Lessons Learned as Hero Support
This past weekend Liza ran the Chicago Marathon, and it was an experience. First, it was a disaster as a good race as the temperature was >95°F. and there were problems with sufficient water on the route, and after a while they cancelled the race but told the runners they had to walk back in. The transportation that was to be provided to get the runners back to the starting line was not available, and so many runners, like my wife, had to walk it in. This added several hours to her time and I had no idea where she was. So... there are several things that we, as a Team, learned about this, her first marathon:
- The Runner Needs a Cellphone - until the time that they have GPS on each runner, or the Chips mark each mile and an easy way for each support person to know where their runners are, a cell phone is a necessity. Had I been able to call her, or she to call me, we would have known that she was falling off her pace as early as mile 9, and I would have waited at mile 13 for her, and updated my expectations of her arrival time at mile 16.5. As it was, I was a bit frantic not being able to find her past mile 2.5.
- It Doesn't Hurt to Carry Water - there were water stops that had no water at them when she arrived. This was a serious problem in the >95°F. weather. So, she and I talked about her wearing her water belt, and discounted it. Next time, if that heat is up there, she'll carry it just in case this happens again.
- It Helps to Have Support Crew by the Phone - had they used the Internet to track her progress better - more Chip splits, then it would have been really nice to have someone at home with a computer that could monitor her and update me to her progress. As it was, the kids didn't know what to do, and the only splits the system sent out was her ending time. Hardly worth it.
- Have a Go/No Go Point, with a Backup Marathon - we had the back-up marathon as many people had recommended, in case of injury, but there wasn't a point we had that she'd pull herself out of the race because it wasn't an enjoyable experience. For example, had we said "If you drop below a 5:30 pace by the 13.1 mark, it's time to pull out because you've trained at the 4:15 level and this would mean you're getting beat up by the weather or the course."
I'm sure there are a lot of things she's learned about running in a marathon, but these are the big things I've learned supporting her. Until I can take the time to train with her - or at least train for the same race like her, these are the things we're going to have to keep in mind if she hits the pavement again for another 26.2.