Ambassador Bridge Sets The Tone For A Great Race.

Ambassador Bridge takes runners to Canada

About three and a half miles into the Detroit Marathon the early morning sky was beginning to lighten.  Not quite sunrise yet but I could tell it was close.  The experienced marathoners around me started telling the group to get ready for the bridge.  I had heard that crossing the bridge was one of the highlights of the race and was looking forward to it. 

Just as we were heading up the incline to the toll gates the sun was breaking above the buildings on the Windsor skyline.  The clear blue sky, bright yellow sun, glistening water below and thousands of colorful runners on the bridge struck me as the official starting point of the race.  We’d been weaving our way through the warehouse streets of southwest Detroit for about thirty minutes at that point but it felt like a warm-up.  Now, as I started to settle into a comfortable pace and looked out over the water and Windsor, it seemed like this was the race.  I was on my way.  And at that point I had no doubt I would finish this marathon. It was just a matter of time.    

A Great Day For The Race!

Still standing and smiling after 26.2!

Running and racing doesn’t get much better than this.  Cool, clear morning.  Thousands of runners and fans.  And I beat my goal and felt great at the end. 

The Detroit Marathon was Sunday, Oct 19.  As the sportscasters say, it was “a Chamber of Commerce day”.  The streets of Detroit looked great.  Colorful, bright and buzzing with activity. 

After talking with one of the pace leaders at the Expo Saturday, I decided to start with the 4:05 pace group.  That time seemed challenging but reachable.  Part of me definitely wanted to try to break four hours but I also didn’t want to risk going out too fast and then crash and burn at the end and have to walk across the finish.  So, a 9:20 pace sounded comfortable.   And it worked.  There were about a dozen of us sticking by Donya, our pace leader, at mile 3 as we headed up the Ambassador Bridge to Windsor.  By the time we were nearing the tunnel to cross back at mile 8 Donya said we were actually running a few minutes ahead of pace.  While that was working for me she cautioned us to stick to our game plan. 

As we came off Belle Isle at mile 20 I felt great.  I really couldn’t believe how strong I was feeling.  Unlike lonely training runs, the race experience can carry and motivate you.  The great sites (yes, we saw many interesting parts of Detroit that I’ll talk about in future posts), the casual conversations with fellow runners, the many fans lining almost the entire route and the live music every mile were all distractions that made the morning fly by.

Before I knew it we were on Lafayette approaching downtown.  I had driven the final six miles the day before so I knew the route.  I was running with Mark from Plymouth now as he and I had pulled slightly ahead of the pace group.  I told Mark we just had to turn onto Randolph, go a couple blocks to John R then left to Woodward and we’d be staring at the finish line.  As we hit Randolph the crowds seemed three or four people deep and they were all cheering.  Total strangers cheering as runner after runner fed off their energy for that final quarter-mile. 

Once we made the sharp turn onto southbound Woodward I saw the finish line and clock.  I instinctively picked up the pace to the end and crossed under the banner feeling strong, tired, relieved and proud.  I stopped my watch at 4:03:07, heard someone yell my name and looked up to see my family waving from the sidewalk. 

What a great day for the race! 

 

Set two (or even three) goals.

Two more days.  The Detroit Marathon is Oct 19.  26.2 miles of non-stop fun (I hope).  Today I ran a nice, easy three miles as my last run before the race.  I’ve been tapering the last two weeks.  And, yes, just like I heard from other people, it was hard to cut back on the running.  I wanted to do more each day but I knew I needed to have “fresh legs” for Sunday.  So now we’ll see if all the training pays off. 

During my runs this week I’ve been thinking about my goal for the race.  During the summer, when I was contemplating running the marathon, I thought my goal would be just to finish (under my own power).  Then after a couple of 20 mile runs went well, I thought my goal would be to finish in under 4:30 hours.  Then the last week or two I thought I’d be able to do 4:15.   But now I’m feeling fresh and thinking maybe I actually could break 4 hours.  I used one of the race time predictor tools online and based on my times from my summer 10k races, the calculator predicts I could run a 3:48.  So, I have a dilemma.  What’s my goal?  And what pace to I run?

Tomorrow is the Marathon Expo so I hope to talk to some of the pace group leaders and see what their strategy is.  Right now I think I’ll start at a pace to finish at 4:05, then re-evaluate at the half-way and again at 20 miles. 

Since I’m treating this like my first marathon (I did run one in 1993 but that has little impact on my running now) I have set three goals.  Worst case, I need to break 4:30; I’ll be very happy to break 4:15 and I’ll be thrilled (and surprised) to break 4:00.  (But ultimately my goal is still to just finish).

Hanging With “Old” Friends Never Gets Old

Jeff and Steve relax at CMU Homecoming

The term “old friends” is starting to take on a new meaning.  Saturday was Homecoming at CMU so I connected with my “old” friends, Jeff and Steve.  The three of us met back in 1976 as freshman in Thorpe Hall.  As we talked Saturday, we remembered how the juniors and seniors living in Thorpe seemed so old.  Now here we were, 32 years later, complaining about bad knees, sore backs, hearing loss and more. 

All three of us used to run for fun back in college.  Jeff even did a couple marathons during our years in Mt. Pleasant.  But the years have brought aches and pains that have slowed all of us and right now I’m the only one still able to log miles.  Thanks God for good genes, and relatively healthy knees! 

I’ve met many people over the years that used to be runners but can’t do it any more.  Most wish they still could but some physical limitation has stopped them, not the lack of willingness.  I guess God just made each body differently so some hold up to the rigors of running longer than others.  Most of the time I doubt the physical problems are anything the individual could have avoided.  It just happens.  So, be thankful for the shape you’re in, no what that shape is.  Because there will always be someone with more problems than you.  And if you are able to run or do other physical activities, don’t miss that chance, because you may not be able to later.

    

It was “just” 13 miles.

It’s amazing how the human body can adapt.  The last three weeks my long runs were 20,18 and 21 miles.  This week my training schedule called for 13 but I didn’t really think anything of it.  I went out like it was a “long run”.   Surprisingly, I was done with the 13 before I knew it.  It felt like I didn’t finish my run.  I wanted to do more.   About six weeks ago I sure would not have thought that would be the case.  But, you body adjusts.  Follow a well-thought out training plan that has gradual increases and a good amount a rest to avoid injury and before you know it, 13 miles is no problem.

Try the other side of the street.

Most of us are creatures of habit.  Eating the same breakfast every day, driving the same route to the office every day, running the same route each run.  I have a basic route that I use for long runs, just adding more distance on the end to increase miles.  Last Saturday when I was about 6 miles into my 20 mile run I got stopped by a traffic light at an intersection.  Usually I wait until the light changes and then cross and continue.  But Saturday I made the impulse decision to cross over to the other side of the street with the light and then cross again when that light changed. S o now I was heading the same direction I always do but I was on the other side of the street.  All of a sudden I saw houses and stores I’d never seen before.  It was like I had a whole new route.  Although I was only four lanes of traffic away from my usually route I felt like I had never been down that street. 

A small change of scenery can give you a fresh perspective and new energy.  Try it.  Next time I may run the route in reverse, starting out the direction I usually finish.  I know, that’s just plain crazy!