One second per mile that is.
Over the course of a marathon. 26 sad little seconds in total.
Had I just run 1 second per mile faster. One less water stop. One less leg cramp. One less something to get back that precious
second.
Despite a jacked-up stomach and a crampy right quad I was
generally happy with my 3:45:25 finish in the MCM last fall. I figured that would be the end of that
experience and I’d be on to bigger, better, longer things. I already had the thought of ultramarathons
dancing around in my head. One race in
particular intrigued me, the JFK 50-miler.
The military connection, 50th anniversary of the race, close
enough to my in-laws that we wouldn’t have to stay in a hotel. Nice combo of trail and flat path. It just seemed like the perfect first
50-miler.
As the months went by and it looked like I would survive the
training, and most likely the race, for my first 50k, I decided that the JFK50
was the race for me. Registration is
done entirely by mail in three waves of applicants, and the qualifying times
for the waves are based on a finish time in a marathon, 50k, or 50-mile race. This is a very popular ultra, even more so
this year with the 50th anniversary angle. Based on some internet research (which is
never wrong …) I knew it would fill up in the first wave. When the time for the first wave (A-Standard)
came out, I knew I was in trouble. Men’s
marathon … 3:45:00. Those double-zeros
stared out at me with their beady little eyes, saying “close buddy … but not
good enough”.
I sent a note to the race
director, hoping it would be like the old Boston qualifying standards where
seconds didn’t count, but no such luck.
I was knocked to the B-Standard wave, and would have to wait 10 days
after registration opened before I could send in my form. I kinda knew the race was lost for me at that
point, but I planned to send in my registration anyhow and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, on Saturday morning the JFK50 website was
updated with a message saying the general field, and the 250-person waiting
list, are completely full, and registration has ended. Since this was just 2 days after I was
allowed to mail in my forms, my JFK50 plans are over. One second per mile, 26 seconds over the
course of a marathon, and my simple plan becomes much less simple.
To say I’m disappointed would be a huge understatement. I had accepted this as a high probability as
soon as I saw the qualifying times, so I’m not hugely surprised by this, but I
had tried to remain optimistic that it would work out. Now it’s back to the drawing board to figure
out what my running will look like for the rest of the year. I’d still like to see if I’m up for the
challenge of 50 miles, but my options are somewhat limited within a reasonable driving
distance. We have a lot going on this
Fall, so it’s going to be a hard sell to add the expense of a trip and hotel
for a destination ultra. I could
possibly train heavily for a Fall marathon and take my revenge on those 26
seconds and go after a PR. Maybe train
for a shorter triathlon since I’ve got the bike and access to a pool, but I’d
like to wait on triathlons as a possibility until 2013.
Regardless, I gave myself about a day to feel sorry for
myself, and now I’m starting to formulate a plan. Also got out for my first post-50k run on
Saturday, and other than some tightness in my right knee everything felt pretty
good. I may have escaped the doctor
after all.
What to do??? ... What to do?
