Ocean Marathon RR 'aka" The Sand in yer Eyes 30mph Gust Run


Hey gang this one's in the bag .

Left Friday afternoon about 2:30 to try to avoid Jersey traffic on the Garden State Pkwy. We took my friends Mercedes Benz e55 AMG which is basically a 476hp land missile! Man is that car fast. I drove on the way since he's not too crazy about driving long distances or at night.

Check in was easy and we were blown away by this Victorian house we rented. Huge 3 story 5 bedroom jewel,modern kitchen,private parking,and 30 feet from the beach.

My wife fell in love with the house which is always a good thing since she's so picky.From the looks of the town there would be lots to do for her and my daughter.

Next morning we all ran together,nice easy 3 miles ,,mostly sightseeing really.

Afterwards got some breakfast at Uncle Bill's Pancake House. Yummy goodness. Ate til I felt pregnant as this was going to be my biggest meal of the day.


Back at the house we decided it was time to head off for the Expo. It was pretty pathetic, I think there were a total of 4 vendors.

For $85.00 I was hoping for better but oh well.

Race Morning:

Got up and felt very relaxed as I drank my breakfast

The START line was outside the door of our house. How sweet is that. I kid you not. IT was exactly 1/2 a block away.

Sun was out and only a slight breeze in the air. Temps were perfect, 45 F, and forecast was 54 F by mid-day.

First mile went off well at 9:40, crowds thinned out fast as we let all the 10 mile racers ahead.I would say 70% of the runners were doing only the 10 miler.

By mile 3 I was running a 28 min 5K pace which was too fast for me, so we pulled back to 10:45's for a while.

All was great until mile 5. This is the part of the course where we get out into the marshlands that are pancake flat but completly exposed to the winds.

I would say at this point we were running into winds that were about 15 mph.

By mile 8 or something we got into the bike/jog path the paralleled the boardwalk.

This is a combo of running on wood and cement. Not a problem but by now the winds were getting ridiculous. I spent most of the race leaning forward to help cut into it.

Occasionally when we turned into small streets thru the residentials we'd get a nice calm stretch,but as soon as we turned back into the beach we'd get hit hard.

It never stopped and lasted to mile 26.

The last 2 bridges, the wind was so bad that keeping the salt spray from getting in your eyes was really beating me up. By this time my hip flexors which never tighten up got tight. I think from all the leaning forward.

My 13.1 mile split was 2:23.

I admit I was a bit disappointed as my split at the Hyannis Marathon last month was 2:09 and change. This was with a swelling ankle I had rolled .

By mile 15 I figured this would be a good time to improve my mental focus and just deal with the fact that this was not going to be a PR day.

I hit mile 20 getting a bit of a reprieve from my hip tightness, so miles 20-22 went by rather smoothly, 11:10 & 11:23.

By mile 23 I decided to just cruise in and enjoy the rest of the race to insure a decent recovery as bike days are a few weeks away.

Total time was 5:06 on my watch. I think it took us 1:45 to cross the Start and this was not a chipped race. So until the official results are posted its somewhere's between 5:06 and 5:08.

You can't pick your races perfectly. I knew going in that this race is historically windy according to all the reviews on Marathonguide.com,but this was just one of those freaky Sundays where the winds were unusually high . Some of the runners that raced previous years also mentioned that it was ridiculous on Sunday.

But I accomplished what I wanted to do this Spring, and that was to have a mary
under my belt going into Placid. I did not have that confidence last year as I had skipped doing one.I know this will help me big time as far as pace management and overall durability.

Without the gusty winds I have no doubt I would have run somewhere in the neighborhood of 4:40-45.
I don't think I'm in 4:20 shape like I thought I was. Maybe next year, but I'm getting there.

Also ,I think my prep going into Hyannis was better. I peaked just right going into that race. That "COULD" have been a 2:12 +2:26 split for me.

Hey,all that matters is the confidence I have gained in my running . My form is better, I no longer have pain issues during consecutive long runs and best of all I actually enjoy running.....maybe more than S&B !