Outer Banks Marathon Recap - Making a Long Story Long

Now that the dust and Advil have settled, and stairs no longer mock me at every turn, I can objectively say that race day at the Outer Banks Marathon turned out about as well I could have hoped.  Not that there weren't some rough moments along the way, but stepping away from the microscope and just using the naked-eye, this was a good one.

Buckle up …. This is going to be a wordy ride.

Pre-Race:

The whole family packed into the Family Truckster Friday night for the drive to Kitty Hawk, which is less that 4-hours from Evolving World Headquarters.  The last 20 miles of the drive pretty closely follows the marathon course, just in reverse, so I got one last chance to see just how much more sense it makes to drive it.  I tried very hard not to think about how far it felt while in the car, since there would be no car to be found on Sunday.  The wind was blowing VERY hard throughout Nags Head and Kitty Hawk, gusting to 40 mph, and I did a little prayer to the wind gods that they would get it out of their system.  There’s a reason the Wright Brothers brought their flying machine to the Outer Banks ….. wind.  It’s almost always windy there, sometimes brutally so.  I have years of cancelled or ill-advised fishing trips to prove it.  Forecast was for the wind to lay down by race time.  Was keeping my IT-Bands crossed that the forecast would hold up.

Saturday was lots of stretching, icing, and generally worrying about how my knee would respond.  My dad and I hit the Expo after lunch, which was a little disappointing.  It was well-organized, but very little of it seemed to be about the race itself.  Limited marathon gear, no pace groups, etc.  Plenty of running vendors and samples.  We got out of there fairly quickly since I wanted to go check out a particular part of the course.  From about miles 10-13 the race goes through Nags Head Woods, which seemed like the most likely place I would run into trouble with my leg.  Unfortunately it didn’t disappoint.  The first couple miles cover a fairly hilly dirt road.  Good footing, but more up/down hill than my knee wanted to see.  The last stretch of this section turns off the road and heads onto a narrow trail that is VERY hilly, with sharp up and down grades.  Just walking the first hill, especially the downhill, was getting my knee a little cranky.  The run through the Woods would definitely make the second half of the race more interesting.  I felt better knowing what was coming, so I could get my head ready for it.

Saturday night was spent planning the dropoff plan for the morning, and a main and fallback spectator strategy.  My dad was walking the half-marathon, which started at 7AM from the halfway point of the full-marathon, so we all end up finishing at the same place.  The half started at 7:00, and the full marathon started at 7:20.  Plan was that my dad would drop me off far too early for the full, then drive to the start for the half.  One great thing about this race is the start is only a couple miles from my parents’ house.  Major downside of this is that the road in and out of their neighborhood, the only road, is closed from 6-9AM on race day since the race actually goes down that road.  I ran the whole race with my Fuel Belt, since I like to drink/eat/gel on a schedule that matches my training, rather than rely on water stops.  The plan was that my family would meet me at the halfway point, with high-fives, hugs,  and a fresh batch of Accelerade bottles for the Fuel Belt.  If the road stayed closed until 9AM, this wasn’t going to work, since they wouldn’t make it to the meeting spot by the time I got there.  We decided to go with this plan, hope the road opened earlier, and I would bring my Blackberry with me in case we needed to change things up.  Seemed simple enough on paper.

Race Day:

3:45AM .  Rise and Shine.  Needed plenty of time to eat, shower, stretch, and get rolling by 5:20AM.  Dad and I both got geared up, double/triple checked we had everything, and headed for the starting lines by 5:30.  When my dad dropped me off on his way to the Half start, I was, in fact, the first runner there.  I was actually the second person of any sort there, as there was a woman setting up a table with water near the start.  The weather was great – upper 40s, some humidity, very little wind.  I had my pick of a sea of pristine portable toilets, but once that was done I had a lot of waiting to do.  Fortunately folks started showing up soon after I got there, and by 6:30 the place was buzzing.  I spent most of the 2 hours leading up to the race pacing, trying to keep my feet and knee loose, stay warm, and hold on to as much of the stretching as I could.  There were no pace groups for the race, so I settled into the 7:00-9:00 Mile corral, and after a long prayer and an impressive National Anthem, we were off.

Miles 1-4 ….  Too fast by design

I knew the first few steps would set the table for my knee for the day.  I did some light jogging before heading to the corrals just to see how my leg would feel, and I was encouraged.  As we got underway with the race, I was once again encouraged when the pain was less than I expected, and it settled down very quickly.  Knowing that my knee would tighten up after the first couple hours, and knowing that the mid-race woods section was going to be rough, I decided I would go out fast if my body was cooperating.  I was still determined to go under 4 hours, and I knew I’d need some banked time at the end.  The runners’ energy was great, the weather was ideal, the spectators were doing their thing, so I went with the flow for the first 4 miles.  Didn’t even turn on my iPod during this time.  I really wanted to focus on reading how my knee felt, and wanted to really concentrate on the runners around me so I didn’t get tripped up and do any damage.  As I came up on the sign marking Mile 4, still focused on sub 4-hours, I said to myself ‘You’ve got this’……

Mile	Split
1	0:08:30
2	0:08:11
3	0:08:12
4	0:08:19

Miles 5-10 …. Settling in

Once I hit mile 5 I tried to slow down a little and really focus on mid-foot strike as much as possible.  The better my knees-up, pop-pop-pop form, the better my knee felt.  This is a very flat stretch of the course, which winds through neighborhoods, does a picturesque half-lap around the Wright Brothers Memorial, and leads up to the stretch through the Woods.  Fired up the iPod during this stretch, followed my plan for Hammer Gels and Accelerade, and generally felt pretty good.  The knee had a tightness/ache to it, but no shooting pains and no feeling of instability.  Thanks to the lingering PF issues in my feet, they were starting to feel a little sore, but this was less than expected as well.  Temps were well into the 50s by the end of this stretch of miles, and the weather felt great.  There are various points that take you right along the sound, and the views were fantastic.  I can confidently say, however, that had the weather been bad, those stretches would have been brutal.  This is a beautiful course for a beautiful day, but could be very challenging in foul weather.  We made our way onto the dirt roads somewhere around mile 10 ……

Mile	Split
5	0:08:23
6	0:08:30
7	0:08:31
8	0:08:39
9	0:08:30
10	0:08:33

Miles 11-14 ….  Into the Woods

Aside from the bridge at the end, I knew this would be the toughest part of the race for me.  After checking it out Saturday, and not knowing how my knee would respond, I had thought this might be the end of the race for me.  Race day, however, I knew this would just determine how much the rest of the race was going to hurt.  There was no way I wasn’t going to reach the finish line.  The dirt road portion was tough, but not too bad.  This was the first stretch where several people were walking parts of the course.  The footing was a little loose, so I was really concentrating on form and watching my step.  At the sharp left turn between Lap 12 and Lap 13 in the picture above, we left the road and followed a narrow path until leaving the woods.  This started with a steep uphill, and a very steep downhill, both of which put a beating on my leg.  The uphills and downhills continued, and I really had to overstress my left leg to do most of the work, and step lightly with my right leg.  Not ideal, but workable.

The exit from the woods was (hopefully) the point where I’d meet my family for some refueling and smiles.  I had my phone with me, with the plan being my wife would call me if they were NOT going to make it in time.  Good plan, but this didn’t account for the fact that I had no cell phone signal from about mile 9 until we left the woods.  So, did they make it in time??

You bet they did.  Got lots of hugs and high fives all around, a much-needed kiss from my wife, reloaded the Fuel  Belt better than the pit crews at Talladega, took stock of the knee (recovering well from the hills), and headed out for the second half of the race.....

Mile	Split
11	0:09:00
12	0:08:52
13	0:09:08
14	0:08:56

Miles 15-18 ….. Paved Paradise

At just about the halfway point we hit our first stretch of the course on the main road through Nags Head, 158.  The road is 2-lanes both ways, and they had closed one of the Southbound lanes for us to run/walk.  Up to this point there had been plenty of shade, and the weather was a non-factor.  On the road, however, the temperature jumped noticeably, and the sun was shining strong.  It took a little while for my knee to settle down from the prior stretch, but it was still more ache than pain, so no big worries.  I could feel the knee brace rubbing the skin off a small section above my knee, but I expected some of that.  There were lots of signs and a few groups of cheering people along this stretch, and it was very flat and happy.  Still on-target with drinks and gels, still concentrating on form, and still maintaining a decent pace, although moving a bit slower – partially by design, and partially because I was getting a little tired….

Mile	Split
15	0:08:40
16	0:08:47
17	0:08:54
18	0:09:00

Miles 19-21 ….. Fore

Fairly uneventful stretch, half of which winds through a golf course, and half of which is back on 158, leading up to the crossing of the Sound and the fun-filled bridge.  The sun was working hard, and the temps were rising.  Started seeing a scattering of folks who were obviously battling cramps, which started getting in my head and getting me prepared for the possibility of hitting the wall or cramping.  I hadn’t run much over the last couple weeks, so my legs were well rested, but they also didn’t feel like this was part of the routine like they had on the longer training runs.  I was starting to feel a little overstuffed on gel and Accelerade, so I started grabbing water at the water stops and dumping it on my head.  At the turn at mile 21 it was time to cross the water….

Mile	Split
19	0:08:51
20	0:08:58
21	0:09:00

Miles 22-25 ….. A Bridge Too Far

This stretch takes you across the Currituck Sound, moving from Nags Head into Manteo and the finish line.  Unfortunately, if you’re not in a boat, then you’re probably going to have to cross a bridge to get across the water.  This is a very straight, very long, and mostly uphill stretch, including a big climb over the highest part of the bridge.  No real place for spectators in this area, so this is you against your mind.  I was definitely tired, my knee was aching, my feet were sore, my stomach was begging for mercy from gels, and it was all good.  This was what I had dragged myself out of bed for.  This was why I went to Physical Therapy.  This was yoga, stretching, foam roller, ice baths, blisters, and blood.  I was tempted to walk, and would have had lots of company, but I knew I would kick myself for it later.  My pace was dropping, but I knew I had time banked, so I let it slow enough to help my leg without threatening 4 hours.  Once we got off the bridge, the water stops returned, as did a scattering of spectators.  I forced down a last gel around mile 24, and made the turn for Manteo…..

Mile	Split
22	0:09:16
23	0:09:30
24	0:09:55
25	0:09:41

Miles 25-Finish – Dragging it in

The last 1.2 miles are mercifully flat and straight.  Unfortunately I passed someone getting EMT attention, but he looked to be mostly OK.  I walked through the last water stop, double-fisting it with one cup to drink and one cup to dump on my head.  My stomach was a little queasy at this point from all the Accelerade and gel, so a big drink of water helped.  My knee was VERY tight at this point, and I knew my form was suffering, but I didn’t have a lot of life left in my legs to keep my steps as high as they should be.  Manteo is a pretty small town, so the spectators were packed into a fairly small area, which made the crowd look great, and sound very loud.  Spotted my family cheering at about 26.1 miles, which was GREAT to see.  Caught my first glimpse of the gun-time clock reading 3:56, which brought a big smile to my face.  Crossed the line, got my medal, and limped through the blankets and food to wait for my family.  Official chip time, 3:54:22.

Mile	Split
26	0:10:08
26.37	0:03:22

Got some pictures with my dad, who kicked butt walking the half-marathon, got some pictures with my kids, roamed through the crowd and festivities for a while, then headed out for a much needed ice bath.  My legs were crazy tight, my knee and feet hurt, my stomach was shaky at best, but my 3:54 chiptime was about as best-case as I could have hoped for, took nearly 20 minutes off my prior marathon time, and I was still able to do this:

I would HIGHLY recommend this marathon to anyone considering it.  Very well organized, great job with water/gel stops and volunteers, beautiful course with stunning views of Kitty Hawk and Nags Head, and VERY well supported by the local community.  Can’t comment on the accommodations or the transportation, but I didn’t hear anyone complaining.  We didn’t stay in Manteo long afterwards, but there was plenty going on there, including a band and folks dancing in the streets, so the after-party looked like a success as well.

Most of the soreness is gone now, and my knee feels no worse than it did before the race, and isn’t bothering me at all walking around.  Haven’t tried running again yet, and won’t for at least another week.  I’m without a ‘next race’ right now, and that’s OK at the moment.  Just enjoying a great experience, and a great memory for me and my dad.  Planning to live vicariously through my blogging friends for a while before I get back to business.

I recognize it may have taken longer to read this entry than it took to run the race, but Shannon from ‘Running Injury Free’ has posted her recap of the OBX Marathon, and she took a BUNCH of pictures while running.  If you want to read a great recap, and see just how nice the weather and the course really were, I’d highly encourage you to check out her recap here.

Game On! Running Gear Roll Call

Warning – abundant wordiness and truthiness to follow. Marathon #2 training officially begins today, so I’m marking the occasion with my unscientific yet abundantly compelling opinions about my assorted running gear. All of the stuff below I bought by squeezing a little more life out of my own credit cards, so these are unbiased reviews based on my own real-world experience. Nobody is sponsoring me, although I think my orthopedist may be quietly considering it, and nobody has sent me any of this stuff to review, although I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to that and am willing to try most anything once. However, I’m fairly confident a running skirt would make my hips look big, and if I find myself needing a sports bra then something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.


Today is Day 1 of the 120 days of training planned for the Outer Banks Marathon. It’s a little less exciting than being at this starting point back in November for my first marathon, however, I have a lot more confidence in my ability to handle the distance than I did then. I’m also considerable less clueless when it comes to some of the essential gear to optimize the odds of get through a training cycle in one piece. Since I like to read blog posts about what folks are actually doing and using in their training, along with real-life experiences rather than marketing glitz, I thought I’d share my current collection of essentials (stuff I use on almost every run):


Shoes: Asics Gel Nimbus (11 and 12)

I’ve used the Nimbus shoes going back to the Gel Nimbus 8, and have had pretty good luck with them. Admittedly, I haven’t really strayed from them, so there may be some better options for me out there. I’m a fairly neutral runner, and usually fluctuate between 190 and 200 pounds, so I need a fair amount of cushioning. My recent issues with Plantar Fasciitis have me doubting the Nimbii a bit, but I went ahead and ordered the 12s, which finally showed up on Friday and got their first outing yesterday. The Nimbus 11 has worked out well for me in terms of tread life, nothing causing any blisters, and keeping my feet cool and well-cushioned. My only issue is that where the mesh meets the front of the shoe tends to wear thin and/or through above my big toe after about 150 miles. This is probably a function of how I hold my foot in the shoe, since it only seems to happen on the right shoe. As far as the Nimbus 12s go, when I took them out of the box and gave them a run yesterday, it was like running on rainbows with my feet wrapped in clouds being pulled by unicorns. Actually it’s too soon to really tell anything or compare them to the 11s based on how they perform. No blisters from the first run, which is always a good thing. There’s nothing that feels significantly different than the 11s, which is a plus in my book. After I’ve broken them in a bit I’ll share my thoughts in a later post. After I’ve broken in the shoes that is … not my thoughts.


Insoles: Superfeet Green

For all of the marathon 1 training I used Softsol Airr insoles, which seemed to work just fine. In response to the PF issues I decided to switch to something with a more rigid arch support. The Softsol insoles are VERY comfortable and VERY cushiony, but don’t offer much in terms of arch support. I tried the Powerstep Pinnacle arches, but found the arch to be a bit too high, and a bit too far forward (towards the toes) than I wanted. The Superfeet seem to be much closer to matching the shape of my feet, and the arch support is a bit less pronounced. My feet still seem to be adjusting to running with them, since the reduced cushioning means a bit more overall pounding. I’ve put the Superfeet in 5 different pairs of shoes at this point, so I think we’re committed for the long haul.


Socks: New Balance Unisex Lightning Dry Lo-Cut, RoadRunner Dryroad Elite No Show Double Tab

Wore these New Balance socks for every run for marathon 1 including the race, and all runs since marathon 1, and haven’t had any issues with blisters or chafing. Thus, since I’m an idiot, I’m trying out a different sock to see what I think. I’ll still wear the NBs, but they’re showing some wear so I’ve added the RRS Dryroad Elite No Show Double Tab socks to the rotation, in a spectacularly ugly black/orange color. I got some great suggestions for potential socks in the comments from a prior blog posting, and I’ve saved them all in my training log. If the RR socks don’t work out, I’ll give some of the others a try, but these were a little less expensive than the suggestions I got, and I need to start governing my running-spend a bit better. For me, the sign of a good sock is not knowing it’s there, kinda like a good referee or an adult diaper. Based on 3 runs (5, 5, and 8 miles) I’m pretty happy with the RR socks. Compared to the NB socks they feel like putting gloves on my feet. There is no slippage or bunching when I run, but I didn’t have any issues with that using the NBs either. They have a nice, subtle arch compression/wrap built in, which can’t be a bad thing when wrestling with PF. Overall I’d recommend both of these types of socks, mostly dependent on if you want something other than white (which seems to be the only NB color) and how much you want to spend – the NB socks are considerably cheaper.


Compression Shorts: 2XU Men’s Performance

I gave compression shorts a first try last Spring when recovering from a pulled hamstring. I trained for marathon 1 primarily using a pair of compression shorts from Shock Doctor, occasionally mixing in a pair of Under Armour compression shorts. I didn’t really care for the Under Armour shorts as they didn’t seem to differentiate the physiology of the body between the knees and the waist. It just felt like I was cramming my body into something tight and I didn’t feel a big benefit versus running without compression shorts. The Shock Doctor shorts worked fine, but they were made to accommodate a cup, and I figure if I need to wear a cup running then I need to find a new neighborhood in which to train. I used the 2XU calf compression sleeves during my M1 training to deal with a calf strain, and they worked great, so I bit the overly-expensive bullet and bought the 2XU shorts soon after M1. They are much more comfortable, much lighter, and seem much more well-made than the other shorts I was using. They also have a drawstring waist so I can control how much I want to feel like I’m being eviscerated, and they have silicone leg grippers that keep them where they should be, even when stretching. They also feel like the panels are put together to reflect the way the body is typically put together. Kinda like the difference between a tailored or untailored article of clothing. I’d say they look pretty cool too, but if somebody sees them then I’ve most likely forgotten to put my shorts on before leaving the house. Again.


Hydration/Fuel: Fuel Belt, Accelerade, Hammer Gels

Got the Fuel Belt early during the training for marathon 1, and was admittedly not entirely enthusiastic about the idea, but now I wouldn’t want to do a long training run without it. I considered going the handheld route, but back in the day I ran with a Walkman in my hand, and I was thrilled when I got my first MP3 player and could strap it on my arm and run with nothing in my hands. I didn’t want to go back to holding something again, so I went with the Fuel Belt. I’m a big fan of having hydration, gels, food, etc. available whenever I want them, so much so that I ran the first half of M1 with the Fuel Belt, and passed it off to my wife when I passed my family at the mid-point, then relied on the water stations for the rest of the race. For M2, I’m going to wear it the whole way, and hopefully talk my wife into passing me four filled bottles to reload at the halfway point. I hardly even notice that it’s there when I run, and I like to be able to hydrate and or eat whenever my body seems to need it, rather than at a set distance interval. I’ve just recently starting using Accelerade for pre and during run hydration. So far it seems to be working well, and does seem to help out with sustained energy. The flavor (orange) isn’t something that I would call good, but it’s not terrible either. It’s a little on the chalky side which I assume is because the protein doesn’t break down terribly well during mixing, but if it works I can live with a little chalkiness. I’m on the verge of trying out some recovery powders, but haven’t quite gotten there yet. Hammer Gels are the sponsor for the OBX Marathon, so I’ve switched from Gu to Hammer for this training cycle. I haven’t gotten into long enough long-runs to really call for gels yet, but I’ve been trying them before my morning runs to see what I think of the flavors. So far, the vanilla was pretty tasteless, but the Apple Cinnamon, Raspberry, and Montana Huckleberry were all pretty tasty. No issues with any stomach upset, but that wasn’t a problem with the Gu either. Looking forward to hitting the distances where I need these. Knock on uninjured wood.


The Rest & Coming Soon:

Nothing special in the way of technical shirts. 3 Under Armour shirts and 3 C9 shirts from Target. Unfortunately I didn’t discover the C9 shirts until I had already bought the Under Armour shirts, since the 3 from Target cost about the same as 1 Under Armour, and I don’t see a big difference between them. Target is my friend. Regularly sport Oakley sunglasses that I love, but don’t remember the model. They are very comfortable, and don’t squeeze my big melon at all when I run, even after 4 hours of marathoning. They’re entirely too expensive, but Oakley has GREAT customer service, so I’m a customer for life. I’m all about customer service. Body Glide on every run. The stuff does exactly what it’s supposed to do, and chafed nipples are angry nipples. Only needed to learn that lesson once. Don’t have a running hat yet, but need to get one soon to keep that big melon from cooking. I currently either run without a hat, or with a bandana wrapped around my head, which inevitably means I get mistaken for an exceedingly sweaty pirate, or risk getting caught in a drive-by for flashing the wrong gang colors. It’s all about thug life on the rough streets of suburban North Carolina. Also need to get myself some good sunscreen, since the Coppertone Sport tends to get in my eyes. Scape seems to be the hot product on the block, so I’ll probably be picking some up soon.

Of course my Garmin Forerunner 305, henceforth referred to as Lil’ G, goes running whenever and wherever I do. You certainly don’t need a GPS to train for a marathon, but it makes it a WHOLE lot easier to track the progress and ensure the distances and the timings are lining up with your training plan. Hard to beat the 305 for the price. Packs more features than I will probably ever use. Lil’ G got mad skillz.

Have to go down some gels, as all this typing has my fingers cramping. 1 day down, 119 to go.