Weekend of Marathons # 2 : 22 seconds separating two great runs

Reggae Marathon 2011 and West Palm Beach Marathon 2011

After having already done a Weekend of Marathons (WoM), you might wonder why would somebody want to do it again? For one, like in a marathon, every WoM is an experience by itself.

Second, i wanted to take the challenge one notch higher. Here’s how:
1. Heat – My 1st WoM was in pleasant conditions (50’s to lower 60’s). This one was in the range of 74-84F. And the humidity of the Caribbean and South Florida!
2. Travel and Travel – The fact that i was doing two marathons between two countries meant that there was driving, flying, walking around airports, etc. involved. This after the previous one where i was in the back seat of the car and the only walking i did was one level up to my room in Cincinnati and to the start of the 2nd race next morning.
3. Target Time – I wanted to finish this WoM within 7:50 hrs bringing in a PR of at least 7 minutes than my previous.

Each one of them might not sound steep, but collectively i thought they would present a fair amount of challenge. The other reason to do this particular WoM was that this was in my mind when i first drafted plans of running through a weekend.

Reggae Marathon 2011

I was keen to get this weekend started from the moment the calendar flipped into December. Headed to the airport on Thursday evening (December 1st) to pick up two friends – Rosita from Bahamas and her brother Juan from Mexico – who were also running the marathon. We had some rich Indian food for dinner and i ate without guilt until midnight blaming it on carbo-loading. We runners can’t get a bit excessive during marathon weekend i thought!

Vijay (my brother), Juan, Rosita and I

After getting in a couple of hours in office to sort out some pending work on Friday morning, the three of us headed to THE PELICAN, a Jamaican restaurant in the Hip Strip area of Montego Bay close to where i live. They tried out some Jamaican food while i played it safe and stuck with Continental. After lunch we grabbed our bags, Chai Latte and Chocolate Muffins and headed onto the highway at mid-day.

Diane with a smile and I post the race in the 2011 Reggae T Shirt

Got into Negril around 4 p.m. and headed straight to the Expo. We picked up our race packets and just when i thought last year’s Race T Shirt was good (i was wearing it all day), they got it even better this time! I headed to the Media Tent where i was to meet some friends and organizers. Diane Ellis (Director of Sponsorship), one of the back-bones of this event, asked me to return at 7 p.m. during the Media Meeting since a few folks were running late in making their way up.

Burt Carlson and I

I used the time we had before dinner to catch up with Burt Carlson. He’s been attending the Reggae for the 7th year in a row. It was a privilege to talk to him after a brief conversation last year. You just have to Google search to know more about this 300+ marathoner who in his 86th year still look fit and ready to take on a few long distances. In 2011, he took the tally up by running 3 marathons besides some half marathons, 10k and 5k thrown into the gambit.

Roy Thomas in action

Made it a point to quickly exchange pleasantries with Roy Thomas, an 84 year Jamaican who has not only run all the 11 Reggae Marathons till date, but also all the Grand Prix Series – races leading up to the annual event in Negril – over the years. I said this last year and i will repeat it again. Burt Carson and Roy Thomas – you two are very inspirational!

Charlie, Carrie and I

After spotting her around, i couldn’t miss the chance to chat with the fun and enthsiastic Carrie Tollefson, a 2004 USA Olympian who gets everybody going with her mantra to “Get After It!”. I’ve been a regular follower of her weekly video C TOLLE RUN! podcast. It was a treat to have a brief conversation with Carrie and her husband Charlie Peterson, sharing some of the moments i have enjoyed from her recent telecasts and learnng on her 2012 Olympic and future plans she had in store. The only thing missing was their adorable daughter Ruby!

While we were waiting for the Pasta Party to begin

We hung around a bit longer and then hit the world-famous Reggae Marthon Pasta Party just after witnessing the beautiful sunset that people vacationing here make it a point to not miss. With live music in front of us, it was time to head into the Pasta Party corral (how often do you hear that right?!) and get buried in the huge variety spread out by chefs from the best resorts in Negril. I chumped on one too many pasta varieties, some macaroni and cheese, garlic breads of different sizes and shapes, other dishes and some more.

(L to R) Juan, Me, Rosita, Judi, Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence, Dan

The best part about it is that you don’t feel pressed for time at all. Eat at leisure, strike conversations with almost anybody (everybody just happens to become so friendly and inclusive to each other, like one big family partying around!) and continue helping yourself for multiple servings! We met Lawrence (a friend from FL who these days is in Montego Bay) and his wife. Lawrence was to do a half the next morning; that would be a fast half indeed! I was also happy to spot Larry Savitch (and his Easy Skankin group) and we caught up on a short conversation while waiting in line during one of our numerous helpings!

Dan, I and Judi

Coincidence and delight came together when Dan Cumming, whom i was looking forward to meet later at the Media Meeting, happened to join the table with his beautiful wife Judi. The last time they had visited Jamaica was 42 years back! It was fascinating to know that they returned this year to not just re-live some of those memories from 1969, but also run this event and visit some places to see the extent of transformation the country has undergone.

Alfred ‘Frano’ Francis and Barclay Ewart

Dan and I left the rest of the guys at 7 p.m. to head to the Media Meeting where welcome messages and de-briefs were given by Barclay Ewart (Chairman), Alfred ‘Frano’ Francis (Race Director), Diane Ellis (Director of Sponsorship), Chris Morales (Social Media Guru) amongst a few others. The team was kind to recognize my active presence and participation in the online social media presence during the months leading upto Reggae 2011.

Bob Moore and I

I also was looking forward to meeting Bob Moore from the Washington Running Report, who i had the good fortune of meeting at the Media Meeting. Caught up later with Chris Morales for a bit before i dropped off my used running shoes (which are given to needy children who participate in the Reggae Marathon Grand Prix Road Race Series) and called it an evening.

Chris Morales and I

Rosita, Juan and I headed out and checked-into our stay at the ‘Sunset on the Beach’, the second last property on the strip. It was just what we expected it – comfortable and tidy. Got our race clothes ready and we had the lights down by quarter to 10 p.m. to catch a few hours sleep for the excitement ahead.

We headed out of the resort at 3:45 a.m. to catch the shuttle to the start area. It’s really nice to see that in such events the entire local community also comes out in full support – participation, volunteering and crowd support. While waiting for the bus i was talking to a few Peace Corps Volunteers and learnt a thing or two on their noble & selfless intentions that they had dedicated a few years of their life in serving. Wished them good luck for their 10k before we got off the bus at 4:15 a.m. at Long Bay Beach, where it all would start in 60 minutes.

Before the Start

Ran into Larry Savitch and a few others before the start. After checking in my bag, i lost Rosita and Juan at the starting section to toe the line of my 2nd Reggae Marathon in less than 5 minutes by myself. The traditions began – Sound of the Rastafarian drums, brief announcement by the Race director and moments later the crowds were let through the torch bearers. Just about when Bob Marley was Jamming right straight from JAH!, i started the timer on my Garmin for my Marathon # 14.

The course started at Long Bay Beach and ran into town turning at the round-about. These first 2.9 miles is what i call the ‘Wake Up’ section. As we run by a few properties on the right side, you would find many local residents and plenty of tourists – some whose friends / family are running the event and others who just like to give us the hoots / cowbell rings – come out in support. If the darkness keeps you slow and careful, the cheer will awaken the holiday spirit in you.

Minutes before i passed the resort i was living in, i saw Carrie looking strong and brushing past. She would go on to win the 10k Female Category defending her title from last year. Great stuff!

My race strategy was the same as last year when i attempted to break the 4 hour mark. It’s something i’ve come to believe works in humid conditions; maybe i’ll talk about it in a separate post someday. Just that i since i was doing a WoM, i treated this race as the first half and had to hence create the buffer from the word GO!

Once you turn-around the town section, you head back in the opposite side of the road. This section flew past as i was getting set into my pace and wishing a few friends that were covering their initial miles. All my Montego Bay friends were running the half marathon and hence i knew i’d probably see them once again in most cases.

You would hit 5.8 miles as you pass by Long Bay Beach for the first time after starting the race from here almost 50 min back. Being also the finish line for all the events, this is where you’ll find the cheering section in the highest numbers. 200 metres ahead and the 10k runners had to turn-around to give it their final push.

Going into the 11th year, the Reggae Marathon decided to make the course more fun and participative. Hence after having already covered almost 6 miles by travelling south into town and back, the course heads north until about 0.5 miles from the RIU Club Resort instead of stretching all the way to Green Island. This section was 3.6+ miles one way which we would double up as we head back into Long Bay Beach. The entire loop was the course for the 13.1 mile runners. Marathoners would repeat the course.

At Mile 12 – Courtesy of Dan

Having run the previous course (last year), I personally am in favour of the new route. It makes the course completely flat, eliminates those few sections of emptiness just before Green Island and gives you a chance to see more runners in the loop. I’m sure this was meant to be but i also think that now the Reggae Marathon can also be called the ‘White Sand Beach Run’. Because by running from one end of the course to the other, you cover the famously known 7-mile beach strip!

10 miles in and i was ‘staying in the plan’. The idea was to stay comfortable, keep the mile splits under 8:50’s and create the cushion. I was pleased to cross the half in 1:53 because that meant that i bagged all the buffer that i needed to finish the race within 3:51.

Karen, Larry and I after finishing Reggae

I was happy to have also seen Larry on the course who besides running a half was also doing a video about the race!). I then met Dan & Judi at Mile 12 walking towards the beach. Dan unfortunately missed the shuttle to the race start. But instead of attempting the full, the race organizers allowed him a late start for a 10k which I sensed he was having a good time when i saw him later on in the midst of.

Heading back into town, most of the cheering crowd outside the properties thinned out and i was instead spotting many 10k finishers walking back to their resorts while we still had another couple of on-the-feet hours. Exchanged a quick thumbs-up with Joel from C TOLLE RUN! who was manning the 2.9 mile time-mat (now 16 miles into the marathon) and headed north for the second time. You can make out that Negril was having a late start to thie Saturday as this section of town was filled with many kids enjoying their holiday seeing us zip past while the grown-ups were heading to work in the shuttle buses that were traversing through the centre patch of the road.

Joel, Juan and I

Mile 18 and being in my target zone suddenly seemed fast since the heat was getting the better of many runners who were slowing down. Walking breaks were now becoming a common feature. With the brightness of the day above, i could now take in the diverse views on the opposite side of the beach – Kool Runnings (a water park), the Negril Air strip, Jamaican eat-out shacks, private homes, a few lodges and local communities filled up the rest.

Around Mile 24

Reggae has a way of hooking many to it’s spirit making them regulars to the event. I was assured that there were many loyalists to the Reggae Marathon when i recognized many of the full marathoners from last year. I took the liberty to have short conversations with a few. It was nice to see that they were in the act too! I was taken by suprise when a runner told me how she enjoyed my NYC Marathon Blog. That brought a smile of gratitude to my face.

The Finish

As i was covering the last 3.5 miles heading to the finish, it was really nice to see some of the supporters outside RIU and other resorts who were there in the first round (almost 2 hrs back), still out there providing us cheers to keep marching ahead. I decided to keep the pace consistent and gave it a little kick in the last mile (doing a 8:37) to finish the Reggae Marathon in 3:50:43. It’s interesting that though i was almost 7 minutes faster than what i ran it last year in, my ranking stood the same (17th). I guess it’s natural and a positive sign to see faster (and more) runners participate as the Reggae Marathon gets more popular drawing increasing numbers to Negril.

West Palm Beach Marathon 2011

My preparation of the second run in the WoM began the moment i crossed the finish line. Did the recovery i had planned – cool down walk, protein ingestion, stretching session – and within an hour of my finish i was feeling rejuvenated already. Caught up with Larry Savitch (who stretched me really good, professional hands surely do help) and Chris Morales (who was busy clicking away all over the place) for a while. I headed to the resort to freshen up in time to return to watch Juan and Rosita finish.

Juan, Rosita and I after the Reggae Marathon 2011

Fetching a delayed shuttle meant that i got back to the finish line 30 minutes after Juan finished his 8th marathon. Everybody i knew in the event timed slower than they wanted to, and such was the case with Juan too. While waiting for Rosita to finish i had the opportunity to watch Horst Preisler, a 76 year young runner, finishing his 1758th marathon. Imagine that! Brilliant stuff. Rosita soon crossed the finish line of her 13th marathon. She swore this would be her last, i hope she changes her mind. I left them to enjoy the rest of the weekend in Negril while i started my journey to West Palm Beach.

I drove back 50 miles to head home in Montego Bay. Snacked some junk food during my drive, feasted on Pasta & Pizza on arrival and headed to the airport at to catch my evening flight to Miami. One of the external factors i feared that could have disrupted my plans – cancellation of the final AA flight for the day – didn’t happen and i was thankful for the weekend going as per plan so far. Slept right through the 75 minutes in the flight and we landed in Miami, earlier than scheduled, at 7 p.m. The crowd at Immmigration section got me standing in line for 70 min which resulted in me getting on the freeway around 9 p.m. after fetching the rental car.

Enjoyed the 80 mile drive with some good Saturday night club mixes on the radio keeping me awake and upbeat. The full-sized car was comfortable but i did feel some ache around my lower-back belt section in the final 30 minutes of my drive. Reached West Palm Beach at 11:15 p.m. after catching a quick but heavy dinner at IHOP and checked-into the Courtyard hotel. Ram Sethu, with whom i was sharing the room, was very kind in picking up my race packet earlier in the day. I sorted out my gear for Sunday morning, opened up the box for my new Asics and Garmin and hit the bed a few minutes past midnight.

4 hours of sleep and i was up again for another marathon. Ram and I headed out an hour later and didn’t find much trouble finding space at a city parking garage half a mile from the start. At the starting section, it was good to meet up a few running folks from my days in the Bahamas. Also met friends from the Marathon Maniacs (MM) and we had our customary group photo courtesy of Dave Mari. When i spoke to some of them, i was re-assured that my WoM was completely sane. I mean hey, you are bound to sound ‘normal’ when you have people like Galen Garrison doing WoM 2-3 weeks in a row besides running 10+ marathons in 2 months and counting, two 70+ young individuals in Hary Hoffman Jr & Chuck Savage attempting their 200th and 300th marathon respectively and Dave Mari who inadvertently is running every weekend in some part of the country, besides a few others doing some neat stuff.

Marathon Maniac (MM) Group Photo

6:45 a.m. and i crossed the line about a minute after the gun had gone off. The course starts along the Palm Beach looping around until 3 miles to cross the starting position and takes you further south. After running another 5 miles along the waterway, it heads into the residential neighbourhoods of Lake Worth and Lantana until the 18th mile. You wander into a little section of South Palm Beach before running on parallel streets of the neighbournoods covered thus far and head back soon into the vicinity of West Palm Beach bringing you to the finish.

Starting Section – The First Mile

Personally, i never had this on my to-do list but i ended up doing it because this was the only feasible marathon i could do to get a WoM after the Reggae Marathon on the first Saturday of December. And i vouched that i would never do this again. West Palm Beach i think is a very picturesque city (of the sections that i got to run and drive around) to conduct a marathon in. But i’m not sure they used it optimally to design the course around. Instead, the course loops around many blocks showing you houses and houses and houses. Entertainment on the course is none and crowd support is mostly minimal.

Mile 3

Besides the volunteers who i think did a great job in what they were entrusted for, i think the organization of the marathon was quite poor. No aid station till Mile 3, no Gatorade till Mile 9, i believe water (and water cups) had run out in many aid stations for the 4:30 marathoners, a couple of friends who finished around 6 hours didn’t get any medals either were some of the things i came to know about. They did get coverage on the local television channels which unfortunately ended up being negative publicity highlighting their shortcomings. The marathon management claims that they did not manage the preparation well; i think that’s quite lame to admit being knowledged about when you are hosting a marathon under humid conditions. It’s no wonder i heard ambulances in action a few times when i was still running and the mentions post-race of many runners admitted to nearby hospitals.

Specifically for me, the day didn’t go as bad as it was for others. I started the race feeling quite good and didn’t seem to carry much of the fatigue from the previous day’s 26.2 miles. I had planned to take it easy for the first 10k should i feel like i was running on dead legs. But when i felt fresh like i was doing this for the first time in the weekend, i kept the even-marathon-splits intentions alive. As i kept emphasizing to myself at Negril, the idea was to keep at 8:50’s at least for the first 20 miles and see how i feel after creating the buffer and of what’s left in the tank for the final 10k.

The first 8 Miles on Flagler Drive

The first 8 miles of the run is pleasing as the sun rises above you brightening up the shores and the historic-districts you run straight along through. I was comfortable in this stretch with the sunshine on my shoulders and my pace being on target. It didn’t even occur to me that i was using a new pair of Asics at the race. I agree to a lot of folks who felt that as long as you’re wearing a new pair of an already-tried-and-tested shoe variant, you’re good to go! I would though think that a new pair of socks would not be the best thing to do to avoid blisters.

The less-haves in the run was made up by the amount of familiar faces i keep passing through every few miles. Met Dave Mari at the cross section of Mile 3 & just before the finish, Michael Cunningham around Mile 10, Galen at around Mile 14 & 19, Randy Thurston and Ram Sethu at multiple spots in the course. And then you meet and make some new MM friends along the course too!

Moments after you get off the scenic waterfront and enter the city of Lake Worth with 8.5 miles under your feet, the marathon runners turn left letting the ones tackle the pikermi take their right and head back north. With only water offered until now, i picked up 3 sachets of Gu Gels from the aid station immediately on the turn. And then 0.5 miles in the distance we are offered Gatorade for the first time as we start to visit the neighbourhoods in this city for another hour. I crossed the half in 1:55 and couldn’t have asked for a better even-split. Ram was on an estimated 3:38 pace when i saw him on the other side. 12 minutes later when i got there, i stopped to meet Galen for a few seconds before continuing.

Common sights – Residential Neighbourhoods – for a large section of the course

Lantana gets a very small section of the course, barely 2.5 miles. As you cross the only bridge of the course, you’re on Ocean Avenue running in and out of a section of South Palm Beach. I pass Juli Goldstein – another MM friend who i was to pace for a 4 hr finish time but lost sight of her even before the start – and then quickly turn right into Lake Worth to head north into West Palm Beach. These next few miles are a bit tough. Not only are you running familiar sections – neighbourhoods on the parallel roads of what we covered to get here – but also a little elevation that i thought was present, increasing heat and sporadic runners in sight.

It was starting to get a bit overcast when i was in the 22nd mile passing the last time-mat on the course. 5 minutes later i was amazed to see Ram just in front of me. I hoped that we could run together but he asked me keep going because the heat had cramped him up and he was gonna have a slow finish on this one. I continued with my target still-in-reach as i had picked up the pace a little for the last few miles and was consistently between 8:40-8:50 in my recent mile splits. Even before i started to celebrate and thank the man upstairs for the drizzle in mile 24, it stopped in a minute.

(Almost) Mile 26. Courtesy Dave Mari.

From there on it was just about staying in pace and getting back to the waterfront Flagler Drive. MM Dave Mari found me 500 metres before i was done and wished me for a good finish. I frankly still couldn’t spot the finish until about 200 metres into this portion when i could hear the cheers, the music and the announcements. It dawned on me that i could marginally get in with a negative-split over Reggae. Gave it one final kick and came through elated to cross the finish line for the 15th time in a marathon in 3:50:21, 22 seconds faster than in Negril a day before.

2nd finish of the Weekend

I waited for Ram who finished about 5 minutes later; we caught up with some friends and finishers and headed back to the hotel to freshen up and check-out soon. Got back an hour later, parking at the same facility to walk into HOT PIE to treat ourselves to some fresh coal fired Pizza and Iced Tea. After lunch, I dropped Ram to the West Palm Beach airport and drove back to Miami to drop the rental car and catch my flight back to Jamaica.

Ram and I after the West Palm Beach Marathon

As i sat in the gate, i was smiling in appreciation to how it all went down smoothly. I got in my 2nd WoM, all the travelling went through seamless (no flight delays, traffic jams, etc.), my body didn’t bring up any un-expected challenges (read pain and injuries), my system seemed well-prepared to handle the on-course heat & off-course moving all-around and by god’s grace and love, i was gifted with my second Weekend of Marathons (WoM) experience in which 22 seconds separated two great runs.

Ram and I on our way for some Pizza post-race

Overall, i have to say that fortune has an amazing way of balancing out things. While the numbers (comparatively) are the only small factor in the Reggae Marathon, the experience is big. It’s a great destination race and a perfect event to bundle up a good vacation with. I have a self-rule that i will (given a choice) not do any race more than twice. Reggae Marathon is gonna be an exception to that rule. As long as i’m on this side of the world, i’d more than love to make this an annual tradition.

Refreshed just after Reggae

On the other hand, the West Palm Beach wasn’t that great in the external experience side of it, but i think i showed myself more strength. I felt i was getting more definitive in having an even-pacing control. The proof was that i seldom did have to look at my Garmin; but the fact that i was in a narrow range of pace all along is very rewarding and telling. Maybe it’s because i’ve just done 15 marathon, but I think there is learning everytime we undertake the distance.

After completing West Palm Beach