Columbus Marathon Race Report

The starting line of the Columbus Marathon was jam packed as once again I got caught somewhere in the back around the 5 hour pace group. This was not what I was hoping for. What I was hoping to to do was get in with the 3:30 or 3:20 pace group and cruise along. No worries though. Certainly I would be able to catch up with them right? They were up there somewhere. So began my 4th marathon and another attempt at breaking 3:30. Columbus is a flat course that is known for producing Boston qualifiers. This was an excellent course to PR on and it was a perfect day for it. It started out at somewhere in the mid 40's and clear. It warmed up to somewhere in the mid 50's.

I was feeling ready. My training went well, and I had completed all my longest runs with very little problem. Although unlike the flat course of Columbus all my long runs involved major hill climbs. This was a minor cause for concern as I wasn't sure how I would handle the flat roads of Columbus. Another concern was endurance. I know I have the speed as I've run well all summer in shorter races. The question was would I have the endurance to push through the final miles.

The first half was flawless as I cruised through at 1:39. I knew I was pushing it, but I decided from the beginning to go all out and let the rest take care of itself. A great time for a half, and I felt good. I got a banana and some words of encouragement from marathon super fan Gina. I think her words of encouragement were something along the lines of "Move it Iker! You're going too slow!" After seeing the 3:30 and 3:40 pace groups go by she was thinking that I was crashing and burning. She was unaware of the fact that I had crossed the starting line a good 7 minutes after them.

What could possibly go wrong? It was somewhere between mile 19 and mile 20 that I began to feel the twinges of cramps. Oh yeah, that's what could go wrong. I stopped to stretch and hoped that I could hold off the worst of it as long as possible. Unfortunately that wasn't so long. Within the next half mile it began in my left calf. I shortened my stride and slowed. This seemed to help for a while, but only for a while. The cramps came back and by mile 23 my hamstrings were completely wasted. The miles and miles of flat road and continuous pounding on the same muscles had taken its toll. It was frustrating, because mentally I was feeling strong. I wasn't dehydrated. I still had fuel left, but the muscles were just spent.

At mile 24 I was pushing through slowly just wanting it to be over. At mile 26 I caught a wave from Super fan Gina. After that it was a short sprint to the finish, and by sprint I mean hobbling, limping jog. It wasn't the last 6.2 that I was hoping for or the finish I was hoping for, but still it was a PR at 3:34:37. This is my Columbus Marathon report or what will be remembered as 20 miles of awesome and 6.2 miles of brutal, or as Gina put it I crushed 20 and got crushed by 6.2, but still crushed it.

It's been a fun/tough run of 4 marathons over the last year and a half. The marathons are going on hold for a while. Next year is all about short, fast races and mursing school. After I graduate...we'll see.