Details
- May 7, 2023
- Entry: Open Registration
- Marathon Number: 7
- Expected Finish Time: sub 3:05:00
- Actual Finish Time: 3:24:14
Overview
Taking a break from being able to run any of the international major marathons, I was excited to slowly work on notching off marathons in each of the 50 states – a VERY long term goal. My 20 week training cycle was really good overall, and I was excited to take a good crack at going below the 3 hour mark. At my previous recent race in Philly I ran 3:09, which was a 35 minute PR, so I figured another solid training cycle would put me in a great position to get a BQ. The bib pick-up was relatively easy, despite being in downtown Providence, and was a 2 hour round trip mid-day. As always, I was checking the forecast hourly in the days leading up to the run, because spring in New England could have some wild weather swings. It was showing sunshine (which was good) however the temperature estimates continued to creep up as the day approached.
Other than my experience in Chicago, I hadn’t had a ton of practice working through racing in 70+ degree temps. There were plenty of hot training runs over the last few years, but those are a different ballgame altogether. It was a gorgeous spring day (for the spectators especially) but that didn’t stop me from pushing myself from the start to work towards hitting my goal. I went out cruising out at around 6:40 pace and was mostly able to hold that steady through the early hills. The course is a mixed bag of somewhat decent and pretty crap – especially the many miles running on the shoulder of a busy road with very little space to maneuver.
At around the halfway point my calves and quads started to cramp up. I stopped briefly to stretch and hopefully loosen them up, but that pretty much marked the end of any chance I had of finishing strong. The last 12 or so miles were a steady mix of running, stopping, stretching, running again and a bit of bonking. It felt like I was running in sand, and I thought for sure my time was going to be close to 4 hours when it was all said and done. Fortunately I had given myself enough of a cushion with my first half, so the overall time didn’t end up being as bad as I expected. Seeing the finish time may give someone the impression I had a good and steady race, but being in the driver’s seat had me feeling like I may as well have walked the back half.
The logistics of this race were pretty easy, coming from the Boston area, but I can’t say that I enjoyed much of the route. It had the feel of a decent sized race, but the route left a lot to be desired. With there being so many other great local races in the spring time, I can’t say I would recommend the Providence Marathon to many folks. I’m writing this almost a year and half after running it, and I recently read that the race is already cancelled for 2025, and maybe forever. Not great…
Lessons Learned
Even really good preparation isn’t always enough
Despite having a really strong training cycle and feeling great coming into this race, I was not prepared to race well in the heat. I had never really experimented with salt tablets or anything similar, and had success just sticking with water and Maurten gels on longer training runs and races. This was new territory for me and an experience that motivated me to try and figure out how to better manage my fuel and salt intake on days where the temperatures are formidable. I’m far more comfortable running in below freezing temperatures than I am with high heat.
Sometimes you just have to finish
After stumbling into mile 14 I realized that today was not going to be the day that I got my BQ. That was a tough pill to swallow after 4.5 months of training and having no other races on the horizon, but will never be enough to DNF a race – for me, at least. With my near(er) goal of finishing all 6 (soon to be 9??) World Majors, I need to make sure and finish for them to count. It’s not that I don’t want to do my best, but at the end of the day I’ve got to get across the finish line. Same goes for the 50 states, so there was the need to make sure and just finish, regardless of how far off my goal time it is.
This was my first race since Chicago that I didn’t do as good or better than I thought I would coming into it, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. Back in 2020 I listened to Meb Keflezighi’s book “26 Marathons” and really enjoyed his planning and perspective with his races. He talked about having multiple goals, so that if he didn’t hit his first goal he could move on to his second, then third, so that he don’t completely crumble if he missed his main target for any given race. I appreciated the wisdom that he had gained from his historical career, and it definitely helped me on this day.
Not all hardos know what they are doing
There isn’t much of a learning lesson, just more a comical character, similar to one we’ve probably all seen at some point in a race. As I said, it was over 70 degrees at the start, so most people had shorts/tights and a singlet on – pretty standard stuff. I may not have noticed this guy, other than the fact that he was doing sprints in the starting line tunnel and wearing no shirt with neon yellow full length tights. It was an odd pairing, to say the least, and additionally he was doing almost everything he could to be noticed and attempt to intimidate the runners up front. Not only was he doing wind sprints, for some bizarre reason, but he was also eyeballing the front row each time he came flailing back towards them. I thought his behavior was a bit odd, but figured he may be pretty damn fast, hence why he was trying so hard to get attention.
The starter gave the typical countdown and blasted the gun, and I didn’t notice where we went off to in the crowd of runners. As I mentioned, I was going pretty steady for about 13 of the 26.2 miles, and was both surprised and amused to come up Captain Neon Pants around mile 7 or 8, struggling mightily. His superhero pants were no match for his lack of preparation and he looked as though he was going to drop at any minute when I passed him. As is often the case, he fell deep into the “all bark and no bite” category of show boaters that often toe the line at races. All I can do is hope he learned a valuable lesson on that sunny day in Providence.
Ending on a sharp incline = rough
After an especially challenging morning, the ending to this run felt like a solid crane kick in the nether regions. With (maybe) 200m to go, we had to turn up a 45 degree ramp in order to reach the last straightaway to the finish line. I’m no stranger to hills, and in fact I sort of enjoy them, HOWEVER this just felt unacceptable. The only good part about this mini-Everest was that it was relatively short, but that was far from making it something that didn’t illicit some strong emotions from the inside of my incredibly fatigued body. I suppose it is what it is, but that was just brutal.
You don’t have to love a race, or do it again
Not to belabor this point, but I was not a big fan of this race and had firm convictions that I would not be taking another crack at it. For one, it gave me my Rhode Island marathon finish, so I don’t NEED to do another one in the state. Second, there is an abundance of other road and trail races that I’d rather do in the spring, so it really makes it an easy decision to choose another option in the future. Ultimately I think that’s totally fine. There is no pressure to “run it back” at any given race because there is always more to explore. And explore I shall.
