I trained for this race by following a Pfitz/Douglas 12/70 plan. I had been averaging about 55mpw for the year going into the marathon cycle and with a solid 1:30 half in early June, I was ready for a solid marathon PR this fall.
Drove out to Rochester on Saturday, picked up the packet and headed over to the hotel Saturday afternoon. I walked down to the start line to check things out and then got to sleep early Saturday night.
Race day conditions were absolutely perfect: high 40s to start with no clouds and no wind. There were 555 marathoners and we went off 15 minutes before the halfers, so there was little traffic at the beginning. I lined up about 10 rows deep to make sure I could start relaxed but without too much weaving.
We started in downtown Rochester in the shadow of the buildings and up a short incline. After a couple of turns, we headed out of the downtown area and directly into the bright sun. My first mile was right on target with 7:21. My goal for the past three years has been to qualify for Boston with a 3:15. I figured this would be the race, but I truly thought I had a very good chance at a sub 3:10, so I was looking to average 7:15s for the first half given the perfect conditions and flat course. Runners thinned out extremely quickly in miles two through five and I was glad for my sunglasses as we headed direclty into the sun for about three miles. I was concerned about my pace though, as I couldn't make myself go slower than 7:11. But I figured that I wasn't pushing the pace to get to 7:10 and it felt completely relaxed, so I tried to stop worrying. At the 10K I felt as fresh or better than the start and I was extremely excited. At eight miles I was about 30 seconds ahead of 3:10 pace and felt great. My only hiccup occurred at that point as I had to pull off for a very quick pit stop. The split for that mile suggested I lost about 45 seconds, but I was feeling too good to be disappointed.
We left the streets at mile nine and curved around to the tow path beside the Erie Canal. I had thought it was asphalt, but it was hard pack with a bit of gravel. Softer, but there wasn't enough loose material to be concerned. I wasn't having any trouble maintaing low 7:00s and I caught back up with a women wearing a local Fleet Feet singlet and a couple that I had run the first eight with. I was a bit worried about passing them, but I just felt very rhythmic and light. I enjoyed the path alongside the water and the slight incline/decline as we passed each bridge made for a great way to mark the miles.
As I approached the halfway point, I kept reeling in folks, but we were running very individually at this point. Very warm support from the small group that seemed to gather about every mile, and my favorite sign was, "Toenails are for sissies." At 13 miles my Garmin was about .06 off from the course, and I think I hit the halfway point right on pace for a 3:10 with a 1:35. I had made up the lost time from the pit stop and felt very strong as I was passing folks on the path.
For the next two miles I was really nervous that the aggressive pace would be coming back to haunt me, but I still felt very fresh and felt like I had to reel myself in to be around 7:12s. Around mile 16 I finally started to feel some tightness and fatigue, but I took Gatorade at the next stations and we moved back on to asphalt, which was a mental boost. I was panning to hit aid stations every two miles until 22.
I was expecting the fatigue and soreness to build from mile 16, but they didn't. I switched to counting down the miles at this point. When I blew through mile 20 in 7:06 I was totally psyched about my chances for sub-3:10. I countinued to pass the occasional runner and at this point we rejoined the halfers and I was passing walkers in the half. They were incredibly encouraging as I passed and that was a huge mental help as well. Mile 21 was a 7:04 and I was floating. Last year I crashed at mile 22, and getting through mile 22 this year in 7:10 was awesome. I was getting fatigued, but my legs felt strong and numb in a good way.
I "dropped the hammer for miles 24,25,26 with a personally astounding 6:50 in mile 26! I don't know what the pace was for the final push to the finish, but with nobody around me, I simply maintained what I had until the final .1 and pushed it in from there.
I'm totally satisfied with my training and performance for this race. I imagine that with four final miles all faster than the average race pace I might have shaved off a few seconds, but I'm still too inexperienced to want to test that line between perfect push and crashing and burning. |