2014 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Race Report

It has become standard for me to run challenging marathons in the spring and PR friendly ones in the fall. So for the spring of 2014, the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon fit the bill for challenging. Besides the race, we wrapped a family vacation in the area and meeting of some awesome friends IRL (Brooke, Kelly, Jay, Kim, Johnny, and about 50 others).

Training

Preparing for this race officially started back in late December. I was coming off a PR fall race under the Hanson Method training plan, so I decided to use that again. But that did not go very well due to a very hard winter in Michigan. As a result, I feel I only recieved 70-80% of the training.  Most of my runs were done on the TM in the gym with my LR being the only consistent outdoor run each week. But I stayed healthy for the most part and got to the starting line feeling pretty good.

Race Goals

Knowing two facts: sub-par training and a very hilly, challenging course caused me to set modest goals. My A-goal was a 3:55 finish, with my B-goal being 4:15 or less, and finally the C-goal being at least dead last. Those seemed to be decent, attainable goals that friends agreed with.
 

Race

Race morning dawned and was very chilly with temps in the 30s and a light breeze. My choosen outfit of a singlet, shorts, armwarmers, visor, and tossable gloves seemed the right combo. Many hundled inside at the hotel to stay warm right up to start time. I worked over to the B coral to start the race with 5 minutes to spare.

The race started and the usual mob of runners surrounded me. So the first half mile was a easy warmup around 10:00/m with Kelly who was doing the first leg of the relay and would later pace me in from mile 20. Oh and the hills started immediately from the start with a gentle uphill. Kelly sent me on to race pace and by the end of mile one I had joined the 4h pace group.

Rocking the early miles in Sequoyah Hills

So I broke a few rules of running for this race. One being that you are accountable for yourself and if you have a pace plan, dont trust others to stick to it. That being said, I followed the pace group despite the leaders going a fast 8:20-8:40 pace at various points over the first 13 miles. Far too fast for my A-goal, slow down stupid!

The first half did live up to its reputation of be hilly with rollers that went on for miles and Noelton Street, a big double-decker hill. My legs did hold up pretty well to this punishing terrian and pace. I felt pretty good and chatted with fellow runners around me. Common topic: what is this pacer thinking?!? We cruised into the half at 1:54(Garmin) just according to the pacer plan! Nice half split, but not in my game plan.

By mile 16 I decided that I needed to back off and run my own pace. At that point my legs were really starting to get fatigued and the second half of relentless rollers were pounding the life out of them. My A-goal was beginning to fade as I realized that I will not be able to sustain a sub-9 pace much longer.

Mile 20 came into view and I finally surcumbed to run/walk mode mentally. But I was joined up by Kelly at this point. She was in good spirit and full of energy, just what I needed to keep chipping away at the miles. So she pushed and challenged me through those miserable, ugly last 10k worth of miles. It was ugly, I wanted to puke, I did puke, it was a sad dry heave puke...so lame and weak.

Mile 24 was my slowest and after that the brain took over and I forced my body to go faster. As Kelly said, "it going to suck away, might as well get it over with faster" (or something like that). So I started running a bit longer and faster and walking a bit less.

Mile 24.5 coming off the bridge.

Finally reached the stadium and the last hill up to the enterance to run onto the field. I decieded as usual, despite the pain and hurt, to drop the hammer and go all in for a fast finish. So I drop Kelly and hauled into the stadium. Flying onto the field racing toward 50 yard line and those sweet, last timing mats. The gun clock was still below 4:15, so I raised my arm in victory and crossed the finished.

I was nearly 95% spent, I had pretty much left everything on that course. My body ached like it had never ached after a race. My finish time was 4:13, nicely under my B-goal. After getting my medal, space blanket, and a finish picture I dropped to the turf to sit and rest while friends continued to finish.

It was a beautiful day and a great course that I will comeback to and have another go at in the future.

B-goal meet!

Official Results:
First half: 1:55:22
Second half: 2:18:28
Finish: 4:13:50
Positive split: 23:06 (UGH!)
Total distance(Garmin): 26.32
Average pace: 9:39/M

Age Group(35-39): 45/83
Gender: 215/467
Overall: 281/693

Some thoughts now that I have had time to think about the race:

1) Under trained for this race. Mostly due to the harsh winter and being forced inside on the treadmill. Which lead to me not running on hills enough. My treadmill runs rarely simulated hills, which was my mistake.

2) As usual, too fast for the first half. I blindly followed the pacers despite knowing that the pace was faster than I planned. Sadly, I even discussed that with others around me. I cannot figure out why I did not drop back. But thinking about it, it was because the pace felt easy...stupid!

3) Weight! I packed on the pounds over the winter. Compared to Grand Rapids I was 15-20lbs heavier. No wonder I started falling apart late in the race like I did. This should be a big lesson for me on my quest for BQ and beyond.