Grandma's Marathon: You Don't Know Dick Beardsley?

Don't know if you know Dick Beardsley? But I was about to as he was the featured speaker at the marathon expo. Also, Dick remains the current course record holder with a 2:09:37 from 1981. Actually he was the reason for my decision to run this marathon, not to take a crack at his course record, but because once I got wind of his story I was truly inspired by the overwhelming life struggles that he has endured both on and especially off the road.

So on the flight(s) to Duluth, MN I began to read the book "Duel In The Sun," which "vividly captures the delicate balance between hope and desperation that characterized Dick Beardsley, Alberto Salazar, and America's greatest marathon (Boston '82)" - so says the back of the cover. Great read!

It was here that one particular phrase jumped off the page and into my psyche. Alberto Salazar's right hamstring injury that he sustained while running 10x200m repeats only several days before the '82 Boston, the author John Bryant described "the pain was nagging rather than debilitating." Finally I could put into words how I felt about my right knee the past few weeks leading up to the race. It wasn't enough to keep me at home (especially with two young kids under 3, haha) but it certainly was enough to have me teetering on the fence of "should I race it or just finish or run the half marathon?" Well, fact remained I'd traveled too far to do anything less than go down swinging.

Expo...



 
Hal Higdon

                                 Kara Goucher

Adam Goucher          

Pasta Dinner, Motel 6, World Cup Recap, Bed @ 9pm
4:30am Wake-up, drive to buses, Wait.. Met Mario from Italy! Bus, Baño, Bag-drop.

Start Line had a beautiful singing of the National Anthem which was followed by the two fighter jets screaming above!! Choked up. Chills and thrills.

Helicopter above taking photos and we're off..

6:31, 6:29, 6:29, 6:32, 6:31, 6:34, 10K 40:31

I knew that I wanted to see no less than 6:40 per mile in order to be under my goal of sub 2:55. This represented a PR, possible 1st corral in Beantown, and another NYC entry. HOWEVER, I hadn't entirely closed the door on the possibility of a sub 2:50 (6:29/mi) and this would be my ultimate demise late in the race. Turns out the bank isn't open on Saturday in Duluth either. So much for banking time early. Lol.

6:32-Gu, 6:35, 6:37, 6:26? -> Mile 10 was playing Michael Jackson's Thriller and I must have felt inspired to throw down because I looked at my watch and saw a 6:15/mi lap pace until I backed off a bit for 6:26.

I took inventory and my knee pain was nagging but not debilitating and I was prepared for the pain to only worsen in the coming miles.

At this point there was a decision to be made because a group of 5 or 6 of us were running together and working to block the headwind off the coast of Lake Superior. If I drop off this group then I would certainly work harder by myself but I wasn't ecstatic about this pace so early in the race.

6:31, 6:35, 6:34-Gu, Half 1:25:52

Systems check at the half was OK, not great due to the suspicion of a possible nature's calling. I felt it was not an emergency but soon this would have to be dealt with before things got ugly. In fact, things were getting ugly as after the half our once proud wind-blocker group had diminished to just two of us.

6:34, 6:42 - #2 - nearly passed the port-o-let @ the mile mark but hurried back to avoid getting caught in between mile markers and facilities

6:42, 6:45, 6:44, 6:45, 6:57, 20Mi 2:13:01

Now flying solo, race plan was intact and it couldn't have been scripted any better. I had 41 minutes and some change for the last 10K to hit the desired goal. But wait what's this? The wheels are coming off... Those early miles had taken their toll and it was a struggle to barely stay under 7 min/mile.

6:56, 6:52-Gu

Ever since the bathroom break my mile splits are outta sink with the course and I've got some blister and toenail issues. But this is to be expected, right? The race doesn't start until mile 20, right? Adding insult to injury was the gusting headwind standing me straight up as I approached the first significant incline.

7:06 (Lemon Drop Hill), 6:59, 7:07 (speed-bump), 6:56

Final Tme 2:56:36 - missed the PR by 7 seconds but it felt more like 7 minutes because my once proud form was reduced to the death shuffle for the final 4-6 miles. What a difference there is to pace a race out and finish strong as opposed to going out too fast and holding on for dear life.

Lesson learned... I think :)