May 8, 2016
After completing my fourth and final Age of Sail Marathon in 2015, I realized two things. One, I had improved with each of my marathons, but I had improved less with this last one. I was six minutes faster than my previous effort – nothing to be disappointed about - but I was still far from where I wanted to be as a marathoner.
I appeared to be “leveling off,” and I wasn’t ready for that.
The other thing I noticed was that the people I knew and considered to be strong marathoners all seemed to have one thing in common. They ran more than one marathon per year. Some ran two, three or even more. To continue improving, I felt I needed to do the same.
It was time for me to break out of my comfort zone.
I had no idea what other marathons I wanted to run, but I was not interested in traveling to far off places for it. Sticking within the Maritimes was fine with me.
If I was going to run two in a year, I also wanted to make sure they were spaced far enough apart that I could have a full training cycle for each of them. That made my decision easier.
I looked at all the race calendars I could find online and found 10 “main” marathons in the Maritimes, as well as two or three smaller ones that cropped up from year to year. The first one on the calendar was the Fredericton Marathon in May, so I decided it would be the next one for me. The decision was as easy as that.
Although I had never attended the event, I had long heard about the Fredericton Marathon. Flat and fast, it was usually the go-to choice for anyone in the Maritimes looking to qualify for Boston. At 41, my BQ time was now 3:15. It was within reach, but a long shot. I thought a nice PB was definitely in the cards though.
Probably the biggest challenge in Fredericton is in the preparation. Because it comes in the middle of May – Mother’s Day weekend – it requires plenty of training in the winter months.
I have never shied away from winter running. In fact, I enjoy filling my lungs with the cold air of a -10C day. You just need to dress for it.
It’s when the thermometer drops to -20C and beyond, that the air gets an awful bite to it, and the extremities feel like they are ready to fall off. I remember heading out on 25-32K training runs, and having my water bottles freeze in the first 3K. You just have to deal with those days as best as you can.
The biggest challenge of winter running for me, however, is my somewhat remote location. Snow removal service has declined here in the past decade, and it often takes a good two or three days after a storm before there is a bare piece of asphalt to run on safely. Because there are not enough plows working our road, too much time passes before snow clearings, meaning the snow on the road gets packed down and takes much longer to melt.
We had bought a treadmill by this point, and I made use of it when I had to. But, man, I hate that thing. It’s always a last resort.
My training for Fredericton went off fairly smoothly, as I recall. Halfway through the program, I tested myself with a half marathon at the Pictou County Hypo Half in Little Harbour. I was surprised at how hilly and tough that race was, but it went fine and I enjoyed the experience.
When race weekend came, I felt strong and confident. Perhaps too confident. I had been told by so many people how fast and flat the Freddy course was, that I had convinced myself it was going to be easy, compared to the hilly terrain of the Age of Sail races. The truth is, there is no such thing as an easy marathon, and I was about to find that out.
Marlene accompanied me for the trip to Fredericton, which was a nice relief. For one thing, I would have her to drive the three-hour trip back home after the race, when I knew I wouldn’t be feeling up to it. Second, it was Mother’s Day weekend, and leaving her home would not have felt right. When you’re the only runner in your family, Runner’s Guilt is a real thing. Every time you register for another race, or buy another pair of shoes, you remind yourself that this money could be saved or better spent on something the whole family could enjoy. Yes, having her with me on Mother’s Day weekend eased that guilt. And it’s always nice to have someone waiting for you at the finish line.
We stayed at the Best Western in Fredericton, and the first thing I noticed when we checked into the room was a little message written on the bedside table: “All things are possible if you believe.” Sure, I think it’s a Best Western thing to leave messages like this in all their rooms, but I smiled and pretended those words were just for me.
We went for supper at Boston Pizza that night, and I ran into Mike and Allison Hennessey, who had been my teammates in a couple Cabot Trail Relay races. Mike and I chatted and discovered we were both running the full, and had similar goals. We wished each other luck.
Being my first marathon away from the comfortable surroundings of my own home, I worried about getting a good night’s sleep. As expected, my nerves kept me awake much later than desired.
Race day came, and it was a nice, cool spring day in Fredericton. Beautiful for running. I ran into my old school friend, Joanne Swinimer, at the start line, and that was a nice surprise.
There was a lot of excitement with the big crowd, and I felt that energy as soon as we headed out. As I recall, the first 3-5K of the route took place in downtown Fredericton, before moving on to the trail system for the two-loop remainder of the race. That downtown section was important, as it cut down on congestion before everyone hit the trail.
The majority of the trail section was on asphalt, changing to crusher dust further out before the turnaround. The trail was well maintained, with no issues at all.
The field was large and strong, but I saw very few familiar faces. I figured I would be the only runner sporting an Age of Sail Marathon T-shirt in this race, but spotted Francis Fagan on the trail and he proved me wrong.
I felt great for the first half of the race, and was still feeling strong early in the second loop.
For much of the race, I had a guy running along behind me who kept talking to himself. He would blurt out positive affirmations, like, “What a great race!” “This is beautiful!” and things like that. When we would meet other runners, he would shout these sentiments to them. At first, I thought he was crazy and a bit annoying, but I eventually found something endearing about his whole attitude, and enjoyed his company.
The things he was saying were true. Fredericton is a beautiful city, with the river, and its trails and green spaces. It’s a city that doesn’t feel like a city. You don’t see a lot during the trail section, but you hear birds and nature. And I love running over that Bill Thorpe walking bridge.
With all of its flatness, I thought I would crush Fredericton. I thought it might be the first marathon I would run without “hitting the wall.” But around 32K, I found myself starting to slow down, and at 35K I was really starting to struggle. How could this be? My training went well. The course was “easy.” How could I not hit this out of the park?
I would later talk about this with Ryan O’Shea, who won that year’s race (and again in 2017). He told me that “flat” does not translate into “easy” for everyone.
“I love getting to some downhills in a race just to stretch the legs a little and catch my breath,” he said. “In Fredericton though, there are no such breaks or sections to look forward to. It is just flat, which means that you need to work hard to keep your momentum going for the entire distance.”
Another problem I still hadn’t corrected for this race was my fueling. I was still relying on Clif Shot Bloks, but wasn’t carrying enough of them to make a difference in my necessary calorie intake. I might have had two or three packs for that race, but I should have probably had five. Not that my belly would have been interested in that amount of chews.
I felt like a zombie as I crossed the finish line at 3:26:31. With about 800m to go, I passed another runner who was having struggles of his own. I didn’t realize until after I finished that it was Mike Hennessey. Funny that we had gone in with similar goals, and ended up finishing so close together. If I had been more alive and alert, I would have noticed him and we could have finished together. I regretted not offering him some encouragement, at least. Sorry, Mike.
I hobbled back to the car with Marlene, glad to be finished, but disappointed. I had improved on my previous best marathon by about four minutes, which was nice, but not the huge gain I was expecting.
The best thing about the race was that I had tried something new, rather than sticking with the familiar. I decided for my next marathon that I would have to shake things up even further.
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