Tri-Cities Marathon 2006

Saturday dawned beautiful, a bit warm for the season, and windless. Unfortunately the marathon was on Sunday, Colder, and with a 20 knot west-southwest wind. And while the Columbia is scenic, it allows about a 1 to 2-mile fetch for the wind to get rolling without obstacle. The first 2 miles was not too windy due to buildings and I was cruising at 8:09s. Then we hit the wind, a direct crosswind, which is surprisingly hard to run in. I slacked my pace a bit, sensing trouble (pre-mile-6). The further down the course we got, the more the wind veered toward the back, eventually approaching a rear quartering tailwind, which is also surprisingly hard to run in. Runners were leaning out toward the river to counteract it.

The south side of the river was not to bad for wind, though gusts would carry huge amounts of fallen leaves. I actually got my ear boxed by a horizontally flying leaf. It hurt. I slack off the pace a bit more. By the time I hit mile 13 I'm at 1:52:00 (something like 8:35s). Could still pick up a 3:40 with a negative split. But I was just kidding myself. I knew what was waiting on the north side of the river.

I crossed the cable bridge (my old nemisis) with GU in my teeth, ready to do battle. I picked up a drafter (Barbara, from Sandpoint) who was shooting for a 3:50. For the next five miles I shuffled at 10:00s and 10:30s (depending on gusts) and a heart rate rambling around just over 180. It was a quartering headwind and I was working pretty hard just to stay in the center of the trail. The wind actually pushed me into my drafter 3 times. My upwind leg banged into my downwind plant leg a bunch. Due to the gusts it was uncontrollable. We passed a bunch of people along this stretch because many runners were finding it too difficult to run.

Well, I had shot my wad by mile 21, but fortunately that's where the wind turned to more of a direct cross wind and the houses started. I crept in at 9:00s and 9:30s. Before the race I thought I'd blow my previous botched 3:52 of 2004 out of the water. Instead I set a new high PR for any marathon I've run solo -- a 3:59. That's a plus 17 minute split. I'm rating this year's marathon, 1-monkey.

Enough exageration -- on to the pictures.

Wind at the Start: I drove over Sunday morning, early. It was warm and windless in Moscow. Just after Washtucna, I drove into the oncoming cold air mass, accompanied by wind. The inside of my windows fog instantly. I should have turned around and gone home right then. Here's a picture of the flag over the Shilo Hotel, race headquarters.

Super Girls: It is basically a Halloween marathon, and some of the runners and relay teams dress up.

The first Bridge: is unprotected. Blew us right across at the start. 2 of the 3 bridges are quite high and you have to zig-zag up to them.

Park: One of many lovely riverside parks. It was here that I first started wishing I have brought my bicycle goggles. Later on I was getting so much stuff in my upwind eye that I had to run with it closed, looking out my downwind eye over my nose bridge with my head cocked -- like running when it's snowing.

Bridges 2 and 3: Note the flag on the bridge, and notice how much some of the runners are leaning toward the river.

Wind at Columbia Park: Yikes. Lots of blowing dust. You can hear the wind in this video. When a gust comes, all the leaves on the ground up and move left in formation. Kind of tough to plant your feet with the ground moving.

Cable Bridge: It really is a pretty bridge. It was a tailwind across, but there were very large and unsettling back-eddies just behind the each of the main supports.

Headwind Home: Tough headwind the final 10 miles. I only took this one picture.