Team Laws’ X-Country Marathon Report
http://www.tamparaces.com/X-Country/index.htm
19 Nov 2005
Alafia River State Park, Lithia, Florida
The trip:
We left Pensacola for the Tampa, FL area on Friday morning the 18th. The whole support team (Team Laws 3D,1S,1W, & Me) were present. Several members were a little under the weather however we proceeded anyway since the race fee and campground were already paid. I was coming off a taper week in which I had done no running at all as I had experienced some discomfort (ok pain) in my right groin area about 10 days before the race. Explanation: This pain was the result of a 26 mile run about 1 month after GEER. (Did I go too long too soon I guess?). Add to this a recent change in my work schedule which had curtailed my training runs and I was not feeling the usual gusto for the race.
We arrived at Alafia (pronounced al’-eh-f-eye-a) River State Park (Lithia, FL suburb of Tampa) just as the daylight evaporated for good. We felt as if we’d driven 500 miles although it was only 486!. The Ranger helpfully confirmed our assigned spot in the campground and gave directions to the race start. Alafia is one of the newest (and cleanest) state parks in the state of Fl. The restrooms and showers were clean and convenient and the hot water was provided through solar heating, which I thought was a nice touch.
We set the tent up and then broke out dinner consisting of chili dogs and S’mores over the fire. The stars came out once an overcast sky cleared off and the moon was about 95% full. Once it was fully dark the mosquitoes came out too, however once the fire was going the mosquitoes bedded down for the night. Shortly before lights out we got 2 female neighbors who carried on with their loud visiting well into the night (according to my wife anyway). Not sure why that was necessary although I’m thinking maybe they hadn’t seen each other in awhile and had a lot of “catching up” to do?
The overnight temperature was about 57 and the morning get up was nice and comfortable. Pensacola and extreme north FL were in the midst of the first cold snap of the year but that didn’t reach as far south as Tampa unfortunately.
Got up and showered and prepared for the race. 2 Myoplex (vanilla) protein shakes and a plain bagel was my breakfast choice. We made our way over to packet pickup which was held at the start finish area near the public restrooms in one part of the park. Alafia is used mostly for mountain biking and horseback riding though the trails were closed to horses during the hours of the race (insert visions of spooked horses trampling racers here!). Packet pickup went smoothly although the race organizers were not around as I had several questions about the mid-point location and no one could seem to answer with any confidence. The packet itself was OK and contained a few useful items like the current Trail Runner mag, a squeeze bottle from GoEndurance.com, and some IronMan sports pain relief gel (which was expired BTW).
All 3 races (5K, half marathon & marathon) started at the same time. It looked like there were between 300 and 400 runners total at the starting line. 0745 and we were off! I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and an emotional swelling within my being as we started down the road and into the woods! I had told Roberta Fenwick ( a lady I know from Church who is dying of cancer) a few days earlier during a hospital visit that I would run this race in her honor and it felt really great to have the ABILITY to run the race; to have the GOOD HEALTH and STAMINA required to accomplish such a thing!! Even though this great swelling of emotion occurred it was all too soon when the real effort involved in running and completing a marathon was upon me and those epic emotions were left somewhere behind!
The temperature at start was about 65 I suppose, however once the sun came up the temperature did too! As usual the humidity was at least 80% or more. The first 5K was a bit crowded with runners which evaporated quickly once they peeled off to their finish. For the first half I was doing my best to keep my pace steady at about 8:45 a mile. There were ample aid stations with water and Gatorade although I had 2 hand-helds with me (Amphipod) which I have grown accustomed to carrying with me. I didn’t stop at all during the 1st half and this I believe was a mistake. The course features rolling grass covered hills and trails through woods and beside everglade like areas. There were no issues with bugs.
By the time I got to the half I was getting tired and according to my wife “didn’t look so good” when I came by I grabbed an Ensure and a refill. I was about 2 hours in at this point. There was one other fellow who came by me just as we started the second half and he was the only person I saw for about the next 8 miles! I nearly stepped on a snake during the early part of the second half as well. It looked to have some sort of pattern on it’s back though I didn’t get a thorough inspection! The trails themselves were groomed with a high-powered brush remover/lawnmower and were in many places quite pleasant. There were several sections of mud, 2 small creek crossings, and numerous hummocks of grasses along the way. Some footfalls were uneven because of the grasses but that was part of the challenge! Numerous small ponds and vegetative splendor abounded as well. It didn’t seem as if too many horses had been in the area as there was only one or two areas with droppings. Tis only served to add variety rather than irritation! I encountered mountain bikers at several junctures during the 2nd half but they were never a nuisance or hindrance.
About 1/3 of the way through the 2nd half I started to lose focus and speed. My per mile pace dropped between 1.5 to 2 minutes and I seemed powerless to do anything about it! I tried conjuring Roberta but even that didn’t seem to help! By this time 1 runner then 1 more came by. By now I was in the run/walk mode as were several others including the 2nd runner that passed by. He and I passed and were passed by one another for the next few miles until at about mile 21 he passed me for the last time. I experienced some pain in my left hip during the terminal parts of the race was laboring to stay on to any pace below 10 min/mile. My Garmin GPS indicated I passed 26.2 at about 4:15 which didn’t seem too bad considering how tired I felt. The course end registered right at 27 miles according to my Garmin. Near the end of the half and full there was about .5 mile of deep sand. This made for one last good “gut check” at the end (the pictures on myraceday.com will attest to this. I was #331 pg 13). I muddled through that and came across in tenth place with a time of 4:24:42. I was not satisfied with my performance on this day (I guess that’s what keeps us all coming back for more right?) but was glad to be done. I saw Roberta on Sunday and took her hand as she was wheeled by me. “I finished the race” I said. “That’s great” she said and that familiar feeling from the start was back again. Maybe I can do better for Roberta at my next race!!
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