I learn something from every long race, and the Detroit Marathon was no exception. However, there seems to be a lesson that I keep failing to learn. Maybe this time it will stick, after sitting in a car for 5.5 hours directly afterwards (sans shower and still wearing running tights).
BodyGlide your butt.
For the uninitiated, BodyGlide is the balm of endurance athletes everywhere, offering the friction-blocking bliss of Vaseline without the other problems: rubbing off on your clothes, washing off with sweat and water, general greasiness. BodyGlide prevents chafing like no other substance, and is a wonderful invention. Perhaps now I will remember to use it EVERYWHERE. Detroit's other lessons have required a bit more thought to figure out.
The Detroit Marathon is unique, in that you run across the bridge to Canada, along the waterfront of Windsor, then back to the United States through a tunnel under the water. There are not very many races that cross international borders, and this one was close enough to home to be worth the drive. In addition, one of my favorite Navy buddies lives in Detroit, and it was a terrific opportunity to see him and finally meet his wonderful wife.
At the expo, I had to show a passport before collecting my bib -- no passport, no bib, and we had to take care of that Saturday. The race was on Sunday; I drove up Saturday, went to the expo, then headed for an early dinner with my friend. We had a wonderful visit, then I called it an early night and padded off to bed. The race organizers were advising runners to get downtown by 6 am to avoid possible traffic hassles, so it was going to be an early day.
Driving in Sunday, after bailing out early to avoid the sea of brake lights ahead, I found myself not knowing which way to turn. Thankfully, there were other "lost" runners as well, and I just followed them for a bit. I picked up a follower as well, and hoped I wouldn't get HIM lost. We stumbled upon some street parking that was perhaps four blocks from the finish. Perfect!
Followed more runners to the starting area, people-watched for a while, then finally gave up my jacket and gloves and checked my gear. Wandered to the start, enjoyed the energy of the crowd, and finally got into my starting corral. Like many races, Detroit seeds you based on your estimated finishing time, then starts each "wave" about two minutes apart. We all slowly shuffled up to the front (I'm always in the slower corrals), and there was lots of nervous chatter going on around me. Detroit also does something very unique: in addition to the full marathon, they offer two half-marathons. The "international" half follows the exact same route as the first half of the marathon, until veering off around mile 12.5 to finish. The "US-only" half starts later, and follows the second half of the marathon course, all in the United States. Clever. There were many first-time half- and full-marathoners, and it was fun to eavesdrop on their chatter.
Eventually it was our turn to start. It was just starting to get light out, but the sun hadn't fully risen. We made our way towards the Ambassador Bridge, about two miles away. As we got closer, I was really wishing I had dragged along a camera. The bridge is quite tall, so there is a long winding approach to it, about a mile long. It was a beautiful sight at that time of day. The approach was full of runners, and you could see them all the way up and going over the bridge, silhouetted in the morning sun. Beyond the bridge, the sun was just coming up over the horizon, a big orange orb low in the sky. All around was the skyline of Detroit, lots of water, and the skyline of Windsor, all in fall colors. There was lots of looking around, oohing and ahhing, and many runners stopped to take photos.
It felt a little strange, if liberating, to run right past the Customs officers with a wave, and past the cars and trucks that were waiting to go across the border. They had one lane open on the bridge, and took turns letting vehicles cross from either side. The truckers seemed to have a good time with it all, honking and waving to the runners (yes, they were waving, not...well, you know). For about a mile we had a spectacular view of the sunrise, water, and skylines.
For the most part, I felt good and was keeping a really good pace, but my legs were tired. This wasn't too terribly surprising, given my schedule this fall and the long drive up the day before, so I shrugged it off. Made a mental note to make sure I didn't forget to take in a gel every four miles or so.
We ran a little over two miles along the waterfront in Windsor before heading to the tunnel entrance. I checked out the Detroit skyline, trying to figure out where we had started and where we might go back. I really didn't expect to hear a distinct Canadian accent, as I figured the two cities probably diluted each other's language...but there it was. I even heard one "eh" from a spectator. Fun!
Ran past more Customs officials and guard gates, and down into the tunnel. The "Underwater Mile" is around mile eight. There was definitely some seepage on the way down, with small puddles of water near the curb. Wow, we really are under a lot of very heavy water. I didn't realize how warm it was down there until we ascended and came out the other side, and hit the cool air again. Ran under a huge "Welcome to the USA" sign, past more Customs agents, and now it was time for the real work to begin.
Around mile ten, my feet decided to start a pain party. Felt like big giant blisters on the balls of both feet, but I knew they were just hot spots. Damn, my feet haven't hurt like this since Houston, marathon #2. This was #10, what the heck is going on? Oh well, it hurts as much to walk as it does to run, so may as well try to jog as much as possible.
Which worked fine until some time after mile 13, when the left calf decided to join in on the fun. For the next ten miles I fought off a full-blown cramp, but it did bring me up short a couple of times. Had to run very flat-footed to keep it under control. I'm sure I looked like something from the Walking Dead. Who knows what I was doing to compensate for the pain. Oh well, can't do anything about it except get through it and try to figure out the cause...and try to distract myself.
One doesn't usually think of "Detroit" and "beautiful" in the same sentence, but the course was very, very nice. After a few miles downtown, the marathon wound through a really beautiful old neighborhood, with lovely old homes and spectacular fall colors. The residents were out in force, blaring music from their homes and offering treats ranging from orange slices to M&M's to beer. I passed on the beer, but did give it serious consideration. By now the stomach had also come to the pain party, and was threatening to revolt.
We then headed across another bridge to Belle Isle, and ran around the island enjoying a waterfront view and glorious weather. By now it was approaching 60 degrees with a slight cooling wind, and the sun felt great. Not too warm, not cold. We went back across the bridge, and I knew I'd somehow stagger to the finish. Only a little over more than three miles to go!
All but the last few blocks were along the waterfront in a nice developed park, and the weather could not have been more perfect. I enjoyed looking around at the marina and the Windsor skyline across the blue water, and kept moving forward. Finally I knew it was safe to believe the spectators who were cheering, "You're almost there!" Thank goodness. Rounded the last corner, and limped/shuffled/walked/jogged/whatever to the finish. Gratefully collected my medal and thanked my lucky stars the car wasn't too far away. Got through the finish area and retrieved my gear, hoping that changing my shoes would help my feet (it didn't). Staggered to the car, driven by a vision of sitting in it, off my feet, enjoying the sunshine.
The approximately 300-mile ride home wasn't as bad as I'd feared it might be, but I was extremely grateful to pull up in front of the apartment. That burger from Stacked Pickle while sitting on my futon was a little bit of heaven on earth.
Official finish time: 5:10:31. Not great, but I'll take it. And the medal ROCKS. It's very nice and was worth the challenge. If you're not up to a full marathon, I would heartily endorse the international half -- it's THAT unique.
Lessons learned from marathon #10:
- BodyGlide the butt. I've already talked about this one.
- Eat more the day before, even if travelling. My appetite was off. This is the second time I've had problems eating enough the day before a race, so I think it's time to plan on drinking my calories.
- Drink more the day before, even if travelling.
- Don't wear shoes that worked fine for a running style that you no longer use. Over the last two years, I've gravitated to lighter-weight shoes with minimal support. This means my stride has changed. I used a pair of shoes that were fine before this, but clearly no longer work for longer runs. In addition, the materials were likely tired and starting to deteriorate as well. I think the calf issue was a response to bad form due to hurting feet.
- Plan better for #4. I wore out my favorite shoes a mere two weeks ago at the Chicago Marathon, and since my legs were trying to recover, didn't have time to break in a new pair. If I'd had a spare "favorite" pair that I had been wearing occasionally, this wouldn't have happened.
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