I’ve stated many times that I keep having really crappy road marathon experiences. I’m happy to report that my third road marathon was actually a good experience. I didn’t come close to meeting my goal of going sub-4:30 to get a new marathon PR, but I’m satisfied with the outcome nonetheless.
I woke up crazy early to make the nearly 2 hour drive to Callaway Gardens. I made the decision to run this race a little late so I was going to have to do race day registration. I wanted to get there early to avoid any hassles. I needed to arrive at 7:15AM and Pine Mountain is about 2 hours from my house. I usually have to drive far once a month to get really good training for trail running, so I don’t mind this sort of thing at all anymore.
The weather was perfect with reported highs in the mid-50′s. I wore my favorite basic Nike running pants, a short-sleeved tech tee, and a really lightweight long-sleeved hoodie thing I found on the clearance rack at REI when I went to pick up some Shot Bloks. Unfortunately, the weather report tricked me again and it was freezing when I arrived at Callaway Gardens Beach. Registration was in a big tent that was not heated, but it was warmer than outdoors. Everything went quickly and smoothly at the table. Race day registration was $70 which isn’t bad for “day of” and a full marathon. The race T-Shirts were long-sleeved and cotton. It wasn’t a bad looking shirt but it wasn’t anything I would ever wear in public. This year the race was chip timed with these huge velcro ankle strap things. The chip didn’t bother me, but it was old school looking compared to the bib style chips most races use nowadays. I wasn’t expecting any chip timing from reading race reviews of the prior year, so this was a step forward as I understand. I’m so used to doing trail races now that often aren’t chip timed that I didn’t care at all.
There was a store available in the tent which was an excellent idea. How often do you forget something race day? They had everything – jackets, gels, water bottles, etc. Why don’t more races do this?!? I was only interested in a fleece ear warmer/head wrap thing because my Bondi Band was not enough with the chilly temperatures. Even though I have 3 of these things at home, I was grateful to have the chance to pick one up before the race – well worth the $15.
Port-o-potties are not allowed at Callaway Gardens so I had to join a longish line for the bathroom. I like real bathrooms better anyway and the line moved quickly enough that I was able to go twice before the race. In 45 minutes, I registered for the race, bought a headband, chatted with Coach Sean (who was planning to win the race!) and another GUTS member, took care of bathroom business, and still managed to enjoy warm time in my car. That’s my kind of race right there.
I’ve never toured Callaway Gardens so I didn’t know what to expect as far as scenery. Trail running has spoiled me so much that I’ve come to hate long road races because houses and city streets bore me after a while. Callaway Gardens is the best of both worlds in respect to the scenery because its like running through a pretty park. I almost forgot how nice it is to not have to constantly focus on the ground for trip hazards. It was nice to be able to take in the golf course, lakes, and wooded paths that Callaway has to offer.
The race started right on time and I fell into a great rhythm. It hardly felt like I was working hard at all. I knew that I wanted to do sub-4:30 but for once, I forgot to look up the split time necessary to achieve that goal. I tried to do rough math in my head and estimated that a 10:00 min/mile would work out. Every time I glanced at my watch, my pace was in the 9:45 min/mile range. I worried that might be fast and I would blow up later, but I truly did not feel like I was putting forth a lot of effort so I went with it.
The only problem was that the numbers on my watch weren’t matching up with the course mile markers. At the start of the Callaway race, the park is closed so there is no traffic. We essentially had an entire road to ourselves to run. I thought I recalled the RD saying that we needed to stay on the left side of the street, but people were running all over the place. The course is also fairly twisty and curvy since it veers through woodland paths and such. It is very different from running most city streets that make nice right angled turns. I either suck at running tangents or my running watch is very off. I was showing almost an extra .1 mile per mile of the course. For example, when I passed the course Mile 4 sign, my watch read Mile 4.4. The course is USATF certified so I’m aware that I’m the screwup here.
I didn’t stress out about this so much on the first few miles, but I eventually started to worry. Because I was so off on the miles, my actual pace for the course (the only one that matters!) was much slower than I thought. My 9:44 min/mile was probably more like a 10:15 min/mile. That was slower than it needed to be to hit my goals…and this was early on before I got tired and naturally slowed down. This was troublesome but I didn’t pick up the pace because my effort level felt right. If it wasn’t enough then so be it.
Having read multiple race reviews, I was looking forward to seeing what the hill situation was like on the course. Even though this isn’t technically an Atlanta race, Atlanta races generally are full of hills unless they specify that the course is fast or flat. That’s just the way it is. We deal with it. The race director made an announcement at the beginning of the race that indicated that he didn’t consider it hilly but he did mention a short 2/10 of a mile long hill somewhere in Mile 6.
After coasting along the pretty much flat miles (maybe one gentle sloping incline), I started to get on high alert at Mile 5. I was right to be on alert and rewarded with multiple long incline kind of hills. Sort of like during the Atlanta marathon, I just put my head down and went with it. I ran every step of every single hill that first loop and I felt great and relaxed doing it. No matter what my true pace was, I felt like this was progress in my running and that is what matters. Better yet, is that when I look back at my splits my pace didn’t slow that much and my heart rate didn’t increase that much either. What’s the equivalent of a “non-scale victory” for running? I’m going to call it a “non-speed” victory and claim one for myself on those hills.
The hilly section was the start of short an out and back portion of the course. I got to see some of the front-runners and people who were just faster than me. I kept an eye out for my coach since he was gunning for the win. I eventually spotted him on the way and got a high-five. I also saw Brad from GUTS who I encounter at many trail races (and was erroneously referring to as Dan SMH). A fellow Marathon Maniac that I was chatting up at the start of the race had some encouraging words for me too as we crossed paths. It is so much fun to have friends on the course if you are running alone! A simple nod, wave, or smile in passing means a lot.
The course got kind of desolate during these miles with mainly tall grass on either side. We ran down to an aid station and hit a hard turnaround. Like literally stop at some traffic cones and turn directly around. Then it was back out and off to cover the final flatter miles through a wooded section that housed the butterfly garden area and other attractions. This section was really twisty but I liked it a lot. We exited the curvy area somewhere between Miles 11 and 12 and then ran on the road towards the finish. A volunteer directed me to split off from the half-marathoners and I headed out for the second loop. My time was around 2:15 at the half-marathon point.
They say the full marathon at Callaway gets lonely after the half and that is 100% correct. I passed a few older gentlemen near the half split but I was on my own for a while after that. I could easily go 5 minutes without seeing anyone. I don’t mind this sort of thing since I’m kind of used to it from trail races. If you do, then don’t run this marathon.
I told myself that no walking was allowed until the half marathon point and I succeeded there. I didn’t really feel like I needed it which was great. I tried to take it further and go to Mile 20 with no walking but no dice. Unfortunately, one walk break breeds another – they are nasty things like that – for me. I kept the breaks short and sweet though and kept plugging along. The good thing was that the course kind of felt completely different the second time around. You see things you didn’t see before and that sort of thing. I wasn’t bored at all.
That hilly section that I had easily conquered during the first loop demanded a powerwalk on the second loop. Funny how when you are all fresh the hills can seem like nothing. They felt more serious this time around. In fact, the whole race started to feel more serious around this time. I became acutely aware of just how much pounding road races put your body through. I’ve pretty much been training exclusively on the treadmill or on trails for months now so I’ve become used to softer surfaces. My feet and calves were really starting to hurt. I started to develop a nasty habit of walking whenever it suited me so my pace was slowing down. The good thing is that even though I was slowing down, so was everyone else. I went from running alone to passing some people I had not seen before and having 2 or 3 people ahead in my sites.
Miles 19-23 tested me. Seriously. I didn’t hit that proverbial wall – in fact, my little fueling plan with a Shot Blok every 2.5 miles was working well. It was just the foot and calf thing I mentioned above. Also this part of the course wasn’t as scenic as some other parts. With the late hour, Callaway opened to through traffic and hopping over to the side of the rode every three minutes got old very quickly. It also forced (or gave me an excuse) to walk more and that’s not something I needed. I started wanting the whole thing to just be over.
My energy started to rise when I reached the Mile 22 (?) aid station which was also the Mile 19 aid station. When it was Mile 19, the aid station was out of PowerAde. That sucked. When the same aid station became Mile 22 aid station, they two guys there were packing up and there were no cups left. WTH? You would think that the most heavily trafficked aid station would have enough fluid left for the marathoners. I’m glad I carried my own bottle and still had some water inside!
Speaking of fluids, don’t buy this hydration system. I purchased it off The Clymb for a steal but I find it more frustrating than helpful most of the time. I love the holster and the storage room it offers, but the included bottle keeps sliding out. I find that if I don’t push it back or check on it every 15 minutes or so, it will fall right out. This time, I tried to use my Nathan handheld bottle in hopes of avoiding that issue because it was a little wider all around. It fell out twice during this race. Very annoying!
Closing in on the water station around Mile 22 gave me a boost of energy. I knew I could pull myself together for a 5K. This part of the course got more interesting too as it was the twisty path through the butterfly gardens and such. I ran more and picked off a few more people. I passed a now deserted (seriously?) aid station at Mile 24 and knew I would get back to the road to the finish soon. On that road, I passed an older guy with his name, Frank, emblazoned on the back of his shirt. I was so happy to almost be finished that I said “Let’s kick it into high gear, Frank, and get this race over with!” or something silly like that. It was good for a laugh from him. Good racing karma achieved!
I did kick it into high gear, mostly running that last mile. I was so happy to see that finish line that I didn’t even care that the clock read 4:45 something. So much for sub-4:30. Shoot, I ran 4:55 at the Atlanta Marathon where I spent the second half sick. I guess any is good? I should be happy, no? Everything was hurting at that point so I was indeed happy that it was over. I felt more physically banged up from 26.2 miles on the roads than I did from 6+ hours on the trail at the GUTS FatAss race. When I say I’m done with full road marathons now, I mean it…I think.
Color me surprised when I was handed a plaque for 3rd place female in my age group. There were only 4 of us in said age group but so what? Actually, I wasn’t that shocked because in past years only about 45 women completed the full marathon. They group the ages by 5 year blocks. If you run the full at Callaway, you have a great shot at getting an award.
As I said at the beginning, I’d been looking forward to having a good road marathon experience and this race qualified. I didn’t get sick and the weather was nice. I didn’t perform how I wanted to, but my expectations were way out of line with my reality. It is tough to PR when you’re 10 pounds heavier, you haven’t been training on roads, and you ran 28 trail miles the previous Sunday. I really need to cut myself some slack and remember that anything that isn’t the DoubleTop 100K is not an “A” race and is therefore a training run.
Personal revelations aside, this is a nice low-key race. It is hilly in spots from about Mile 5.5-10 and that can wear on you. It is not any worse than the Atlanta Marathon though as far as hills and the tougher sections are grouped together in the middle with flatter stuff on the front and back end. Aid might be hit or miss during the second loop if you are not a fast runner so I would recommend carrying your own water. The aid stations are also about 2 miles apart too and there was no fuel offered on course.
I didn’t venture into the tent for post-race goodies and that’s probably a good thing as other racers reported that the half-marathoners ate up all the food. This whole race in general is pretty no frills. The $70 price tag (race day) is cheap by local road marathon standards but way overpriced compared to what you would get for around $45 at a trail race. There is very little spectator support if you need that sort of thing. I would recommend this race as a training run, not as a destination marathon or your first marathon. I also would not really try to PR here. Miles 6-10 are hilly/rolling in spots and they are doubly hard the second go around.
What I did like about this race is that after the long drive to Pine Mountain, the whole experience was hassle free. I was able to register and use the bathrooms twice in a very short time. Parking was very free, plentiful, and close to the finish line. The pre-race circus tent was a nice bonus on a cold day. I loved the race-day expo for last minute essentials. The course is beautiful. If you prefer trails to roads but for some reason want to do a longer road race, this is a good choice.
