Searching for Zabolee: Taking on America's Toughest Road Marathon

The Blue Ridge is no joke and since I am usually hanging out in Roanoke, VA and getting into ultrarunning what better way to start focusing on ultra's then to run America's toughest road marathon. Check out the Video:

Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon - America's Toughest Road Marathon from Pete Eshelman on Vimeo.

Blue Ridge Marathon Race Report:
Overall 18th out of 484, 2nd in age group---Missed first place age group finish by 2 seconds--LOL.
Time: 3:40:36----Lot's of improvement in distance running---beat my first Rome marathon time.

This race was a little strange for me because I really didn't have any time to do research on the race as well as develop a formal strategy to finish the race. My goals were simple:

1) Be an efficient runner both uphill and downhill

2) Get miles in at a competitive pace

3) Finish in 4 hours with enough gas to do another 26.2

Goal 1:

Running hills has seemed to be my nemesis over the years. If I ran a good uphill then I sucked on the downhill and overall my downhill sucks anyway. This was going to be a good race to practice my technique. Overall, I averaged a pace around 164-174. If I exceeded this on the uphill than I would slow down or walk. I would use this time to eat or drink some water. My pulse was quick too slow back down and I was running again within a few seconds. My pulse never exceeded 174 on the downhill which was awesome for me because most downhill sections were under a 6:30 mile pace no matter how hard I tried to push the pace. This allowed me to let my legs turn-over super fast and my upper body to rest relax. Worked very well for me. My biggest difficulty was transitioning from the hills to the flatter sections especially after a fast downhill. I need to work on this but I believe the solution for this is to anticipate the flat, slow down the legs, and almost slow the pace into the flats and crescendo back into a fast pace once the legs and body have adjusted from a physiological perspective. During the hill-flat transition, I felt like my legs were like what happens to a wave that crashes into a rock--slack water. Lot's of energy dispersed in all the wrong places.

Goal 2:

It was good to get out and run a competitive race but not run a competitive race. I felt like I got all the benefits of feeling the vibe and energy but didn't go through the race jitters of an A-race. It was pretty cool to have other things that I was focusing on versus actually racing and doing well. Turns out this worked to my benefit in the end.

Goal 3: Finish in 4 hours and with enough gas for another

I felt like I managed my body very well. I did run out of water in my hydration bladder and could feel the effects of a limited water supply in the later stages of the race. I also did not bring enough gels and shot blocks (thank goodness for the aid stations). Next race, I plan to have a full water bladder and the appropriate nutrition plan. For some reason, I thought I could go out with what I took on the Rome marathon. I didn't factor the heat challenge I would experience as well as the required nutrition for the hills.

Overall, I had a good race. I felt comfortable and I felt confident in my ability to manage my strategy and physiological changes over the miles. I feel like I am getting to the point where I can begin to anticipate how my body is going to change during the race and begin to make preparations ahead of time.

Race Mantra: Comfort, Confidence, Compete

1st 3rd of the race, run in comfort...be relaxed in your pace, drink water, and eat.

Middle of the race, run in confidence...be confident in your training, your abilities, and your mental game.

Last 3rd of the race...compete...know you're tired and establish small goals that require you to pick up the pace. Have a competitive mindset versus a fatigued and tired mindset.