Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The FULL details





Here it is! The OFFICIAL result from Chiptime:

300 2855 Patrick S Taney, GUNTIME: 1:47:36 HM30-34 24/102 225 8:13 CHIPTIME 1:46:57 Buffalo NY

I thought I finished with a chiptime of 1:46:59-- but I was off by 2 seconds.

The story:

The night before the race was a little crazy. I had a house full. My parents were in town for the weekend to watch the race, also my friend Jenny from Rochester, who was running, and her husband spent Saturday night. I had a pre-race BBQ in which I cooked up hotdogs and hamburgers for the guests and whole wheat pasta for Jenny and I.

I stayed up waay too late talking and watching TV. We went to bed around 11:30pm.

The alarm went off at 4:57 AM!

I was a little pissed at myself because I promised to get at least 8 hours sleep. It didn't matter. I was pumped the minute the alarm clock rang. I had some pre-race jitters but more of it had to do with getting everyone to the start on time. We did.

There were not enough bathrooms downtown at the start line-- so I had to wait for what seemed like an eternity to go. I nearly missed the start-- in fact was running to get in line during the National Anthem.

Then- BANG! I was off. I felt great. The 7 or so friends and co-workers running the race with me all decided we would go it alone and at our own pace. It wasn't until 2 miles in that I saw any of them. I ran into my friend Jenny but moved ahead of her within a few minutes. I was breaking a cardinal rule-- one Glenn and Brian advised me-- in detail-- not to break. I was pushing hard right out of the gate.

I truly thought I was going about 9:00 /mile-- and believed I was consciously taking it easy the first several miles-- I wasn't.
I had several spectator friends along the way-- at different mile markers--- who said I was "blowing" through. All of my friends were WAAAAAAY behind me and I had no idea. I was going hard, fast, all the while thinking I was very slow-- I am still puzzled by that.

The course had changed at the last minute due to construction issues in the city. This was not good news. The new course, shared by both the Half AND Full Marathoners, had a lot more hills in it than the previous one. I think there were a totally of 7 hills. The old course had just 2! Most of the hills were highway overpasses-- and came in later in the race. Bad, bad news for me.

MILE 11: Can you say BRICK WALL! WOW. This is when I had realized I pushed TOOOO hard and ran TOOO fast. I was miserable. I wanted to walk sooo bad and despite HUGE crowd support from this point on had little spirit to continue. Somehow I pushed ahead with literally EVERYTHING I had left, which wasn't much.

This is me at mile 11.5:



I look deformed!

The last leg leading up to the finish line was FULL of people cheering. I had been told by everyone this is the best part-- a feeling like no other. For me, it wasn't quite that euphoric. I was in pain, frustrated, tired, and not feeling the "finish line" high I had heard so much about. I pushed too hard-- and this was my penalty. Yes I finished. Yes the time was decent. But I spoiled what should have been a superb moment and made it somewhat mediocre.

After I had received my metal, drank gallons of gatorade, and saw my partner, parents, and friends-- I felt great. I felt accomplished. I even had bragging rights-- beating everyone of my friends:)

So, the moral of this story: One you have no doubt hear time and time again DON'T push it in the beginning. When you think you have slowed your pace--slow it even more. Just have fun. Your first half should be about enjoying the experience especially the finish!

All in all-- I am glad I did this. I'm a better person inside and out and now ready for the next challenge.... The Full Marathon!

P.S. More pictures and video to come! These two are all I have at this point.

Also-- Thanks to everyone for your support before and after race!

7 comments:

  1. Well! I'm glad you learned your lesson, young man! ;)

    You still had an amazing race!

    Just think how much better the next race will be with your newly acquired learning experience! I'm glad you had fun AND earned bragging rights. You rock!!

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  2. I can't tell how how many times I've learned THAT lesson the hard way. We all do it. Congratulations nonetheless! You ran a great race!

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  3. Patrick - what a great race report! I'm so glad it went well. And really, how awesome that you hit the wall at mile 11 and not mile 7 or 8!

    Congrats! It must have been so fantastic to have all your loved ones there for the big day!

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  4. Hahahaha. When I saw that picture, the first thing that came to my mind was "He looks deformed". Then I had to laugh out loud when I scrolled down and read the "I look deformed!" line. Congrats again on a great time.

    This will work out well for you going forward. Hitting the wall during mile 11 of a half marathon is not that bad. If you've learned the lesson and go easier at the beginning of your marathon, you won't hit the wall at mile 16 - when you've still got 10 miels to go!

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  5. Taney sounds like you did great. I've been reading your entries (found you through Flanary's blog). I'm trying to get back in to running again. I put on a few tons once I started editing full time. But I'm shedding it off and getting back at it!

    Thanks for the motivation!

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  6. Way to go Patrick! You killed your goal! Hate to say this - but TOLD YA SO!!

    If you can get some core strengthening you can work on the "deformity". I have found that since I've been working out at the gym a couple times a week, as my body gets tired, my strengthened core gives it something to rest on. I've been doing a lot less slumping lately. It really helps with my breathing too!

    Great job on the race!

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  7. Great job on the mighty half! You learned the lesson I still haven't learned-start SLOW!! That's ok, you still had a great race. Next time will be even better, since you'll know how to pace yourself properly!

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