All of this being said... I failed for the 2011 Houston Marathon. I set a goal of 3:30 in November and I did not hit it. Although I was close at 3:31:34 it still comes down to the simple fact that I missed my goal. I understand a lot of people will want to say "you still did great" or "well, you had so much to overcome". All this may be true, I know I did well and I know I overcame a lot, but I still missed a goal I had set for myself. I could make excuses about why I didn't hit my goal, but what is the point. I know myself and by missing something I set out for will only make me stronger in the long run. It means I am doing an exceptional job setting challenging goals. No one should hit 100% of their goals. If you are hitting every one of your goals it means you can do better. Give yourself more credit. Push yourself even further than you thought you could. I assure you, nine times out of ten you'll surprise yourself.
Prior to the Race:
I started training for the marathon in mid November (about 3 weeks after the last race of my 2010 season). After 70.3 Austin I took almost a month of mental and physical recovery from my first triathlon season. Did a few rides and runs but wanted to take the opportunity to put the training log away and focus on my life and things I may have neglected during my season. Once I started training again I set a goal for the Houston Marathon. I took the numbers from some recent long runs and based them against my last marathon. My goal for the race in January was 3:30 (about 8:00 minute miles). Training was going really well until I had a bike crash in mid December. This took me out of training for about 3 weeks (when I should have building more base mileage). I did a few runs in late December after I was cleared to workout again and decided I was still going to try and run the marathon. I also made the decision not to revise my time goal. My crash course marathon training went as well as I could have hoped. I built what I thought was a sufficient base in a relatively short period of time.
Race Day
The weather for a marathon was pretty horrible for that time of year. About 65 degrees, humid and raining. This meant a few things:
1) Rain makes running more difficult. You use more energy to run in the rain. You also get less power out every stride since your shoes have less traction
2) It was relatively hot and humid. You have to actively control your body temp. That means making sure you stay hydrated, consume enough sodium to replace the salt in your sweat, and keep your body temperature down.
3) Did I mention it was raining? This also made it more difficult to judge the amount of water (and sodium) I was losing while racing. By being wet the entire race I couldn't tell my sweat rate.
The Houston Marathon is a massive race. I want to take a moment to give the race directors credit for putting on a fantastic race (minus that totally unnecessary hill they threw in around mile 15). The expo was great and the race and post race support was awesome.
The first sign that this was going to be a long day was when my heart rate sky-rocketed as soon as the race started. I generally have a slower heart rate (even during races) and it took me a long time to get it under control. It wasn't until about mile 5 that I seemed to settle into the run. My race plan consisted of staying at or above an 8:00 minute per mile pace until mile 8 at which time I would speed up to a faster yet still comfortable pace. During all of my training runs I was able to drop to under a 7:30 pace and hold it for a few miles without a problem. I think I left this extra gear at home on Sunday. My body wouldn't let me speed up at all. I was fine running 7:50 but couldn't hold a faster pace for more than 60 seconds without feeling it drain me. This kept me from building a substantial time cushion for when I would undoubtedly hit "the wall". I wanted to be averaging under 7:50 going into mile 18, my average pace was 7:54.
I remember passing an aid station around mile 17 and starting to feel a second wind. I got really excited when this happened because I thought I should still be able to break 3:30. As soon as I hit mile 18 I developed a bad stitch in my side. Every step was excruciating as every muscle along the right side of my abdomen was clenched tight and would not loosen up. I figured if I could hurry and push through it I could still make my goal... yeah, that didn't happen. It took 2 incredibly slow and painful miles to push through the cramp. As soon as it went away I ran smack into "the wall". I couldn't get my pace back down anywhere near where it needed to be. The next 6 miles were frustrating to say the least as I could feel 3:30 slipping away. Then at mile 24 3:30 literally passed me by as the 3:30 pace guy ran past. I made a valiant effert to keep up with him which lasted all of about 20 seconds. I had to slow back down again. It wasn't until the last mile I was finally able to pick up my pace. I never caught up to that 3:30 pacer. I finished the Houston Marathon with a time of 3:31:34.
Yes, this was a failure. I had a goal and missed it. In doing so I noticed two very important things. First, I looked back at mile 24 when the 3:30 pacer past me. When this happened I literally laughed. Not entirely sure why this was funny, except at a moment like that what else is there to do? I was out there doing what I loved. I understood that it simply wasn't my day. I saw a goal literally slip through my hands and was able to smile about it.
The second important thing that happened was once I got home. I was feeling a little down and decided to put my Houston Marathon medal next to the rest of my medals I'd earned these past 12 months.
I took a moment to look back on what an amazing year this has been. I have grown so much as both a person and an athlete. In that one moment looking down at 12 months of accomplishments the disappointment from the race went away and I realized how truly happy I am in my life right now.
Just because I failed to hit a goal doesn't make me, my training, or even my race a failure. I am extremely happy I competed in the Houston Marathon and am proud I overcame the obstacles set in front of me. Being an athlete, it is easy for us to get wrapped up in pace, heart rate and race times. I'd like to suggest you never lose sight of the big picture. Use these bumps in the road to propel you even higher. These little "failures" will make the next success even sweeter.
the last part is the best. if you quit enjoying it then turn your shoes in and sale your bike. if it's not fun then it's work. good luck this season!
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