Catch Up

Playing catch up a bit here with reports from past events.

What a difference a year makes.  In 2012 the Chevron Houston Marathon was the US Olympic trials, the weather was warm and dry, and the times were fast.  This year it was cold and rain, and the times were slow for those who were able to finish. Twin Cities Track Club's Mike Reneau went to Houston in hopes of improving the PR he set there at the trials by around two minutes, hoping for a time in the 2:12 range.

Teammate Joe Moore went with him to pace the 2:12 group through the first half of the race.  Things did not go well from the start.  By five miles the pace was not the 5:04 per mile as planned, but closer to 5:16/5:20 and Reneau was so cold that he could hardly pick up his fluid bottles and couldn't twist the cap to get the fluids.  His leg muscles were tightening up, especially along his IT band, and the race had become a survival test, rather than an attempt at a PR.

Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson made it to the finish, six minutes off the PR he set in Houston the year before, but in seventh place.  "People don't appreciate what an effort that was," says Reneau.  They'll look at the slower time and think it wasn't much of an accomplishment, said Reneau, but people probably won't appreciate the difficulty of the effort, both mental and physical, he said.

Like Reneau, Carlson was hoping to knock about two minutes from the 2:11 PR he had set in Houston in 2012, but was able to recalibrate in the conditions and not only finish, but finish in the top ten of a highly competitive event.  That is even harder to do when you go into the event looking at a specific goal that becomes unattainable early, forcing you to change everything and cope with what you can handle on the day.

Reneau tried to do that, but his body would not let him.  His legs were tight and "locking up," Reneau said.  His body was so cold, the fine motor skills, such as opening containers, had ceased to function, and the decision was made at 14 miles to drop out, a first for Reneau.  But he still had to go two more miles to get to the aid station with a medical tent.  He waited there for an hour before transport arrived, and Reneau's temperature was down to 92 degrees, hypothermia territory, despite having blankets and fluids.

Despite the setback, Reneau is trying to regroup and try again in the Fidelity Investments Woodlands Marathon on March 2.  His body didn't recover as quickly as he anticipated, however, and he stepped on some broken glass and gashed his heel, but if no more setbacks get in his way,  Reneau is still planning on taking a second shot at 2:12.

Former Team USA Minnesota runner, Chris Lundstrom also had to drop out of his event--the US 100K Trail Championships that started in Bandera, Texas the day before the Houston Marathon.  Lundstrom writes about his experience HERE.

Joe Moore talks about his experience on the US team in Scotland for the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge  HERE.