Miami Marathon Race Recap My hardest BQ thus far #RunMiami

A lovely Sunday Morning was about to unfold, clear sky, sunny day, on a gorgeous full moon morning. Miami was beautiful in this early day. And it was a special morning as some 15000+ runners were about so set foot on Biscayne Boulevard. Some for the 13 miler others for the 26 miler. I was in the latter group. It was already quite warm and very comfortable in pre-race mode. Already in the upper 60'sF (20C). This temperature was not for PB condition.

Luckily for me, I was not there to PB, I had set in my year calendar a race to keep my motivation level to the highest in those dark, cold wintery months of Canada.

With lots of mileage in december and January , I was ready for what I was considering a long run. A special long run in warm conditions on a dry surface.  

With two running shoes option, I was game time decision when at 4AM, 2 hours before the race I opted for my brand new ASICS Nimbus 14. Just bought at the Expo Marathon. I have no worries with the Nimbus and the usually fit like a glove. It went to be a god decision as I had minimal issues with my feet. In the picture, we see my Nimbus 13. The same one I went with at the Chicago and Philadelphia races.

Scenery in Miami is quite nice before sunrise with all those flashy colors on many buildings. Architecture in Miami is quite different from the North East.

After an adrenaline rush getting to gear drop-off, as we were getting late a bit. I was finally standing still in my coral. National Anthem was played, but with lot less focus than other US races I did. Have to say, a huge portion of runners are from outside the States, nonetheless, we have to respect every nation's Anthem.

My race plan was quite different from my last Marathon (Chicago). Which was a race to beat with an agressive goal of breaking the 3 hours mark.

About to run my 9^th marathon. I was quite excited but not really nervous. I never tought I would be in danger this morning. It was a long run, starting slow and with no time goal.

As we were ready to go, my heart rate climbed a bit, adrenaline runs in my veins. I'm around 90. Not standing in the front would make me run in the crowd. Lots of them. Something I don't quite understand (and never will) are those runners in front line that can't run fast or at least at a decent speed. The feeling is the same reaction as driving in traffic with very slow cars. Anyways, we quickly go around those slow obstacles. And also, witness those very fast starters. As quickly as Mile #2, we already see some walkers...their sprint is over.

The first 5km's are ran across MacArthur Causeway. Along a line up of Cruises ready to depart later on the day. Sun has not risen yet and full moon is at hand. Lovely!

My plan was calling  to go slowly for first 5ks. I did, the two climbs were easy and heading towards South Beach was great excitement. I was capturing the moment. During the 3rd or 4th , both the 3:05 and 3:15 bunny went by. This was a non-event, at least, at that time I thought it was.

1k - 5min04s - 149 bpm

2k - 4min40s - 158 bpm

3k - 4min52s - 155 bpm

4k - 4min56s - 152 bpm

5k - 4min50s - 155 bpm

1-5k 24min22s

First 5k was quite slow, 24m22s, but still my heart rate was not that low. At the first water station, I quickly changed my running plan and made sure to drink gatorade. Though, it was still a walk in the park, I knew that the later km's would be ran under the sun, bringing way more heat. Scary for the heart rate.

Hitting South Beach, was something else, along Alton road heading to South Point Park, I was going a bit faster, at the 6.84k mark, running in front of Joe's Stone Crab. (I would later on snack there) I reminded myself to witness the environment. It was nice to be able to run in the mile along the famous Ocean Drive boulevard. The Clevelander...and many more famous spots. As we were early Sunday morning, the late partyers were just hitting their bed.

My next split was faster.

6k - 4min44s - 156 bpm

7k - 4min47s - 159 bpm

8k - 4min42s - 158 bpm

9k - 4min37s - 160 bpm

10k - 4min36s - 158 bpm

5-10k 23m26s

I had find my rythm, a 4min37s pace is very comfortable, but my heart rate was a bit high. My official 10k crossing time was 48m06s

Still on Washington avenue, we were heading in some residential area's, no need to say, it was more wealth than poverty. Along the nice cars, was a golf club, I didn't know there was one on the small island. The Miami Beach golf club.

The sun was rising and I was starting to heat up. We were also heading back to Miami. One key distance in marathon running (for me) is the 14k mark. It marks the third of the race and it is for me a great indicator of how I feel. Well, I was not feeling awesome. My projected finish time was around 3h19m at that point. Would I last. Sweating a lot, I was lucky to be handed a cold water bottler in the neighboorhood around the 12th k mark. I carried this bottle for a while. I did not want to splash myself as water adds weight and discomfort later on the run. Also, it fills running shoes, malking them way heavier. Not to forget, blisters

11k -4min37s  -160 bpm

12k - 4min31s  - 160 bpm

13k - 4min30s - 159 bpm

14k - 4min29s - 162 bpm

15k - 4min28s - 164 bpm

10-15k 22m35s 

My alarm went off running, 164bpm, I really tought I was not going to handle this heat. I was finally feeling good, on a pace I felt I was not eating up my energy tank. But 164 bpm...I needed to slow down. Very wary that the sun was just coming out. It was probaly already 74-75F ( I don't know for sure). But it was getting warmer. ( I have a very strong negative memory of 2 previous marathons where my heart rate quickly climbed above my threshold. Montreal 2011 and Boston 2012, on both occasions, I had hit the wall)

The scenery of Miami is great, but as for a race, you are quite alone, with almost no spectators, I love the cheers and the music, it differs from lonely training runs. On Venetian Causeway, back towards Miami, I could see the American Airline building, which was the halfway point. In the start of my second 14k split, I felt it would be a hard 2^nd third. Hitting Miami streets was not a very nice area. But a bit more crowded. On the 19k mark, I saw a runner down, many marathons have fatalities and it's always on my mind. My elevated heart rate was showing no signs of lowering, and the mercury was still on a rise. Luckily, we were quite shadowed by the high rises.

16k 4min34s -163 bpm

17k 4min35s  - 165 bpm

18k 4min38s - 165 bpm

19k 4min34s- 166 bpm

20k 4min36s - 165 bpm

15-20k 22m57s

Heading in the 21^stk, there it was, the segregation, Half Marathon and full marathon, on both sides...with my heart rate closing in 170, it did cross my mind to go on the half-marathon path. But quiting is not an option and specially something I don't want to live with. 

I would finally start the 22^nd, with a very limited crowd, as 3000+ were running the full and 14000+ wisely selected the half marathon. I was in the front pack, it pretty much felt like it was a very small race.

My mid-point mark was reached at 1h38m40s. Improving my forecasted finish to arond 3h17m.

On the 22nd k, there was a table with ice coffee, never did I ever had it anywhere, even less in a race, but I needed some jolt. So I showed a hand to the volunteer, letting him know I would grab a cup. Poor volunteer, had no clue how to hand a cup to a runner, so, a few feets before reaching him, I start to synchronize my movement so I can easily grab the cup while running. We all do this, but the poor guy, instead of holding the cup and letting me grab it, had a diffrent idea, he was more of going in front of me and helping me drink it. The result was quite bad, we almost had a collision and the majority of the ice coffee ended up on me. I could hear fellow volunteers yelling at him and telling him ''what are you doing??'', a few steps later, I was thinking of this almost collision. We eventually had a steep climb to cross a canal or a river (the Miami River). I passed 3 runners in the climb, and I was slowing down a lot, I knew the heat was getting to us, I was getting more scared as I was going.

We would reach the 25k on a pretty straight runaway in the Miami district. Some nice area's and a few spectators, one every 500m approx. I could see a few runners in front of me. But I didn't want to chase, though my pace was faster. My heart rate was still high and worrysome.

21k 4min37s - 167 bpm 

22k 4min23s - 167 bpm

23k 4min39s - 168 bpm

24k 4min37s -169 bpm

25k 4min32s -171bpm

20-25k 22m48s

Ouf, my heart rate had reach high alert, above 170, with 17k's to go and temperature only increasing. I felt I was pretty far from home. Reahcing the beautiful area of Coconut Grove. The furthest point we would reach. We would eventually start our way back, a the 26k mark, running close to the ocean, we were facing a wind, not a strong winter wind, but a not-conveniant wind that would ask us to add more stamina to keep pace. Reaching my 28k mark was a very tough endeavor as I struggle in a very small sloped portion with a headwind. I would finish this k at 4min39s. At that point, I had in mind to get my Boston Qualification. I was already qualified, but was looking to get my 4th one. My previous 3 were planned before the race. This one was not, and never was I late to the goal, my pace was still above 3h15 and I was in catch up mode. With a raising heart rate. I was struggling and re-iterating to myself that I was in the last third of the race. 

Just a small 14k to go, easy mid-week run. Trying to trick my mind of the easeness of what was remaining to do. But running at 170+ in heat is not easy. My body was hurting. I would repeatedly poor some water on my back and my chest. But, it would not last long. I could really see the wall hitting quickly...and severely. I was at about 4min38s pace for the race, to beat the 3h15m pace I needed a sub 4min37s. Each lap above 4min37s was a step back, with only a dozen k's left.

26k 4min33 - 171 bpm

27k 4min39s - 169 bpm

28k 4min31s - 170 bpm

29k 4min30s - 172 bpm

30k 4min32s - 172 bpm

26-30k 22min45s

Struggling I was and passing other struggling runners I also saw the 3h15m bunny, he was far, and I had time to catch him. A rookie mistake would have been to catch him up too fast. I kept running my race. Each time you pass a runner, some confidence builds up. But I knew I could be the one struggling soon. I was now focused on each k's, trying to beat the 4min37s pace. Wind was blowing even more and I was fatiguing. The 34k was heading east on Rickenbacker causeway, brutal wind. This was a very hard k, On the other side, we could see runners coming back from this 3k loop. There was hope that we would have the wind in our back for at leat 1-2 kilometers. I kept my heart rate under 180 bpm. I know I can sustain a few kilometers above 180 bpm, but this is my sprint heart rate, with 7 k's to go, I was way too far from the finish line to start my sprint

31k 4min21s - 174 bpm

32k 4min35s - 173 bpm

33k 4min33s - 176 bpm

34k 4min38s - 175 bpm

35k 4min33s - 177 bpm

31-35k 22min40s

With seven kilometers to go, I was reaching heart rate levels too high too maintain. I did not want to hit the 180 plateau. It was almost impossible. I know had a 4min36s overall pace. Barely under the pace needed for 3h15m. The major thing to be aware is the distance on the Garmin watch is usually 4-500 meters greater than 42.2k. A fast marathon pace 500m would 2min10s. This adds up lots of time. So I knew I was battling a very tight race. With absolutely no margin to slow down. I kept my next 5k's under 4min37s and gaining some valuable seconds to the pace, but was it at the expense of my heart rate? I was in the red zone as for hitting the wall, and I could see it coming. I would have to fight till the end to get this BQ

36k 4min31s - 179 bpm

37k 4min34s - 179 bpm

38k 4min35s - 179 bpm

39k 4min30s - 182 bpm

40k 4min31s - 183 bpm

36-40k 22min41s

When I first saw the 3h15m bunny, it was a the 3 or 4th kilometer. The bunny and a huge group of runners was around. At the 30k mark, There was a pack of 10-12 runners. When I finally reached the bunny, at he 40k mark, there was two. I also heard the bunny to advise the fellow runner to pursue by himself. The bunny would not hit the 3h15m pace. It ws a grueling morning at the race track. And many, many engines had overheating issues. I was now in my zone. Even though I was hurting like crazy, I was now focused on my target. It was not my first BQ, but this one was not in the bag until the finish line.

I had no choice other than hitting the sprint mode and to tackle and disrepect the marathon. I apologize, but I was respectful for 40k's. I now was stronger than the marathon. At least I thought. Right around the start of the 41st k, the famous Miami river or canal...again, the same steep overpass I struggled with at the 22k mark. I was in dilemma, should I attack or be passive. I chose to be in between. It did take a toll, and the 3h15m was slipping away. Reaching the 25th mile, I was at 3h06m. It gave me around 8 minutes to complete. 

My heart rate was extremely high and my body was definitively hurting, but I had to push, no margin. Finally in the last strecth, the last turn, we could finally see the Arch. I gave it all, my final sprint. Very strong pace of 3min51s. On my watch, it was a 450 meter sprint. That's long when you are out of breath.

41k 4min24s- 184 bpm

42k 4min21s- 185bpm 

43k 3min51s - 189 bpm

I was able to pass 3 runners in my sprint, they must have wondered where I was coming from, everyone was hurting, but I would surrender after.

I'm seen here, turning the corner of the last sprint to finish line

Here, as I'm closing in, in the turn, I just passed this fellow runner.

My final time was 3h16...but I knew my bip time would be closely under 3h15m. I did not look at my watch, favoring water and rest. I quickly got some cold water to pour on myself. I was so warm. And this last sprint took a toll. I walked trhough the exit line and got my medal. I was very satisfied. This was not a race day, but I took the challenge in the last 12k's to make it a BQ. Overcome adversity is always rewarding, and this one was very rewarding.

The marathon was behind, I was coming home

At the end of the race, we are always handed, fruits, bagels, cookies drinks. I was able to grab myself a tray so I could store a few goodies. Those come very handy 15-20 minutes after the run. The body completely depleted, I very hungry.

The warm weather ain't great for race conditions, but it is wonderful post race. At the Michelob beer garden, runners were handed a Michelob Ultra. Sitting on the grass and reflecting on well race run is always a great moment. Something we work for 12-14 weeks.

Race being held at 6h15AM, the afternoon was free and what a better place than the beach to relax and recup from the race

I will not run the full Miami marathon again, as it is not a PB marathon or fast marathon. But I'll try to make Miami a yearly destination for the Half-Marathon.