race report – 2015 Detroit Marathon

the expo itself struck me as being somewhat similar to the layout employed at the mississauga marathon – the race kit pick-up was lickety-split (seriously – there was no one in the line-up for bibs #101-750) and i could have been in-and-out in five minutes flat except that the flow of traffic necessitated that everyone wind their way through the maze of vendors and exhibitors in order to exit.  plenty of LRSs (local running stores) were on-site with lots of wares to be had, as well as other race promoters and various novelty companies (e.g. the ‘running bumper sticker’ people, medal display rack people, and even some guys who had a neat gel-pad instant hand warmer).  while i deliberately didn’t bring any cash so as to not spend the money that i don’t have (!), i do admit to lingering a bit at the Hansons Running Shop area because of their notoriety around the hansons marathon method and their former relationship with america’s own MUT-runner extraordinaire sage canaday.


after returning to canadian soil again i spent the remainder of the day fairly relaxed, taking in my carbs and hitting up an LRS in windsor (the running factory) to stock up on my complement of gels needed for the race.  even though the gels cost me a little more than twice what they were available for at the expo, i knew that i wanted to keep the money on this side of the 49th.


race day

i’m glad that i’d gotten a decent sleep on friday night, because saturday night’s sleep was cut somewhat short by a bathroom trip (oooohhh … foreshadowing) at 1:30 a.m. after which i couldn’t shut my brain off enough to actually return to sleep.  after 90 min. of fish-flopping in the bed my alarm went off and i got up for my shakeout run, breakfast and shower (in that order).


having been informed that spots at the MGM Grand Casino parking lot tend to be filled up by about 5:30 a.m. i set out just around 4:30 a.m. to ensure that i’d get a space.  i figured that i could always hang out in the car or in the casino to stay warm and rested with a couple of hours before start time.  this proved to be a smart move as the lineup just off of the freeway onto the exit for the casino lot was backed up and took some time to negotiate – but once inside the parking structure there was no problem finding a space, to my relief.


with just over an hour before the 7:00 a.m. start i joined the throngs of runners and supporters/volunteers making our way down the seven blocks toward the start/finish area.  i stopped to use the port-a-potty about halfway which seemed right on schedule in terms of me clearing out my GI system in prep for the long haul to come on my feet.


i was surprised at how abuzz the downtown core was at such an early point – it was a reminder of just how many of the marathons that i’ve run are smaller races.  all told there were over 17000 competitors lining up on sunday morning, plus their families and friends adding to the crowds.  it definitely made for an electric atmosphere – which was a good thing for such a chilly morning.


[and this is a good point to insert a note about the weather conditions – the advance forecast had indicated sub-freezing temperatures (about -2°C) at start time and reaching about 3-4°C by 10:00 a.m.  armed with this information i packed just about every conceivable outfit combination that i could, including split shorts, compression shorts, capris, arm warmers, calf sleeves, singlet, t-shirt, toque, thin socks, wool socks.  after consulting with some friends on facebook i chose to go with the singlet, arm warmers, compression shorts, calf sleeves, gloves and toque – which still left me shivering while waiting in my corral.]


as the starting chute started to crowd up i met both the 3:05 and 3:00 pacers – each was a capable 2:40:xx racer in his own right, but i was a bit surprised that when i inquired about their strategies for the race the best answer that i got was “to finish with 30 seconds to spare”.  no plan about even-splitting or taking the 3rd mile (climbing the Ambassador Bridge) a bit slower to level out the effort expended.  there’s was no question about how capable they were to cross in the designated time – i had just hoped that perhaps they would be a little more focused on coaching/encouraging the aspiring racers in their group instead of just hammering out a time.


and at about 6:57 a.m. it happened.


i had the feeling that i needed to pee.


by this time i was sandwiched in on all sides, having even forgotten to perform my lunge matrix of stretches.  i had already hit the washroom twice since arriving in detroit but the cold weather had constricted my blood vessels, elevated my blood pressure and forced a fluid dump into my bladder to try to maintain equilibrium.  i really needed to pee – but with nowhere to go, i tried to focus on just getting the race started and hoping that the sensation would go away.


alas, it didn’t.


after latching onto the 3:05 group for the first two miles we hit an aid station and i veered off to make use of the port-a-potty.  i’m glad that i did as i’m surprised at how much my bladder had filled since my last bathroom break not 30 min. before (and that without taking in much by way of additional drink).  by the time that i exited i could see the 3:15 pacer had already passed me – and fearing that i would get caught in the congestion of runners on the Ambassador Bridge i decided to squeeze the pedal a bit to try to catch back up to the 3:05 pace group.


d’oh!


of course you don’t feel like you’re expending too much energy – it’s early in the race.


you’ve got lots of glycogen stored up.


and it’s easy to tap into that fuel source.


so i did – scooting by scores of fellow runners as we ascended the ramp to cross the bridge.


early speed + up up up = bad idea.


on the plus side i managed to lock back onto pacer jeff and his 3:05 congregants before the end of the bridge and decided to hang with them for another two or three miles after that.  it was quite an experience humming past the lineup of six or seven border patrol guards on each side of the race course as we entered into canada – they were there spotting your bib to see if you were on their list of properly accredited/identified runners, but they were also quite encouraging as they smiled or shared the occasional “great job” compliment to a passing racer.  there was also an announcer at the border reminding us to all ensure that the view of our bibs was unobstructed, as well as providing some entertaining commentary about how the exchange rate is so low that we can carve off nearly 30% from our time while running through windsor.  (hardee har har …)


the stretch along riverside drive was fairly pleasant if plain – except for the one tanker ship that was navigating the seaway just as we were strolling by.  i did note that a couple of times there were some of the pace group runners who were asking pacer jeff if we were “going a bit fast”, which he confirmed – and as he dropped his pace ever so slightly i decided that i would try to maintain and perhaps inch up on the 3:00 group.  while i never did catch them, i was able to tuck into one or two other runners at a time in order to take advantage of some drafting (the winds were maybe at 17-18 kph) and dialing into another person’s cadence.


the tunnel back into the states was an interesting stretch for a few reasons:

1. immediately upon entering the tunnel the temperature rose a good seven or eight degrees, which initially felt like a blast furnace door opening but then turned out to be a pleasant climate.
2. my garmin 305 indicated loss of GPS signal about 15 seconds into the tunnel – this would mean that my distance vs. time displays would be off and i would most definitely be relying on the roadside mile markers to indicate how i was faring.
3. the exiting climb seemed quite long – and not knowing how i was actually pacing i had to rely entirely on perceived effort.

the u.s. border patrol guards were out in similar force upon our resurfacing from beneath the detroit river checking bib numbers and cheering us on.  my initial concerns about whether or not i needed to actually carry my passport with me (as per the strong recommendation of the race officials) turned out to be quite unnecessary as the process was so well organized and painless.


the middle miles were where i was caught in no-man’s-land … not really running with a pack, and occasionally eyeballing someone who was clicking off a similar pace and trying to stick with him or her.  this became tougher as the runners of the international half-marathon peeled off to their finish line, thinning out the field – but for a good 10k after that i was able to focus in on a guy who was running pretty effortlessly with a quick cadence.  he was wearing a green tank top and every time that we approached some roadside spectators i would hear “go green!” or “go state!”, which provided me with enough information to surmise that his singlet said “Spartans” on it (as in the Michigan State Spartans).


at the 20 mile mark we had crossed another bridge onto belle isle – a point in the race that i had visualized and had tentatively planned for a shift in gear to try to finish out with a real ‘racing’ effort.  however i was watching the mile laps on my garmin increase in time (to 7:09s and 7:11s) so i thought that i would try to slug it out until returning to the main shoreline and detroit’s “riverside walk” where i would try to put in a burst effort for the final 5k.  in my head i would be simulating the negative split runs that i’d been doing all summer with the barrie roadrunners along the kempenfelt bay waterfront – a little mental trick that i hoped would help turn on some afterburners.

race gear for the 2015 detroit marathon:

• Skechers Performance Division racerback singlet
• – sugoi arm warmers (Team Running Free branded)
• – zensah compression calf sleeves (in Blue Jays blue!)
• – Skechers GOmeb speed 2
• – CW-X stabilyx ventilator compression shorts
• – freebie (branded) socks from the 2014 county marathon