The Tokyo Marathon is usually very cold and wet. The LA Marathon is sunny and warm.
But not this year! This year, things were reversed. LA yesterday was cold, windy, and very, very wet. The weather gods played a joke on me.
100s of people got hypothermia. I really felt sorry for those who were out there for 5 or 6 hours. Even for 3+ hours it was not pleasant (although still fun to run though Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc.).
My result was not satisfactory — 3:10:55 and 2nd place in my age group (out of 318 men). Last year was 3:08:17 and 1st.
Actually the problem was not so much the cold and rain as pain in my calves the last 10 miles and especially the last 6. That slowed me down a lot. I was on 3:02:30 pace thru 16 miles (26k). The guy who won the 60s (who was second last year), ran 3:02:28.
I think my new light shoes were too light (didn’t do enough hard runs in them).
I also think maybe I will concentrate on half marathons for a while….
2 days ago
That's a tough day at the office Bob. I understand your dissappointment but that's still a great result given the conditions and your calves reaction to lightweight racers. They may have coped better had the day been dry. Recover well.
ReplyDeleteYes Bob as Grellan said I understand your disappointment. It is just so hard to get things just right. Your build up was near perfect and then it is gone and spoilt by the shoes and weather!
ReplyDeleteBy the way I had the exact same trouble with my last mara cause of my choice of shoes, I told you didn't I ;)(While running in flats is best for 90% of training and racing I'm not going to risk going too light into a marathon again, really messed up my last 10K last time, no doubt about it).
Yes as you like to race and there are so many half marathons and 10K in Japan It sounds like a good idea to focus on these for a while. Much easier to come back from a disappointing shorter race, for sure.
Having said that, that time still has you in the Master's elite group and you should be proud of the effort you put into training and racing it was, like I said, almost perfect ;)
Sorry it wasn't as it should have been Bob. Thought you must have had some issue after checking your splits on the website.
ReplyDeleteCan sort of understand doing halves, as things usually don't go that badly pear-shaped and one can back up again quickly if they do. Your training was perfect going in, so a shame not to run the time it indicated. On the shoe thing, maybe something light but with a little more cushioning like the Saucony Kinvara, or maybe the DS Racers?
I heard the conditions were terrible.
ReplyDeleteGood effort.
It was a tough day out there. Here's my video that shows just how bad it was for the back of the packers!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Bob in less than ideal conditions!
You did 3:10 in that Bob! Wow!! Hat's off to you!!!
ReplyDeleteI was chaffing just watching it.
at least you know why you didn't achieve your target. no doubt you'll put that right and get the result you came for next time. sorry about the calf issues, something i can empathise with very strongly at the moment. all things considered this is a great result. recover well, bob
ReplyDeleteSorry that you had some pain issues but I still think your time was excellent. We are always so hard on ourselves as we are both so competitive. I know how it feels to not beat a previous time. Crappy about the weather. You are still my hero. So how is your family handling the aftermath of the disaster in Japan? I am back in the US with the kids until the end of April. Mike flies out to the US next week and we head back together. It is crazy. I hope all is well with you and your family.
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