The Colfax Marathon is over, and I wonder if it will be around next year. There was only 488 marathoners that ran, which seems really lame. I’m not sure of the half marathon or the relay teams, but the total number of people was way down. Plus, they just don’t seem like they know what’s going on. At the Expo the day before, I went to pick up my bib and they had me listed in the half marathon. And they even ran out of shirts for the marathoners. How could you run out? There wasn’t even 500 of us.
I went into the day hoping to hit about 3:50, but the weather forecast made me adjust my prediction. I knew the 2nd half of the marathon was going to be hot, so I was hoping to at least get under the 4 hour mark. The heat is the worst enemy for people with MS. There are a lot of people that can’t even go outside in this type of weather if they are infected with this disease. I know that by the time I finished, it was in the 80’s and no clouds.
My first 18 miles weren’t too bad. I was hitting my times that I wanted to and still feeling okay. At about 2 1/2 miles, the run took us right in front of The Irish Snug Pub, and Frank, the owner, had a Guiness waiting for me! How many runners can say that they had a beer at any point during that run? Maybe I should of had one more towards the end. At mile 10, my quad was hurting, but not to the point where it was affecting my run. We hit the halfway point and turned around and headed east right into the sun. The good thing was that it was mostly downhill. I was feeling good and confident. But then at mile 18, I had to go to the bathroom, and yes, it was THE dreaded bathroom break. I lost 4 minutes at that point, and for some reason, I lost my energy. The run from there took us into downtown Denver and as you know, it’s always hotter downtown. There was also a couple of nasty “hills” to deal with which is always a challenge at any point of a race. I decided on one incline that I better save my energy so I walked up and that was even hard to do! With 3 miles to go, I knew that I wasn’t going to break 4 hours, so I think that at that instance, I kind of gave up. I still ran, but not as hard as I should have, because I figured, “what’s the point?” I look back now and I realize that you should never give up. Those last few miles of the marathon are very important to whatever level you are at, and if you can dig deep within yourself, that will just make you that much stronger for your next marathon or at whatever run that you do. Anyways, I finished at 4:09:56, which was a PR for me by 5 minutes. Here are my “stats”;
Overall - 177 out of 488
Age Division - 20 out of 50
Gender - 136 out of 307
10K - 55:11
15K - 1:23:04
25K - 2:16:48
30K - 2:47:41
From this point, I’m not sure what I want to do. I’ve talked about taking a break from marathon training and maybe just running some half marathons. Maybe when my brain gets un-fried, I’ll be able to think better and make a rational decision. We shall see.
I was diagnosed with MS about 4 years ago and I am one of the lucky ones. I don't have too many problems associated with it, and the disease has actually slowed down. I took up running 3 years ago just to see if I could do it. So far I've run 3 marathons in a year and a half.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Dave, first of all, congratulations. A 5 minute PR is fantastic - especially given the heat, how that affects your MS and the leg problems you’ve had recently.
Sounds like you had quite a different experience with the full marathon than I had with the half. I thought the half course was really good - nice and flat overall, and good support at the water stations. I know they changed both the half and full marathon courses a lot since last year - sounds like they still need to tweak the full marathon course quite a bit. I hadn’t realized that there were only 488 running the marathon - there were 1966 in the half, which seemed like a pretty reasonable size to me. Enough so you never felt alone on the course, but it also didn’t feel at all crowded.
Looking forward to hearing about your future racing plans. Wishing you a good post-marathon recovery!
May 19th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
That is awesome, congratulations!
If the race happened to be scheduled a week or two before when it was cold, you probably would have broken the 4-hr mark. Oh well, bad luck. But what percentage of people in the world can say that:
1) I ran a marathon?
2) I ran a marathon in 80 degree heat without passing out?
3) I ran a marathon in 80 degree heat without passing out and with MS?
4) I ran a marathon in 80 degree heat without passing out and with MS and with a hamstring injury?
5) I ran a marathon in 80 degree heat without passing out and with MS and with a hamstring injury and I got to drink a delicious Guiness along the way?
Very impressive, have fun at the Bolder Boulder. Are you going to run the Rocky Mountain half??
May 19th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Thanks Jason. You should do some research and find out the answers. And it was my quadriceps, not my hamstring. I think next time will be the 4 hour breakthrough. I think the Rocky Mountain Half is June 8, and I will just be getting back in town on the 7th, so at this point, I don’t think I am.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Dude, nice job. I must’ve been right next to you at the end, but I was a bandit runner, so I jumped into the crowd about 50 yrds from the finish and walked to the finish line behind the crowd … no medal for me, but no $100 entry fee either …
For some, the marathon is the end all, be all of running existance. Constantly striving to break a mythical time is the goal, qualifying for some race, etc.
For others, it’s just the start. Maybe this is just the start for you.
Considered trail running and ultras? You’re in the state for it. It’s generally cooler, most races are out in the woods, shaded from the trees, off that awful pavement so it’s not burning you up. You run a slower pace, but for longer. When you come to a hill, you walk. When you’re hungry, you eat. When it’s dark, turn on a headlamp. The motto is “Relentless Forward Progress,” sounds like you’ve got it. And at the end, we drink!
drop me an email if you’re interested. I was a fat guy before I got into running, did some marathons and set my sights not higher, but further.
Leadville 50k coming up in July, Breck Crest trail marathon in early Sept. (it’s a killer!) and Steamboat 50-miler in late Sept (they give you a ton of time to finish) ….
email’s newschase (at) comcast (dot) net
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
A PR is a PR.
You just need to find a nice fall marathon, low elevation, flat course and you can drop some serious time.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Dave,
Congrats on your new PR!
-C
October 18th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I’ve had MS since 1987 and I’m 44. I was told to only do low impact exercise.
I am very goal oriented and decided I was going to start running. April 2006 I started walking (could barely go a mile) This May 2008 I completed my first half marathon. Ran the Nike Human Race 10k in August and Completed another half in September.
I’m not a star (2:30 is my best time so far).
I really love to run now and think it’s good for me. My doctor says no marathons. What does you doctor say?
Got any secrets of running in the heat? Have ever thought of one of those cooling vests? How about nutrition?
MS people who like distance running and are doing it seem to be rare (or else they don’t talk about it–I never tell people I have MS). I want to do a marathon, but don’t want to have MS problems flare up…are you any worse to doing the marathon?
Thanks for your site and congratulations!
October 18th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Congrats on your running. I guess that I would ask you how you feel after your runs so far? If you’re handling it okay so far, then keep going. My doctor says to do whatever I can. I know one thing, running in the heat is hard. I do it, just not very well. Staying hydrated and knowing your own body will determine how well you do.
One thing I would do differently is to find a run in-between a half marathon and a full marathon. I went right from a half to a full, and did not do well. But finding a race that is a 20 miler is difficult. You can do training runs that are 20 miles, and just see how it goes. Go at your own pace and if you feel good, keep doing it.
Let me know how things go.
October 18th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Sounds like good advice. Thanks. I’ll work at the 18-20 miler before diving into the full.
I think I feel probably just as everyone else does after an event — tired out and happy to have completed my goal. I always feel done after the half, but never trained for more and find the possibility of the full enticing.
You might find this interesting. The morning of the last half, the front page of the local newspaper featured a woman with MS. This woman was probably in her late 50’s and one of the top 5 female marathoners before her disease took over. It was weird…at the race I looked up and there she was. So we talked. She uses a hand-crank wheel chair now and her speech is slow and labored.
I wasn’t sure if this was inspiring or scary. She claims the running kept her healthier longer. Must be so humbling to tour in a wheel chair after years of competing in the top 5.
Not sure what to look for as far as pushing training too much. Doesn’t everyone have aches and pains? Guess the only new issue I have is an increase in muscle cramps (I thought that was normal. After all, I’m just getting my body back after years of little or no exercise, but my doctor thinks it’s MS). And you’re right, if I don’t properly hydrate I create my problems (thank goodness for sports drinks.)
One last question, have you decided to take any medications for your MS?
October 20th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I’ve been taking Rebif since I was diagnosed.
October 21st, 2008 at 9:39 am
Hope your half went well and your injuries are gone. If I run the full, it will be this spring (my family and spouse are still getting used to the idea). I may also try the Rebif as Copaxone wasn’t right for me (guess Copaxone is synthetic and Rebif isn’t).
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.