Marathon de Paris 2013: Slow and Steady

It was back in September when my good friend Rob George first suggested to me the prospect of running the Paris marathon in April. I told him it sounded like a great idea, all the while in the back of my mind wondering what I was getting myself into. It would be my first marathon, and, despite the 10 complete consecutive seasons of cross country and track on my resume, I doubted my ability to train properly for what would amount to be my longest single run by about 10 km, knowing that the distractions this year would far outweigh the desire to train seriously by myself for a stroll around the world’s most beautiful city. But the fact that Rob was willing to make the trip across the Atlantic for this thing was all the assurance I needed: I was in, however physically fit or not, I was going to conquer the 42 km on that seemingly distant April morning.

When the time finally came to head to Paris, I think I was far more excited to see my friend than I was to actually run the race. After a brief nap and food break, we headed to the expo to confirm our registration and see what this thing was all about. The first nice looking French girl we see when we walk in offers us free apple cider in exchange for signing our name on a sheet of paper. Harmless enough. We go ahead and sign up and next to our names we are asked to estimate our marathon time to the second. As it turns out, the runner who finishes closest to his or her estimated time will be granted a $100 gift card to the local running shop. Of course, I reminded her that I was very much capable of running the time I intended and that even if I needed to walk, I would do whatever it took to cross the finish line at the exact time I predicted: 3h15m00s It was an ambitious goal but that was the time I had been shooting for since the start of my training and I was pretty confident it was within my reach.

The next station we headed to at the expo was selling GU energy gel. Rob reminded me, as he so often does, that it was rip off, we didn’t need to any supplements in order to have a good race, and we should avoid whatever kind of artificial energy they were trying to sell. However, I reminded Rob that we were not risking anything by at least buying it. It was a sort of insurance policy that we could carry in our back pocket until we needed a boost of energy. Otherwise, we wouldn’t take it at all and no harm would be done. So we each purchased a package of GU, double-caffeinated espresso flavor.

That night we had dinner with W&L alumni, Billy Webster, who we actually discovered in the news under a featured article about his 100^th marathon. Billy informed us of his race strategy, a consistent pace would get him through to the end, and he took a GU energy supplement every 5k to ensure his energy level remained high throughout the race. Rob and I looked at each other, knowing GU would likely play a role in our race the next day.

Race day came and we made our way to the course about an hour and a half before the start, seemingly plenty of time to gather ourselves and stretch out before the start. But as we took time to gather our bearings in Europe’s largest intersection, take a few pictures, and drop off our extra clothing, we stood in line to wait for the toilet when we realized that we only had 5 minutes before the start of our section. Casually strolling up to the line, in what turned into a legitimate warm-up. When we approach the starting line, we realize that there is a barrier between the sidewalk we’re jogging on and the street where the runners are. We either had to climb over this 8-foot high chain-linked fence or we’d miss the start of our section completely. We scaled the fence no problem for us although a little unsettling to those who watched us and made it to the start line just in time to catch the 3h15 flag, which we were targeting.

The first half of the race went textbook perfect. We ran relaxed at about 7m20 to 7m30 second mile pace which was at or slightly better than where we were supposed to be. We were stopping at all water stations and had a good system going of sharing a water bottle and grabbing a banana or orange to replenish every 5k. As we started to approach half-way, I was starting to fatigue a bit but still feeling good enough to keep the pace. Rob, on the other hand, was feeling great and told me we should start working the pace down, building into a much faster second half of the race. Fairly confident that I could hold whatever pace Rob intended on reaching, I decided to go with him and we started passing people as we increased our pace over the next few miles. At the halfway point of the race, it was time to shot some GU and let artificial energy take over. Rob informed me that he was going to try and bit and either spit it out or finish the rest while I held the water bottle and waited for my chance at some caffeine. “That’s perfect” Rob exclaimed and proceeded to inform me of his immediately energy surge. It was time to stride out, he was going to work his way down below seven minutes per mile and finish with a 6 minute last mile, getting as close to the 3 hour barrier as possible given our slow start. I was slightly shocked by his sudden shift in confidence, but told him I would stick with him as long as I could. Over the next 6 or 7 miles, we destroyed the competition. Literally passing people the whole way, we kept a pace slightly under 7 minutes per mile and were well under the original goal pace. I told Rob I was beginning to fatigue and would stick with the other runners for a while before I felt good again. As determined as ever, Rob stuck to his energy-high and refused to acknowledge any weakness he might have felt. “Gossett, get your ass up here!” he exclaimed. But there was nothing I could do. I knew that I either had to slow my pace or I was in for a tough ending. So I ran about the next 4 or 5 miles by myself, enjoying the peace and quiet while part of me was wishing I still had someone to talk to. Then, up ahead I see someone slow their pace to a walk, put their hands on their hips and look like they were about to stop. It was Rob! He had hit a wall and now it was me who was yelling at him to keep the pace. But it was no use. I knew as well as he that we were going to finish the race on separate terms and so it was. I felt more fatigued than ever with 5k to go and reminded myself of the high school races I had run where all we did was a 5k: this was a whole other beast we were tackling. I happily made it to the finish without walking but was internally so spent that I convinced myself I would never again run a marathon. And now I understood why the lady at the expo had laughed when I told her I would purposefully walk across that line. As I finished in 3h15m53s, not only had my opportunity passed to earn the gift card but I was nowhere near pompous enough to slow down for a matter of seconds. Nonetheless, it was over and I was happy to make my way to the nearest curb and sit for what seemed like an eternity before Rob arrived. He crossed the finish line about 7 minutes after me, informed me that an orange or two was all it took to get him going again. And we both forgot about the struggles and relished in our accomplishment: first ever marathon in the books.

From then on, it was time for a quick nap before party mode set in and we were reminded of why Paris is one of the greatest cities in the world.