Jonathan pointed out this afternoon that my blog isn't current. Hopefully this hasn't been too hard on my readership (ha, ha, ha)! It seems I've had to pay a price for skipping out of town to run the marathon. It's been a peak time in the office so ever since I've been back I've been making up for being gone by working.
Anyway, here's a hacked up race report for what it's worth. I wanted to polish it up before posting it but that may not be forthcoming so ... here's what I have for now:
The marathon went well. It was a really good experience. I had mentally prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised when none of my worst-case-scenarios came to pass.
The conditions were absolutely perfect. The temperature at the start was 35 and at the finish it was 60. Humidity was 40%. I ran with my friend from LA for about 17 miles. He was having stomach problems and had to fall back. The run started feeling more like work at about 18. I think that was because I wasn’t with my friend anymore. By Mile 23, my legs were very fatigued (mostly quads from running downhill but my calfs were getting tight too). The course gets into town at about that point so spectators are lined along the streets with signs, cowbells, and cheering. There were some bands playing too. That was a big boost. Coming out of an aid station, I was gasping as I was gulping water or Gatorade. Fortunately, I hooked up with a 56-year old guy who was trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. His required time was 3:45. My best-case-scenario goal time was 3:45. He offered A LOT of encouragement over the last 3 miles. I finally told him to go ahead so he could get his time and qualify but he wouldn’t go. I stayed with me. He knew the course so he kept me informed of what was coming up next. It was a miracle this guy came along for me. Interestingly, my legs kept getting heavier and heavier but I felt really strong on the cardio side. It was a strange feeling (runner’s high ???) … like I could keep going indefinitely if only my legs weren’t burning so badly.
Okay, here’s my favorite marathon moment. We make the last turn and there’s a little over ¼ mile left. I could see the finish and was feeling real giddy. My older running buddy sensed it and told me to go ahead. So I took off for the finish line. I was passing what seemed like dozens of people as I picked up speed. Now you’ve got to realize I’m not fast but I do have a mantra that “no one passes me at the end of a race”. As I’m going faster and continuing to pass other runners, I hear footsteps over my right shoulder. Someone is coming up fast. I pick up my pace. The other runner is now beside me. He picks up his pace. I stay with him. It seemed like forever …. We kept picking it up until I was at top speed. There was no way I could go faster. At that point, I looked over at the guy. It seemed like he was a young kid. In reality he was probably in his mid-20’s. He looks at me and smiles. I figured that was it so I said to him, “Ahhh, it looks like you got me.” I turned back toward the finish line and gave it absolutely everything I had. I don’t know how far I went like that but when I looked to my right he was gone. I had dropped him! By this point, the line seemed within reach and I figured I’d just continue the sprint to the end. I ran out of gas about 60 yards short of the line and couldn’t take it in as strong as I wanted but I still finished fast and … no one passed me at the end. That whole last stretch had spectators on both sides of bleachers along the way. They were yelling and it was really exciting. I was happy the have a National Guardsman “catch” me after the finish or else I’m sure I would have collapsed to the ground.
I’m pleased to report that my GPS recorded my final splits as:
Last Mile – 7:38
Last ½ Mile – 3:22 (6:44 mile pace)
Last ¼ Mile – 1:23 (5:32 mile pace)
My finishing time was 3:40:18 (8:25 mile pace)
You can view a couple action photos here:
http://www.marathonfoto.com/index.cfm?RaceOID=13112007M1&LastName=BIRT&BibNumber=2777&Mailing=5924
It’s too soon after the finish to know what my plans are from here. I really enjoyed the marathon but I’m sure that a big reason why I did was because of my preparation. To prepare properly requires a huge commitment of time. I think I’m going to drop down and run some shorter races for a while – maybe a 10K next month and a half marathon in January. From there, I’ll see how I feel about getting ready for another marathon.
No comments:
Post a Comment