Jarvis Googoo

On November 9, I completed my twelfth marathon; the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (IMM). The IMM takes place on the ancestral homelands of the Miami, Lenape, Kickapoo, Shawnee, Peoria, and Potawatomi peoples.

Back on in the winter (when researching for a fall marathon to do), I applied for the New York Marathon (NYM) as a qualifier with my California International Marathon (CIM) time on February 28. Twenty days later, I didn’t get in as the buffer cut-off was quite tight, so I kept my name in the lottery. The odds of being selected were extremely unfavourable (I think maybe one in 165,000 or something like that), but I simply saw it as a 50/50 chance; either I get in or I don’t. Ten days later, I didn’t get selected. While others seemed a bit sad for me, I wasn’t at all. I learned over the years that there are so many marathon options. I heard positive things about the IMM, and mentioned it to Coach Lee, who said it would be good. Leaning towards it, I registered on April 5 (my grandmother’s birthday) and even got some sort of eclipse discount with it.

After the Toronto Marathon, it took only four days to recover, whereas with the Boston Marathon in 2022, I still think about how it was ten days before I was feeling 100% again. I loved how not only was I a stronger/faster runner since then, but the bounce back post-marathon takes less time as well. Second half of May was most certainly a different training, as we were in Portugal (and then Hamilton) a lot. Without the team for the Wednesday Workout Runs and Saturday Long Runs, this took some extra discipline to ensure I was hitting the proper paces solo. By the end of the month, I told Coach Lee that I was being both realistic and ambitious for sub 2:45:00 at IMM. He responded that we will aim for it and I received my updated paces.

Finishing off May and going into June, I most certainly was feeling stronger with my average paces and my left hamstring (which has been a lingering issue since the 2023 Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Summer Games 5K) was nearing and teasing being just about 100%.

My remaining races for the spring and summer had mixed results. My 5K on June 5 didn’t go as planned. I tried racing in my Vaporfly 3 shoes again, the same ones for the Toronto Marathon, and like that event, my feet didn’t feel secure (regardless of socks). I accepted that this simply wasn’t my day, retired the shoes at 112K (my lowest yet), and went with a pair of New Balance Trainer Fuel Cell SuperComp for the time-being. Later that month, I did a 10K at the Summer Solstice in Millbrook First Nation. I knew this wasn’t going to be a personal best, especially with the uphill and tough gravel (I nearly rolled an ankle), plus my last race was just 13 days prior. But it’s one event that I try to support every year. I knew next month that I had a 10K personal best to hit.

Early-July, I had quite possibly one of the worst training setbacks to date; sickness. It was so bad that my Body Battery read as if I did a 42.2K. I was zapped of all energies. I had to miss a few regular runs and rescheduled my Workout Run to a Thursday at a reduced speed.

Trainings were great but also challenging to balance. I had a side job over the spring and summer hosting a television show titled Mi’kma’ki. While I loved interviewing various folks all over the province re Mi’kmaw topics and issues, some of my running schedule had to be altered a tad bit.

A good confidence booster came from my 10K personal best at the Nova Scotia Marathon on July 21 at 35:15, nearly a whole minute off my last one (a jump that I liked). I also liked how the recovery was quite quick especially when compared to other races, as just two days later, I felt great/strong on my regular Tuesday run. On August 10, I had to do a solo run due to a filming schedule. During this one, my iPhone fell out of my FlipBelt several times. Like the last one, due to more body-fat loss, the belt got a bit too loose and I had to order a smaller one.

For my 21.1K of the year, I went with the Cobequid Trail Run in Truro on August 25 (and as such, missed the 5K at the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Summer Games). I went into this one not fully prepared, as I was on my feet and walking a bit the previous day and had little sleep that night. I ran a new personal best of 1:17:50. I did go into this with an aim of a faster result, but this was still something to celebrate. While hot, the heat wasn’t bothering me, but I did start things off too strong. What was interesting though was that post-Toronto marathon, it was 85 hours to recover, and with this, 92. I think it was probably due to the low Body Battery and getting little sleep.

On the last day that month, I bought a pair of New Balance Men’s FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4 shoes as my Saucony Men’s Endorphin Pro 4 runners started to fall apart at 275K. Chatting with Meaghan days leading up to August 31, she talked me into doing the Jersey City Marathon with her and Christy, and that night, I beat the midnight deadline and registered for my Spring 2025 marathon.

September 7 was a virtual “write off” re for a Long Run. That morning, it was absolutely pouring and I opted for an indoor track. Hindsight being 20/20, I should’ve sucked it up and ran outdoors with the team, as the indoor work wasn’t great. This was cool as I’ve had these types of bad days before. My Garmin marathon prediction was now at 2:44:37, which did cheer me up (and even noted a 2:34:37 jump just days later).

The Long Runs for September and October were quite special. I was a bit worried about them as back in the spring, I got hurt doing one Long Run in that I needed physio and took some time off. But on September 21, I felt good and strong. Even my walk later that day was well and recovery times were much shorter. Definitely thinking a combination of rest, yoga, strength training, and nutrition were coming together. A week later, the Long Run recovery was just under 24 hours (beforehand they were two to three days). Seven days later, I had to solo Long Run and this was quite impressive (as solo running can be tough), and a week after that, it was another one all by myself with a marathon pace plan but was able to do threshold instead. This was also when I truly realized that I was the only one on an IMM plan as no one else was doing it this year. I finally got back to a team run on October 26 and ran with Meaghan the whole time. After that one, Jamie shared some great tips for IMM (as he did it before). The next day, I got my marathon day plan. It was the same as Toronto, but was given the green light to go faster at 15K if I was feeling good.

The October 30 Wednesday Workout was also a special one. As I was the only IMM Road Hammer for the year, I was to do the V02 Max 800M workout at the Common by myself. It was kind of funny and a bit odd; I was still at team training with the others, but the actual workout itself I was doing alone. For my last Long Run, it was wonderful when Coach Tonya asked the crowd who was all doing IMM. When I was the only one smiling and raising their arm, the team erupted into cheers and applause. It was incredibly wonderful to have such awesome team support.

My flight left on November 5 in the afternoon. I had a good Workout Run in the Garfield Park area of Indianapolis. I got myself a throwaway sweater from a Goodwill store that was very close to my AirBNB (and even managed to find a yoga block). While I normally do a Target shop for my marathon meals, there weren’t any nearby, so I opted for The Wal-Mart instead. I walked to the Indianapolis Convention Centre to get my race kit the next day (as I find a 5K or 6K walk two days before a 42.2K is okay), and found the expo pretty somewhat similar to CIM. I did my Shakeout Run the next morning; it was a little more chilly than Sacramento. I actually saw several other runners (probably more than other pre-marathons I’ve done in the United States to date), presumably also doing their Shakeout Run (and we even exchanged a few waves). However, there were some things that I felt were wrong with me before the race; my Body Batter was low. I tried relaxing but it wasn’t helping much (as I had too much on my mind that week). Furthermore, while carb loading was pretty much the usual stuff, I did something different that I shouldn’t have done; I purchased about a kilogram of sweet potato that I consumed on Wednesday and Thursday (a lot of carbs but too much fibre). This was throwing off my system and I was feeling it.

Waking up on race day, my Body Battery was 34. This wasn’t good, but at least I got virtually eight hours of sleep. Kerri made it to the AirBNB the night before and would be there for my race finish. As a birthday gift, she got me a pre-race VIP pass. I took an Uber over and enjoyed relaxing in a warm indoor area at the State House (although I was surprised at the low number of restrooms that were available).

Headed to Wave A for the start, like any big race, there was a lot fun buzz in the air. I replayed Coach Lee’s plan in my head. The race began, and I activated my Garmin once I crossed the starting track pad. I felt good. I treated the first kilometre as a warm-up and things seemed to be in order and on pace, more consistent than Toronto I found. I reviewed the marathon route and rewatched a course video many times leading up to the big day, and was somewhat assured about what was where. Preparing for – and running – the tangents was mainly spot-on. The race advertises itself as a flat one and I agree. Pennsylvania Street, along with Washington Boulevard and eventually Meridian Street (which I would end up on again towards the end) were pretty much the most evenly level stretches of the course. But once at 15K, something inside told me to not pick it up, to stay on the previous round of pace work until 21.1K. At the halfway point, I looked at my overall time (which I rarely do in any race) and saw that I was within the planned range. So far so good.

However, something happened at the approximate – if not, exact – 25K mark; stomach cramps. I haven’t experienced this since maybe grade three when we were made to run laps at the old Indian Day School gymnasium in bare feet. My stomach was teasing awful pain. I had to scale back a tiny bit. So I reduced my pace by a tad few seconds for the next several kilometres, but nothing drastic. Things steadied as the cramps subsided.

Then with 10K left to go, I was thinking maybe I could still blast it like CIM. That was not happening. As soon as I landed at 32K, I attempted to pick it up by gradually going all out till the end. But the stomach cramps returned with a severe vengeance, and it felt like a wicked gut punch. It was bad. I nearly slowed down to a walk and then folks started to pass me. It was nice to see a Sheltie on White River Wapahani Trail at the 34.4K mark to cheer me up, but yeah; I knew then it wasn’t going to be a personal best today. My mind started to wonder and drift. This sometimes happens when training and I start to slow down without realizing it. I began to question myself where I went wrong. Was my training so good that it became too much? Did I overdo it with the excessive amount of sweet potato (about one kilogram between two days)? Was my sleep sufficient? Numerous questions kept repeating in my head without a definite answer; only hypotheticals. After 37K, I snapped out of it. If I wasn’t going to hit a personal best nor that sub 2:45:00, then at least I would still finish this in under three hours. I immediately thought back to Fredericton 2023 and remembered what El told me after the race; the worst runs teach us the most, and that it’s easy to run when we’re having a great day, but it’s when we have to dig deep that’s when we build the most strength. I did dig deep, quickly calculated a rough estimate of what I needed, and vowed to complete things on time. I would be building my strength for the next marathon. My mind returned to the race and I pushed hard. One plus side was that the rest of the race was flat; being back on Meridian Street just before 39K would help me. Others kept passing, and I was still running. I was irked that I just couldn’t give it that final push – an increased repeat of CIM – but knew I had to adjust my plan on the spot. Health and safety first – there will be other marathons.

Crossing the finish was something both pleasantly surprising and odd. Unlike Toronto back in May, I wasn’t sore. In fact, perhaps on par with CIM (or maybe even more so), I felt good and strong for someone who just ran 42.2K (especially with the issues that struck). No cramps. No limping. No injuries. My immediate post-race walking was quite satisfactory. Albeit what occurred and what I couldn’t do during this marathon, I completed it in under three hours at 2:57:47. I wasn’t going to be hard on myself for this one. I met up with Kerri and we embraced as she congratulated me. It turns out that she rented a bicycle and saw me at a couple of spots. After some photos and gathering my bag, we went back to the AirBNB so I could clean up and head out for a post-race victory meal at Easy Rider along with a coffee at Fletcher’s (which had a wonderful Land Acknowledgment on their door). I would still celebrate what I did as finishing a marathon is always an accomplishment.

Later that morning, Coach Lee emailed. He noted that things seemed to be going good till they weren’t, then asked if I was okay and what happened. After some self-reflection during the day, I replied that evening and was also texting with Jennie re the food situation. Basically, both noted that the sweet potato and all its fibre was probably the main culprit. It would have pushed the hydration and fluids out of me, strongly correlating with dehydration and as such, the stomach cramps. Jennie also asked if I was consuming enough sodium (and I wondered if the fibre factored into removing this from my system). The recovery that day was incredible. I knew that I was physically fit and could have done better; I just made some bad meal choices and learned from this. Coach Lee then said something that was on my mind since basically 2022; don’t change anything, and treat the meals and prepping as I would for any other Saturday Long Run. Fridays are a big spaghetti meal with Greek yogurt chicken salad and pickled beet juice, and Saturdays become terrific and strong Long Runs. Why was I drastically changing this when I do a marathon? When I do a 32K or even a 34K Long Run, I still feel as if I have tons of energy and speed left in me. Thinking back to what I buy, I buy too much. This is because I was basing it off my 2021 Blue Nose Marathon grocery list (when I weighed a lot more and needed higher carbs). I weigh much less today (obviously from fat-loss), and as such, don’t need to buy as many foods as I did in prior years – just the right ones. I even had leftovers after IMM.

The rest of our Indianapolis trip was wonderful. We got to see a ballet, used the hot tub, did local dining, shopped, walked a lot (which helps with marathon recovery), rode my first scooter (which is more fun than it looks), and learned some local Indigenous history by visiting the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art (Museum). It’s an incredible place, and it excited me as to how the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre will be once completed. Before leaving the Museum, I made a financial donation as a gift from the Mi’kmaw Nation.

As always, there are no setbacks; just lessons learned. With IMM, I took away that if it’s not broken, don’t change it. What I’m doing going into the Saturday Long Runs already works, so we will stick with it. Coach Lee said IMM is not a complete reflection of my fitness. While I was aware of it since 2021, I noticed that being coached helps so much when things don’t work out. That is, discouragement from underperformance or when things don’t go your way is virtually non-existent. I simply learn from what I did, and improve from there. I didn’t get into NYM for 2024, I missed several Boston Qualifiers over the years, and didn’t earn a new personal best at IMM. Totally cool. Like all races, I am taking away important things from IMM, and I am already focused on the Jersey City Marathon in April.