Andrew Schrauben

Trying to smile because I've just run 26.15 miles...

It's about time I wrote about my second-ever marathon! On Saturday, April 1 I ran the Martian Marathon in Dearborn Heights, MI. The location was quite convenient - Friday after work Amanda and I loaded up the dogs and drove to her parents' house in nearby Dearborn, where we spent the night. On the way there we stopped by the race expo and I picked up my bib number and timing chip for the race.

My first marathon (Grand Rapids Marathon in October 2005 - I still have to write about this one!) was a bit of a disaster. In that one I had a goal of 4:30 but wound up finishing at 5:34 after battling leg-locking cramps in my quads that forced me to walk 10 of the 26.2 miles!

This time my goal was again 4:30, hoping to avoid the cramps and dehydration of my first marathon. I had more experience behind me and I brought a certain strategy to this second attempt. My plan was to drink water at each aid station (every 1.5 to 2 miles) as my source of fluids. In addition, I carried a flask of energy gel from which I took a squeeze every 30 minutes to ensure I had some calories in my system to burn for energy. Because the gel has very few electrolytes and water has none, I also had a ziploc bag with electrolyte caps - essentially salt tablets with some potassium, too. I took one of those every hour.

My target pace was 9:30 minutes per mile, which would result in a 4:15 finish time. Most of my long training runs were at that pace and I figured it would be easier to slow up a little if need be rather than speed up. A 10:00 minute pace would put me at my goal of 4:30. This way I could run a 9:30 pace but walk at each aid station while drinking the water - I haven't yet learned how to drink from a cup while running and not completely choke!

The weather was overcast with a moderate west wind. The temperature at race start was a somewhat chilly 43 degrees, and it warmed up to 50 by the end of the race. The race course ran entirely along Hines Drive, heading out to the west, then backtracking for a few miles east before going west a little ways, then finally coming east again. This made for an interesting combination of headwinds and tailwinds!

At last the race was on! There was a clock at Mile 1 and I passed through at 9:30 - exactly on pace. The first several miles I was able to keep that pace, although for some reason my heart rate was in the 160-170 range; normally running a 9:30 pace would put me at 150-160, so I was a bit concerned. Did I get too cold waiting for the start? Was I simply nervous? I decided not to worry about it.

My nutrition plan needed a few tweaks, something I learned the hard way. At the second aid station it was time for my first gel hit, which I remember after drinking the water - now I had nothing with which to wash down the sticky gel! Next aid station I made sure to hit the gel before drinking the water. But then at the fourth aid station I forgot to take my electrolyte cap until after the water, forcing me to swallow the pill without anything to help wash it down. Every aid station after that went smoothly, however.

Around 6.5 miles all of the half-marathoners turned around while the full marathoners kept running straight ahead. Up until then the road had been packed with runners, but once past the half-marathon turn-around I suddenly found myself all alone! The vast majority were only doing the half! The course became pretty quiet, but I was feeling good. Things were going pretty well after the first hour of running, and in fact I was still on pace after two hours. I finally started feeling a bit tired around Mile 12, and I remember thinking that I wasn't even halfway done! But I kept running. A few times along the course Amanda was able to find a spectator spot and take a few photos of me - it was always nice to see her on the course.

Trouble finally caught up to me at Mile 17 - right at the mile marker as I checked my watch, my quads cramped up. I was bummed, but not terribly disappointed because the cramps weren't severe and I was able to keep running. However, I had to slow down a bit and every mile or so I had to take a 1/4 mile walking break to give my muscles a chance to recover a bit. Then at Mile 19 I hit the infamous wall. At least I suppose that's what the proverbial wall is supposed to feel like. I kept running, but I felt awful. I remember telling myself that I'll never run a marathon again, that I'll just stick to 5K's! My legs felt heavy, my head ached, and my vision became blurry. I pressed on.

At Mile 22 I suddenly felt great! Apparently I busted through that wall. I was still dog-tired but I was fairly comfortable and pain-free. For the first time since the cramps started I was able to run two miles non-stop. Then at Mile 24 my body's good mood started to wear off and I began to feel very fatigued. Not nearly as bad as I felt at Mile 19, though. Plus, I had just two miles to go and after all, what's a measly two miles to a marathoner? Well, they're pretty tough if they're the last two! The photo of me here was taken about 10 seconds before I crossed the finish line, and it's pretty clear how worn out I was even though I'm smiling (at least trying to smile) for the camera. My finishing time was 4:42. Not fast enough to beat my goal, but I was quite satisfied considering that spent nine miles dealing with cramps.

In retrospect I really enjoyed that race and I'm looking forward to running another marathon someday, and even my challenge to run a 50-mile race this year. You can certainly learn a lot about yourself during such epic events.

Amanda was at the finish line of course, but so were Mom and Dad! I had mentioned the race to them but I wasn't expecting them to be there. I wasn't able to be very entertaining - I could barely walk - but perhaps that was entertainment in itself! We walked over to the expo where there was some food, but I had zero appetite. I did say hi to Don Kern, the Grand Rapids Marathon director who ran this marathon - the 119th of his career! Just 117 to go for me to catch up, although I think he's at 121 by now. That guy is nuts. Then again, isn't that what my wife, my parents, and my in-laws all said about me for running a marathon in the first place?