Tim Sullivan’s Jack and Jill Marathon BQ Race Report – running a marathon was not in my plans
What Led me to Change my A race from IM Norway about 2 months before this marathon in an attempt to qualify for Boston
Wow. What a wild year this has been for me. If you would have asked me this January if I was going to run a marathon try to qualify for Boston this year, the answer would have been “No, I need at least another year of training.” Well, I don’t know very much. As background, this is my second year with EN and second year running, biking, and swimming, so I have still have lots to learn, and lots to improve upon.
In my first year, I completed my first two IMs and a Half IM. After my IMs last year, I decided that I needed to work on my endurance, my ability to suffer, and my run. I found it hard to complete all the runs that were in the IM plans and even harder to hit the specified paces. To that end, I became a crazy Zwifting machine. I would do many races back to back on Zwift in order to help my endurance as well as learn what I could do when exhausted. I saw HUGE improvements. I also started running. Initially, I was just going to the run durability plan, but then I decided to start running everyday (some really slow) and then I think @jeremy behler started a 100 day run streak challenge in Strava. Well, on the day of the marathon I was at 314 days of straight running (I am still on the streak). The first peak below is when I did the Rattler 100K MTB and 66K Run.
Since I didn’t have any races planned for early in the year, and I had some great fitness early in the year, I decided to try my first MTB race as well as my first Ultra on back to back days (Easter weekend). It went surprisingly well. I finished second overall in the combined race, and I qualified for Leadville 100 run. I deferred Leadville to next year, where I will be joined by lots of other EN folks (at least that’s the plan 😊) Here is the link to that race report if interested: https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/24624/tim-sullivan-2018-austin-rattler-100k-mtb-and-66k-trail-run-race-report-same-weekend#latest
My “A” race was going to be IM Norway on July 1, 2018. At least that’s what the plan was until I found out the Jack and Jill Marathon would be held close to Seattle on July 27 and 28th. My family would be in Seattle during this time. When I initially looked at registering, the registrations were closed. When I returned to the site a few weeks later, they had opened up registration for a few more slots. I signed up. Since I had good run fitness, and not good swim fitness, I decided that this year might be a good chance for me to try to qualify for Boston. I still went to Norway, but as luck had it, they added a 70.3 on the same day, so that’s what I did. It was a lot of fun.
When I signed up for the marathon, I had about six or so weeks left so I scoured the EN site to help find out what I would need to do. After consulting with Coach P, I ended up following the last 6 weeks of the 12 week BQ plan that is in the WIKI. This plan had a lot more fast running then I what I was used to, but I was able to follow it without modification.
RACE
Now to the race. I am 52 years old, so I needed a 3:30 time to qualify and probably about a 3:27 in order to actually run in Boston. Here is a short snapshot of the race:
I am super happy with the results. Before the race, I was thinking I had an outside chance of 3:20 but thought that 3:25-3:27 was a more likely result if things went well during the race. A couple days before the race, I was still deciding how to pace the race. Should I aim for the 3:20, or be more conservative. In the end, I opted for the more conservative approach. After all, my primary goal was to qualify for Boston. Coach P reminded me to make sure and start SLOW and then get the time back later in the race.
RACE DAY
This marathon is about 30 miles to the East of Seattle and it starts at 6:30AM. It’s also a point-to-point race, so you have an additional 30 minutes by bus to drive to the starting point. My bus time was 4:05AM! Oh well, I am up early on race days anyway.
I think I ended up with about an hour or two of sleep the night before the race. We were staying in a hotel, and there was lots of stuff going on. After getting out of bed at about 1AM, I went down to the Men’s fitness floor that has a lounge area with TVs where I had 2 instant oatmeal packets, 2 small yogurts, and the all important coffee. I watched some TV, read some, went to the bathroom, and just hung out till it was time to drive to the race. I left the hotel at 3:15AM and arrived in North Bend at the parking lot at about 3:45. I parked and got on the bus that drove the first group of runners to the starting point of the race. The starting point is at Hyak, which is another 27 miles East on I-90. The starting point is the green dot on the map below and the end is the checkered dot. Here is a link to the race website http://jackjillmarathon.com/
This race only has 600 people running the marathon, so it’s not crowded and you don’t have to get in your starting position until immediately before the start. As I got to the starting area about 2 hours early, I just hung out, drank some Gatorade and met some other people from around the country that were doing the race. It was a very relaxed atmosphere.
About 15 minutes before the start, I had a gel and some water. At 6:25, I went over and got on the trail. This race is run on a hard packed dirt trail with some loose rocks. I decided to wear my Nike Vaporfly 4% as the trail was mostly smooth. I also carried a Nathon Speeddraw 9oz bottle that has a hand strap. I never used this during a race, but I thought worst case was I would just dump it at an aid station if I didn’t like it. The aid stations are minimal on this course as access to the trail is not easy. The race had water and sometimes Gatorade about every two miles. There is nothing else provided (no bars, gels, …) so you need to carry whatever else you want. I carried 5 Gur Roctane gels in my race belt. I only walked a few steps at aid stations to drink one small cup and partially fill my bottle with another cup. I also listened to music during the race.
The race starts at 2549 feet above sea level and ends at 525 feet. There is no altitude issues and the course is a very gradual decline on a hard-packed dirt road. There was really only one turn on the course.
I lined up with the 3:30 pacing group which was very near the front. There were probably about 10 people in this group. I wasn’t committed to staying with this group if they went out too fast but thought I might as well at least start with them. This race has a very unusual start. The first 2 miles are flat and go through a pitch-black train tunnel. I carried a small flashlight that I wedged between the bottle and my hand. Many runners use a headlamp. There is a drop area after the tunnel where you can drop off your light. During this stretch, GPS does not work as you are beneath a mountain.
The tunnel is always about 55 degrees. The weather for the race was hot for Seattle standards but I found it very comfortable. It ranged between 60-75 and the trail was over 90% was shaded.
When you enter the tunnel, you need to watch out for puddles so your shoes don’t get wet. There aren’t too many puddles, but you still need to watch. I ran at a comfortable pace through the tunnel and just verified by power (provided by my Stryd foot pod) that I was running at a comfortable pace that I could maintain. I have run with Stryd for over a year, so I know what power is hard and what is easy. After two miles, you exit the tunnel and drop off your light in a box. I’m putting my light into a plastic bag with my number in the picture below. The other runners are in the 3:30 pace group.
The lights are returned to the finish where you can retrieve them. When we got out of the tunnel, I realized that my watch had incorrectly measured (long) the first two miles. No big deal, as I had the correct time on my watch and I also had a mile split tattoo (provided at packet pickup) that showed me splits for a 3:20 finish. My power was a few watts higher than I expected for the pace, but was still below what I know I can handle for much longer periods of time. My RPE was low and my HR was higher than I expected but well within a range I can handle for 7+ hours.
After the tunnel, the downhill portion of the run starts. The great thing about the downhill is that it really doesn’t feel like its downhill. It just seems like it’s a little easier to turn your legs over. My plan was to run the first 5-6 miles at an easy pace and then to pick up the pace. Here’s a picture of what the trail looked like (this is a promo picture on the race website).
I continued running with the 3:30 pace group as the pacer wasn’t running too fast and it was good to run with some other people. Our pace group was alone and there weren’t really many other runners near us.
At about mile 4, I had my first gel while running. When I reached the aid station near mile 4 I drank a small cup of water and poured another cup into my flask. I was running so I didn’t do this very well and spilled a bunch of it. I got better filling the flask as the day went on 😊.
I continued with the 3:30 group through about mile 8. This was longer than I had originally planned, but I wanted to make sure and not blow up early and fail to qualify for Boston. It would have been really disappointing if I went out too fast and didn’t qualify because I wanted to have a time that was five minutes faster. During this part of the run, I would occasionally make sure my power was near my targeted power and that my pace was still on goal. My fist six miles were at an average power of 220 watts. Before the race, I was thinking this power would be 215 watts.
After mile 6, the group picked up the pace slightly. Before the race, we had asked the pacer to be more conservative at the start and he agreed.
As you can see, my average power jumped between mile 6 and 7. This was because, I had to do a little catch up after an aid station to catch the group as I had dropped my gel cap. After mile 8, I decided to leave the safety of the pace group. I think they actually slowed down a little bit as they were ahead of the goal. I maintained a target of about 220-225 watts till about mile 16. I also had a gel about every 40 minutes. During this stretch, I peed, but I didn’t stop to pee 😊. That was a first for me on the run. On the bike during an IM yes, but never during a run. This course is NOT crowded so no one was within a few hundred yards of me.
The course is very scenic. You cross a few bridges, and have some good views that help distract you from running.
At mile 16, I decided to increase my power to average about 235. 235 watts for me is hard, but I have held that power for long runs of at least 10 miles. Yes, I know this wasn’t mile 18, but I also knew I only had about an hour left to run. Through my crazy Zwifting earlier in the year, I have learned how much suffering I can endure 😊.
During this time, I started feeling really good. Like crazy good. I kept wondering when I was going to go into a dark place or when it would really get really hard. It never did. Yes, it was hard, but it wasn’t miserable. It was actually FUN!
During miles 16-20, I had some variation in power. I think I just wasn’t paying super close attention to my numbers as I knew my time was safely within qualifying at this point. As each mile ticked off, I realized that I was beating the 3:20 pacing that was tattooed on my arm. I couldn’t believe it!
With 6 miles to go I decided to really turn it on and start running hard. I figured the worst that would happen is that I would have a slow last couple of miles. For the last six miles, I just ran hard and used power to push myself. My HR was already in the high 170s, so no reason to look at that. Pace was irrelevant at this point.
The last 3 miles, I tried to run even faster and try to catch as many people as I could. I also wanted to make sure that NO one passed me during this stretch. I had not been passed since before mile 8 so I didn’t want anyone to pass me during the home stretch 😊 No one passed me, but I did pass people. I set PRs for a half marathon (the second half) as well as a PR for 10k (the last 10k), 20k, 30k, and Marathon. It was also the second fastest 5k (the last 5k of the marathon!).
Here is a graph of my run splits.
First Half
Second Half
I worked Hard but it didn’t seem bad 😊
Training Peaks says 323 TSS, so it looks like I have to reset some of my power numbers after this race 😊
Using Power as my main Metric for Pacing the Run
The metric I used for pacing myself during this race was mainly power. Over the last 6 months, I have run in a lot of different temperatures and a lot of different terrain. As a result, I don’t have consistent numbers for pace alone, but I did have power data from my runs. I know my power zones that I can hold for various lengths of time, so I am confident in running with power. I am also comfortable with running by RPE. I also have a good idea on how my power correlates to my pace.
Another reason I used power was that since this course was about a 1.5% drop per mile after mile 3, I thought I would end up with a better time than if I used pace. If I had used pace, I would have run slower since running downhill is faster than running on flats. While I looked mostly at power to keep myself working the appropriate amount, I did check my splits at the mile points to make sure I was where I should be. I also checked my HR for the first 6 or so miles to make sure I wasn’t working too hard. If I would have needed to adjust my effort to hit my target time (which I didn’t), I could have made an informed decision as to whether or not I would have been capable of holding that power for whatever time I had remaining. The last 10 miles or so, I used power as a whip to keep me moving at the effort I wanted. It’s easy to drop off some. Power is a very easy metric to look at while running. I set my watch to show me 10 second average power. This works well for me.
I highly recommend this marathon. Very low key, great course, and fast.
I also highly recommend Run Durability and daily or near every day running. On my days "off" from running I run VERY slow. I mean really slow - like 5 minutes slower than I ran this marathon. These runs do help. I was not very sore after this marathon. I would have been extremely sore last year. Try it if you haven't. Just remember - slow down 
I welcome any and all comments! Thanks a bunch for reading!
Comments
I live nearby so I've been thinking about doing this race, or one of the similar Marathons done on the same course.
Question on the run durability. Do you modified your IM plan in any way to account for extra stress of running every day?
Again, congratulations!!
@Scott Imlay thanks and no I don't modify the plans. My runs I do on the days with no scheduled runs are super easy 2 mile runs. Super low HR. These types of runs help
Thanks for the kind words @Derrek Sanks! Not sure if I'll seek a sub 3 but you never know. I didn't think I had a 3:16 in me this year 😁
Thanks @Scott Dinhofer. It's a great course and there are at least one or two other marathons during the year that run the same course. It doesn't beat you up like some downhill courses. Get a Stryd. The more you use it the better it will work for you.
So how were the 4% shoes ... was there a perceptible difference from long training runs in your regular shoes?
Question: You mentioned the metric you used for pacing was mainly Power ... did you have min/mile pace data on your watch screen at all, or via an alert? Just curious as I've been using Stryd for about a year now too, but am not yet as exclusive to it (eg. main watch screen has Power, HR, Pace).
Your description of the value of Stryd as a primary race tool is spot-on. As you point out, to use it that way, you've got to become intimately familiar with the #'s relative to RPE and performance consistency during training runs inall conditions.
I'd congratulate you on the BQ, but really, there should never have been any doubt about your ability to get there (I think I may have snarkiy said something like that to you in the past year)
I'd just like to point out that (a) Boston and Kona are almost exactly six months apart and (b) you could fit IM Boulder into your plans after spending ten days @ altitude doing final prep in Aspen.
Thanks @Rory Gumina! I had the mile paces for a 3:20 finish tattooed on my arm. I just compared my overall time at each mile to see if I was near where I wanted to be. On my primary watch screen I have power,HR, current mile pace and elapsed time for the mile. I like to know about how much time I have left to finish a mile.
Thanks @Stephen Cogger and @Jeff Kane!
Thanks @Tom Box! See you in Boston. I've seen you in Zwift. I wonder if you are any different 😁
Thanks @Al Truscott! I really appreciate your comments. I am going to work this fall on the swim and see how that goes. And Yes you did tell me no problem with BQ. I know so little. Thats what is so great about EN. You can learn so much! I will keep Boulder in mind.
Thanks @Josh Church! That course is great. At least one other marathon uses that course so it doesn’t have to be summer.
Thanks @Abbey Bonner!
Thanks @Gordon Cherwoniak! I enjoy reading your comments in other threads. A lot of thought goes into your answers.
That looks like a beautiful course too. Love the PNW!
I'm enjoying your tips on running with Stryd. I have not figures out how to do a 10 sec average on my Garmin. I have it set in real time.
Thanks @John Withrow That split was surprising to me as well. I'm just happy the suffering doesn't seem near as bad as it used to when I began training
https://cascadesuperseries.com/ - This appears to be another one that uses a very similar course but not exactly the same - I think the ending is different but will still be the same profile - It appears that the race director used to be involved with the tunnel marathons above but broke apart from that race to start her own - it looks like this is the first year for this race (2 different dates) - this article was fun to read about the controversy - https://www.marathoninvestigation.com/2017/06/tunnel-marathon-controversy.html
Last year was actually the first year for the Cascade Super series. In 2017 it had three races - meaning there were 8 separate marathons (two Jack and Jills, three Tunnel Lights, and three Super Cascade's) over a four month period on essentially the same course! Last year, the Jack and Jill's and Tunnel Light's all sold out while the Super Cascade's had participants in the low 100's (call look this up here: http://findmymarathon.com/fastestmarathoncourses-state.php?state=Washington). This year, the Jack and Jill's and Tunnel Lights are once again sold out and the Super Cascades seem to be doing reasonably well.
Looking forward to your 2019 as Al has laid it out for you!
I age up this year to 45 where the qualifying time is 3:25. So a BQ is on my mind. The last straight road marathon I did was St George in 2015, coming in at 3:27. I've put a lot of miles in since then, making it seem within reach. The barrier for me is mental -- marathon training is so boring. Seeing your unconventional approach of a massive running base with 6 weeks of marathon specificity layered on gives me encouragement. Maybe I'll take swing at a BQ later this year after Wasatch...
@Gabe Peterson - I guess my unconventional approach is due to my lack of knowledge on what most people would do