Tecumseh Marathon Race Report

Tecumseh Marathon Race Report,

Here it is Monday, 43 hours past my finish. I worked at BGI yesterday, so my recovery day is today. I am sending this report out to all of you who knew of my race and have shown me support. I appreciate everyone’s support, guidance and prayers.

The race morning was cold, yet dry and sunny. With a late 10 am start time, the temperature raised to a warm 25 degrees at the gun. I started slow and paced myself to a 9:45 1st mile. As we hit the second significant climb, the bunch started to thin out and running became much easier. Before I realized it, we were at Bear Lake. I was feeling fine and found a comfortable group to spend the day. Just pass the aid station at Bear Lake; I linked up with a little group of frisky runners. We proceeded to tick out a strong pace up and down the hills. I was feeling good and felt like a sub 4 hour race was in hand. Our 11 mile time was 1:32. It was the next significant climb that I perceived there might be a problem. I shut down the speed and let my frisky companions run off without me.

At 13.1 miles my time was 2:05ish. As many of you can guess, my performance continued to slow. I cooked myself running with the fast group. I still hoped to reach my 4:30 finish time. By 20 miles, I was getting some really serious feedback from my body. Every climb I was reduced to walking, but could manage a slow trot on flat sections, what few there were! Once we hit the lake, 3 miles to go, I was reduced to walk everything. The down hills were worse than the climbs. Every 50 meters and my hamstring would lock up! I found a walking partner and committed myself to finishing the race. I came in with a slow trot across the line in a slow time of 5:17:17.

As I said, I am disappointed with my finishing time. However, I have learned and will use this wisdom if I choose to run the Tecumseh again.

1. I underestimated 26 miles.
2. I ramped up my mileage too quickly in Oct-Nov. This lead to my overtraining.
3. Due to the overtraining was not able to get enough long runs in…
4. I got caught up in glorifying myself. God has given me this passion to push myself and challenge myself with endurance events. I should have been content with the race He had prepared for me, instead I pushed to reach a finish time that would impress others.

These are hard lessons. This is the reason I am sitting on the couch nursing a sore knee and Achilles’ tendon. Recovery is good and I have 6-8 weeks of easy off season to look to the upcoming season. I will continue to pursue the passions God has placed in my heart. I will continue to seek His will in all I do.

Again, thank you for your guidance, support and prayers.