flying in late the night before, was kind enough to drive all of us over to the start area, saving us the hassle of waiting for and riding the bus. We met up with our friends at bag check at 5, dropped everything off, and began the long walk to the corrals with 27,000 of our closest friends. It was exponentially more crowded walking over for this year's half than any of the other WDW races any of us have done. I managed to get to my corral just as the fireworks to start corral A were going off, giving me 7 minutes to ditch my throw-away top, tie my shoes, and suck down a pre-start gel.

While it's not exactly the best strategy for getting through Goofy, Mary wanted me to try for a PR in the half, so I left the phone/camera behind and just focused on the task at hand. My plan was to go out at 8:15-8:20, hold that as best I could, and finish somewhere between 1:45 and 1:50. As soon as the gun went off and we started down the course, I knew those were going to be tough times to reach, and not because of jet leg or anything. I felt great and was raring to go, but there were just way too many people on the course to be able to maintain a smooth and steady pace. Even in corral B, supposedly for people who plan to run sub-2, there were dozens if not hundreds of people walking off the line or running Galloway intervals that would clearly not get them in under 2, let alone 2:30.

Mile 1 - Ran in the grass most of the time trying to stay on pace. Tried not to let the frustration of dodging and weaving cause me to lose focus. No characters yet, so not much to look at but the backs of everyone in front of me. 8:28, nice and easy.

Mile 2 - More frustrating running in the grass. Thankfully I was able to get on the inside of the ramp taking us towards Magic Kingdom. Still no characters, but there was a very talented high school band playing "Word Up" with a kick-ass brass section taking care of the melody. Korn's cover is better, but they did get me singing in my head and picking up my pace. 8:24, still nice and easy.

Mile 3 - The first characters! Finally something to look at. They moved Captain Jack and the Pirates of the Caribbean ship out of Magic Kingdom to this lonely stretch of road. The line was at least 30 people long. Made a mental note to stop here during the full. More dodging and weaving, and then characters again! Jack Skeleton from Nightmare before Christmas! Told myself I'd definitely stop for this one during the full too. 8:28 again, still feeling easy.

Mile 4 - A really boring mile for the first half of it. Nothing to see since they took the cars that are usually here and moved them onto the track for Sunday. The highlight was seeing Maddy and her #nocandyasses sign just before the TTC. Great crowd support there, but also tons of people walking to say hello, blindly cutting across the road to use one of the real bathrooms, and generally getting in the way of everyone else. First gel 30 minutes into the race. Another 8:28 and not feeling like I'm working hard. I think that's because I had to keep speeding up and slowing down.

Mile 5 - I made up some really good time by using the sidewalk when running under the Seven Seas Lagoon and back up the other side. The course was still way too crowded when the sidewalk ended, though, and I found myself back on the grass. Grrrr. 8:23, easy.

Mile 6 - Through Magic Kingdom. Very crowded here with everyone slowing down to take pictures at the castle, wave for the cameras, etc. I noticed Donald off to the left of the castle entrance with only a couple of people waiting. I really hoped he would be there on Sunday since I never got a picture with him in my previous Disney races. I had to slow down and watch my footing in a few places as the dew made some of the corners and turns a bit scary. 8:28, easy.

Mile 7 - This was the most congested part of the course, even worse than the castle since that was only 50-100 feet long. Most of mile 7 is one lane of road, making it very difficult to get by people and keep your pace steady. This was the mentally hardest mile because I could barely focus on running. There were way too many people for the course when it is this narrow for this long. I did a lot of micro-sprinting to move around people, but the overcrowding made this my slowest mile of the day. 8:30, and it sure felt much slower than that. Second gel 60 minutes in.

Mile 8 - This is one of my favorite miles during the race. The crowd support is great, the golf course on the other side is really pretty, and you know you're heading back to Epcot and the finish. The course widened a little at the end of this mile, allowing me to run a little easier and get back to the pace I wanted to be at. 8:24, and feeling good.

Mile 9 - Finally another solid mile. The crowds were thinning out and I was in a groove. It felt good to relax a bit and just run. 8:16, easy.

Mile 10 - When we turned onto World Drive again, we had the entire three lanes to run in, so I spent much less time weaving around people. I ran through some quick mental calculations in my head and realized that if I could drop to 8-minute miles, I'd get damn close to breaking 1:50. That was enough of a challenge for me to pop my last gel, bear down, and go for it. 8:14, still easy.

Mile 11 - The 270-degree turn up the ramp halfway through this mile didn't help me very much in reaching my 8 min/mile goal. I had a nice burst of speed when I saw Thunder Matt cheering from the top of the overpass, but it wasn't enough to offset the climb up. Only 8:18 for this one.

Mile 12 - I knew if I didn't really kick it into a high gear that I'd never stand a chance of hitting 1:50. By my estimation, I was looking at a 1:51 at the pace I was currently running. I told myself that if Kevin can drop three minutes in the last three miles of a marathon, I could surely try the same thing in a half, so against my better judgment as to how this would affect me the next day, off I went. I hit this one in 7:56, getting faster as I went. This is when I stopped looking at my pace and started looking at my elapsed time.

Mile 13 - I was only checking my watch once in a while to see how close I was going to be. I was pushing as fast as I could safely go given the number of runners on the course and the footing in Epcot. The fountains were on and the mist was creating some very slick places along the route, the hairpin turn where the Christmas tree sits being the most treacherous. As I rounded the corner by the gospel choir, I glanced at my watch and smiled. I had just about a minute to get across the line with less than a tenth of a mile to go. I found myself a mostly-clear path along the left-hand side of the finishing chute and dashed across the line with 30 seconds to spare. I ran the last mile in 7:36, including having to brake hard at the line to avoid getting cock-blocked by the woman in this video.

It was strange to be one of the few people turning it on over the last few miles. Everyone else was running the race like I normally do - taking pictures, waving at the crowd, and enjoying the scenery. That's why Disney is such a tough place to get a PR, especially when combined with the overcrowding they had this year. The last two miles were really hard work pace-wise compared with the rest, but the mental challenge of not getting frustrated by all the people on a crowded course was toughest for at least the first half of the race. Makes me wonder what I could do on a decent course without having to waste time and energy zigzagging around.

Travel Observations

A brief comparison of our flights on Qatar Airways and British Airways

Flight Time
QA - 7 hours
BA - 10 hours

Wines
QA - 2005 Bordeaux, vintage Port
BA - 2008 Bordeaux

 

Champagne
QA - vintage Brut, NV rose
BA - NV Brut

 

Seat
QA - "flat" bed on an incline
BA - fully flat bed

 

Cabin Noise
QA - large fat man snoring
BA - small child wailing

 

Movies
QA - few new ones, many old ones
BA - many new ones, few old ones

 

Unique Music
QA - Indian pop
BA - The London 2012 Closing Ceremonies

 

Lounge
QA - large; crowded; bar service by request; variety of food
BA - large; half-full; serve yourself bar; minimal snacks; free 15-minute spa

 

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Pictures from Istanbul

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Istanbul. The ones from the Topkapi Palace will be up next.

The view towards the old city as we crossed the bridge to our hotel

The Blue Mosque

The dome of the Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque was not as impressive as we thought it would be. Very pretty from the outside, but the hundreds of wires holding up the lights inside kind of took away from the beauty. Right down the street, however, was the Hagia Sophia, and it was absolutely stunning! I can only imagine how spectacular it was when first completed with all the golden mosaics intact. And if you ever find yourself waiting in line to get in to it, it's worth the 15 Turkish Lira to hire a guide. You get to skip all the lines and also have someone show you all the unique and unusual parts of the museum. Our guide took us around for an hour or more. Had we done it ourselves, we would've been out of there in much less time and not learned as much about the history of the building and the sights within it.

Hagia Sophia

It was built as a Christian church, so why the dolphins and trident that represent Poseidon?

Once upon a time, the ceiling and the walls were covered in gorgeous gold mosaics like these

Dublin Marathon Race Report

Race day dawned at 6am, much earlier than I would normally get up for a 9 o'clock start. My usual routine would be to wake up closer to 730 or 745, change into my race gear, grab my bag and a Clif bar, and head out the door to the start. Not this time. This time, I was following the instructions and race day plan put together by Mary, my friend and coach, and I do nothing if not follow directions well when I decide to, and when I'm paying for them. So I got up at 6 and went to have some breakfast – three pieces of toast and two glasses of cranberry juice – just like I was told. There were quite a few people in the hotel's dining room, all runners trying to fuel up before the race. As a guy who has a hard time eating first thing in the morning, I sat in amazement watching some of the others wolf down a full Irish breakfast of eggs, ham, sausage, tomato, and toast.

I was back in the room by 645, where I cracked open my bottle of PowerAde (my favorite flavor – blue - brought over to Doha for me by my boss in Houston a few days before I left for Dublin) and a Clif bar. The next hour was spent sipping the PowerAde, dithering over what to wear during the race, and driving Holly nuts with text messages as she was trying to get ready. In the end, after all the back and forth in my mind between various outfits and jackets and whatnot, I ended up wearing what I originally picked out the night before. Go figure.

At 8am, I piled on all my layers (wind pants and a jacket to get me to bag check, lovely grey Qatar Airways PJs to wear to the start) and went to meet Holly and Eva in the lobby. No rain, but it sure was a cool (43 degrees), damp, foggy, and overcast morning. I was thankful for my hat and gloves. We walked to the bag check area in ten minutes or so, and Eva and I promptly got in line for the porta potties. We figured if we were going to stand around waiting to find Kevin, we might as well do it in line since they were already quite long. A lady from the race kept trying to be helpful by announcing over the loudspeaker that there were more porta-potties near the corrals, but since we were already in line, we opted to stay put. Good thing, too, because it turned out there were only four of them at our corral with a line twice as long as the one we stood in. When I got to the front of the line, I said my good-byes and good luck to Eva, and then Kevin, Holly, and I dropped off our bags and left for the start.

The starting area was one of the more poorly laid out ones that I've been to. The street you walk down to get there dumps you right at the front of the corral. With all the fencing and gating in the way, there's no place for you to go to easily get into the corral. They ought to take a page from Disney or Marine Corps and have you approach from the back of the corrals so you don't end up with a bunch of people, including us, climbing over the barriers near the front in order to squeeze in. Our timing worked out pretty well. We arrived just as they were playing the national anthem and sending off the wheelchair racers, giving me time to eat my pre-race gel, ditch my extra clothes (but keep my hat), tie my shoes, and get ready to go. Ten minutes later, we were off.

And then we stopped. The poor design of the start extended itself to the first turn. Less than 1/4 mile into the race, the course made a hairpin right turn of 120-130 degrees, and needless to say, there was mass congestion and a huge slowdown. We didn't actually stop, but we sure ended up shuffling pretty slowly around the turn before we could start running again.

A few miles into the race, as Kevin and I were yakking about our pace (I was determined to stick to my instructions from Mary which were to stay at 8:50 for 18 miles and then see how it feels from there), a guy running next to us mentioned that he wanted to break four hours too and asked if he could run with us. We told him we'd be happy for the company. We ended up with a really nice tour guide. His name was Steven, he'd run the race twice before, and knew all of the twists and turns and ups and downs of the course. He pointed out all kinds of interesting things along the way, gave us fun facts like Phoenix Park being the largest walled-in park in Europe, and made sure we knew when the inclines and hills were approaching and how long they'd last. As it turned out, his name might be Steven but he really goes by Steve or Sneggers judging by the signs his family and friends were holding up as we ran by them.

Anyway, back to the race. I did my part to keep us on pace, and Kevin did his part to keep pushing the pace so I paid attention. He was also great at reminding me when it was time to take my gels, which Mary had me doing every 30 minutes. That's a shitload of gels to be downing during a race, and I had some difficulty getting the ones down at 90 and 120 minutes. There's nothing like gagging on a chocolate Clif Shot and trying not to throw up as you're passing the photographers at the halfway point in the race. That might explain why there were only six pictures of me when I checked the MarathonFoto web site. I really don't remember too much of the course up to this point. Normally I'm just running marathons for fun and take time to look around at the scenery and the spectators, but not this time. I was in race mode the whole way and totally focused on running my pace, though we did have some good conversation too. I like to talk when I'm running, and fortunately Kevin and Steve do too.

18 miles came and went and I still felt pretty good. Running at pace was definitely getting harder, but I wasn't struggling any. Neither was Kevin. He was still trying to push us faster. I did notice that my gels weren't lasting a full 30 minutes anymore. I could feel my energy fading after 20 or 25 minutes, and Kevin noticed it too as he started prompting me earlier. I felt like I was in a Snickers commercial because once I got the gel down, I instantly felt better.

Just after mile 22, after we went up the last hill and highway overpass and started our way back into the center of the city, Kevin started pulling ahead and I gave up trying to keep up with him. He looked back a few times to make sure I wasn't falling apart and then took off like a rocket. The dude is just naturally fast. I ate my last gel, chatted with a woman who had been running with us for a few minutes about who was going to buy the beer after the finish, and tried to figure out a plan for the last few miles. I knew I'd be under four hours even if I slowed down a lot, so I thought about just cruising in, taking it easy, and having a look at the scenery on my way to the finish.  Then I came to my senses and just went for it. I wanted to see how well I could do based on all the hard work I'd put in.

The last two miles were extremely tough because I was out of gel (who knew that bringing 7 gels to a race wouldn't be enough), and I could feel my energy reserves declining rapidly. I didn't hurt any, there was no feeling of the dreaded Wall, and the wheels weren't coming off. I simply had to turn my brain off and let my competitiveness come out. I kept telling myself to RACE, not run, and just go as hard as I could until it was all over. I vaguely remember the huge crowds lining the streets around Trinity College, and never saw Kevin's wife Keri at mile 25 though I'm sure she was there. I was 100% in a zone where I kept my cadence high, my pace quick, and my eyes focused on finding the most efficient way past and around all the people in front of me.

Once I made the last left-hand turn around the College, I knew the finish was straight ahead and kicked into whatever high gear I had left. Crossing the line and seeing this on my watch was when it hit me that I'd done it. I'd busted my ass all summer long in the heat and humidity, I'd set a goal and trusted Mary's coaching and training to get me there, and I'd done it. I wasn't quite as choked up as I was after finishing my first marathon in Richmond seven years ago, but I did take a few minutes to pull myself together before finding Kevin for celebratory congratulations. He put three minutes on me in the last 3.5 miles. Like I said, the dude is fast.

While we were hanging out in the finishing area, the woman we'd been chatting with earlier came up and wanted to know how we did. She knew she'd finished after Kevin but before me, and joking said I'd been beaten by a girl. I asked her what her time was, and when she said 3:55, I showed her my watch and said "not beaten by a girl, first beer is on you." Sneggers also found us and was ecstatic that he'd finished under four hours. He was really grateful to have been able to run with us, and we really enjoyed having him along too.

After we received our medals and finisher shirts, we made our way over to the bag check area to get our warm clothes. The day hadn't really warmed up any, and the sweat evaporating made me colder and colder. Thankfully, I can overpack with the best of them and had some wind pants, a fleece top, and a windbreaker stuffed into my bag. A few minutes later, Holly arrived and was as thrilled with her new PR as Kevin and I were with ours. Off to the bar we went to celebrate and rehydrate. Nothing like a fresh pint of Guinness to toast a great race with good friends.

My official time of 3:53:46 is an 8-minute improvement over my previous best. It came with no bathroom stops, no cramps, and no Wall. And no rain either, which considering the race was in Dublin in late October I'm quite thankful for. All told, I couldn't have asked for anything more. I ran a great race, had a great time running with Kevin, and can finally put that 3 in front of my PR.

Speaking of PRs, everyone in our group of runners got a PR that day. Kevin - 3:50, Holly - 4:02, and Eva - 5:17. Can't beat that.