Self Transcendence Marathon Aug 24, 2007

#88 Self Transcendence Marathon - Nyack, NY

Race start temp 67.5 °F 97% relative humidity
Race finish temp 76.6 °F 81%

I was looking forward to this race - it is my first flat marathon course since Disney and I haven't run a fast marathon since Jax last Dec. The forecast called for warm weather but nowhere never the 98 degrees in the last race.

I suffered shin splints the previous week from overtraining with 3 speed workouts on Tuesday and one on Thursday. I did taper for five days. I had a massage the day before the marathon and found out my calves and lower back was tight. I was not running at 100%.

I met Aubrey (from E50 NJ) and her running friend Chris at the start. They also ran it last year but I did not know them then. The runners had body odor -- they were mostly European. (Chicago is more odorless than New York since it is less international). It could also be some runners were camped out in the park and haven't bathed in a while.

The race got off to an earlier start than last year after some meditation and inspirational words from the guru Sri Chinmoy. It's interesting that there was a separate line for men and women to the portalets. Aubrey was the only woman in the men's line. At the finish, they were looking for a female volunteer to tear off a tag from female runners.

This is a short race compared to running 11 and 22 hours in my last two races. A little dehydration doesn't hurt -- and you are not running with extra water weight. (I don't recommend it for races 4 hours or longer). Elite runners can lose 3% of their body weight with no effect on performance. I drank 8 ounces of water while I walked for about 10 seconds every 3 miles. I did not need to stop to pee. I took in 2.3 grams of sodium and 900 calories. I sweated a layer of salt on my skin. My stomach wasn't feeling good; I think I need to cut back to 5 GUs for the next race.

Seaweed and bland cytomax were offered at the aid stations; I did not partake.

The course consists of running around a lake 8 3/4 times. My goal was to run every mile under 8 minutes. With a 2 mile pre-race warmup, I ran the first mile in 7:41 and got to the halfway mark in 1:43. That was my fastest first half. (I've run a 2nd half slightly faster). I was on pace for a PR until mile 21 when the heat and humidity got to me. The sun peeked through and there was some unshaded spots. I took iteasy till 0.25 mile before the finish when it looked like I might not break 3:30. I suffered for 2 minutes and finished either 3:29:59 or 3:30:00. It was two and a half minutes slower than my PR last year in Chicago. I ran STM last year as marathon/ultra #69 in 3:34.

While waiting for Chris to come in at the finish line, I overheard a runner who had finished and confessed to the race officials that he ran 8 laps instead of 9. Without a chip mat it is possible to cheat but I noticed someone writing down the race numbers as I ran by --probably only for the fast runners.

I am pleased with the results. I started this season with the intent of doing two 6k repeats but found no one to do them with me. I have been slacking in my 2 and 4 mile training runs. My improvements this season has been based on running lots of 800m and 1200m and racing 5ks. My 8 to 10 mile long runs are mostly social and are basically fat-burners. I need to start doing lactate threshhold runs in the 7 minute mile range next week!

Post Race: After being up for at 4 am two days in a row, I slept for 10 hours. Going downstairs is no problem at all - it was a flat course so my quads didn't get beat up at all. I will be ready to resume track workouts Tuesday.