camaker
Anything worth doing is worth overdoing
- Joined
- May 8, 2015
In-Person Race Report - Tobacco Road Marathon
The Tobacco Road Marathon is run primarily on the mixed pavement and crushed gravel of the American Tobacco Trail in Cary, NC. Built on an old rail bed, the course features mild grades, with the exception of the gently rolling hills of the 2.25 mi it takes to get to and from the trail from the start/finish at the USA Baseball Center.
This was my 12th marathon. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to be capable of or how to approach it. I’m only 7 weeks removed from my first 100k, which only gave me 3 weeks of light recovery running (one of those just walking at WDW), 2 weeks to re-introduce longer tempo runs and push my distance back up, and 2 weeks to taper. Given uncertainty like that, I tend to default to “go for it”. My plan was to go out and run at a 4:00 marathon pace (9:09/mi) and reevaluate the strategy each 1/4 of the race.
The temp was surprisingly cool for mid-May in NC at 46 deg (44 dew point) to start. I was scheduled to start in the 6:45 mini-wave, but the starting chute was empty when I showed up at 6:30. So I got my temp checked, walked down the chute and started early.
The first quarter of the race clicked by uneventfully, with the first 6.55 mi passing right on schedule in 59:52. The 2nd quarter went by in similar fashion, hitting the halfway point at 13.1 mi in 1:59:44. Taking stock at that point was a mixed bag. On the plus side, my stomach was holding up well with my nutrition strategy. After experimenting with Maurten and Tailwind with mixed results I went back to my old standby of Huma gels and was downing one every 4 miles. On the downside, at only 16 sec ahead of pace, my legs were starting to feel the effort. The way they felt, I resigned myself to 4:00 slipping away and resolved to focus on seeing what I could hold onto.
Apparently I gave up too quickly, though. Around mile 15 I got a huge 2nd wind in my legs. Miles started to feel easier than they had all race and I felt like I was flying down the trail! Others might have seen a 50yo man slightly improve his pace if they’d been watching very closely. I don’t remember what my 3/4 split was, other than that it was encouraging. At the 20 mi mark I pulled out my secret weapon. 80s music gives me a lift, but has to be used carefully. I had been carrying my headphones waiting for the right moment and this was it. I was starting to feel like my 2nd wind revival had been a false dawn that led to over enthusiasm that might bite me at any moment. I definitely got the lift I needed from the music and spent the last 6 miles bearing down on the mile I was in. It even turned out I had enough in the tank to sprint the last tenth of a mile or so.
Ultimately, my final time was 3:57:31! My first sub-4:00 marathon! I couldn’t be happier! It’s a new official race PR, beating my previous best Chicago Marathon time by 0:20:40. It also beats my virtual race “unofficial” PR from last fall by 0:08:43. Looking at the in-race details, I negative split the race by 0:01:57, too (1st half 1.59:44, 2nd half 1:57:47). All in all, a great day of racing! Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
TL;DR Summary
Tobacco Road Marathon run in-person today. Finished in 3:57:31 for my first sub-4:00 marathon and a new official PR by 0:20:40. Negative split the race by almost 2 min.
The Tobacco Road Marathon is run primarily on the mixed pavement and crushed gravel of the American Tobacco Trail in Cary, NC. Built on an old rail bed, the course features mild grades, with the exception of the gently rolling hills of the 2.25 mi it takes to get to and from the trail from the start/finish at the USA Baseball Center.
This was my 12th marathon. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to be capable of or how to approach it. I’m only 7 weeks removed from my first 100k, which only gave me 3 weeks of light recovery running (one of those just walking at WDW), 2 weeks to re-introduce longer tempo runs and push my distance back up, and 2 weeks to taper. Given uncertainty like that, I tend to default to “go for it”. My plan was to go out and run at a 4:00 marathon pace (9:09/mi) and reevaluate the strategy each 1/4 of the race.
The temp was surprisingly cool for mid-May in NC at 46 deg (44 dew point) to start. I was scheduled to start in the 6:45 mini-wave, but the starting chute was empty when I showed up at 6:30. So I got my temp checked, walked down the chute and started early.
The first quarter of the race clicked by uneventfully, with the first 6.55 mi passing right on schedule in 59:52. The 2nd quarter went by in similar fashion, hitting the halfway point at 13.1 mi in 1:59:44. Taking stock at that point was a mixed bag. On the plus side, my stomach was holding up well with my nutrition strategy. After experimenting with Maurten and Tailwind with mixed results I went back to my old standby of Huma gels and was downing one every 4 miles. On the downside, at only 16 sec ahead of pace, my legs were starting to feel the effort. The way they felt, I resigned myself to 4:00 slipping away and resolved to focus on seeing what I could hold onto.
Apparently I gave up too quickly, though. Around mile 15 I got a huge 2nd wind in my legs. Miles started to feel easier than they had all race and I felt like I was flying down the trail! Others might have seen a 50yo man slightly improve his pace if they’d been watching very closely. I don’t remember what my 3/4 split was, other than that it was encouraging. At the 20 mi mark I pulled out my secret weapon. 80s music gives me a lift, but has to be used carefully. I had been carrying my headphones waiting for the right moment and this was it. I was starting to feel like my 2nd wind revival had been a false dawn that led to over enthusiasm that might bite me at any moment. I definitely got the lift I needed from the music and spent the last 6 miles bearing down on the mile I was in. It even turned out I had enough in the tank to sprint the last tenth of a mile or so.
Ultimately, my final time was 3:57:31! My first sub-4:00 marathon! I couldn’t be happier! It’s a new official race PR, beating my previous best Chicago Marathon time by 0:20:40. It also beats my virtual race “unofficial” PR from last fall by 0:08:43. Looking at the in-race details, I negative split the race by 0:01:57, too (1st half 1.59:44, 2nd half 1:57:47). All in all, a great day of racing! Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
TL;DR Summary
Tobacco Road Marathon run in-person today. Finished in 3:57:31 for my first sub-4:00 marathon and a new official PR by 0:20:40. Negative split the race by almost 2 min.
In times when it's a little cooler and less humid, I prefer 2 Toms Sportshield over BodyGlide for chafing issues.
