David, George, Shawn and I ran this one. Weather was clear and 43 degrees for a 7:30am start. 70ish by the finish. Garmin shows 1,220 feet of elevation gain for the race. 667 full marathon participants. I'm was looking for a good showing after having a tough time in Alabama in February and fighting a lower back, bottom and foot issue.
Mile 1 through 4: 7:34, 7:12, 7:32, 7:53. My main goal today was to select a pace that I could carry throughout. This is a hilly course on a warm day. I decided 7:50 mpm would work so I set my virtual to that. The first four miles are mostly flat and downhill. It seemed like everyone was leaving to fast. Though there were thousands of half marathoners and relayers mixed into the bunch.
Mile 5 through 8: 7:50, 7:34, 7:41, 8:19. All is working well. I stick to the nutrition plan of drinking at every water station and eating gels every 4 miles. There is the first 'big' hill at mile 7.5 that gains just over 100ft of elevation. I was able to carry a good pace through it.
Miles 9 through 12: 7:26, 7:54, 7:51, 8:27 Most of this segement was on a paved trail through a park heading back toward downtown for the half marathoners to split. I do develope an issue in my lower back and butt. I did something that I've never done before; take Ibproferen during a run. It seems to work. By mile 10 we are back downtown and there are lots of hills to deal with. The sun and wind is becoming a factor as well.
Miles 13 through 16: 7:51, 8:09, 8:59, 7:46. I run with a guy from Knoxville which recently moved there from London. He was looking to break 3:30. Chatting with someone helps pass the time. I loose him in mile 15 because I needed to take a bathroom break.
Miles 17 through 20: 8:07, 7:52, 7:59, 8:02. I'm fading slightly but still feeling pretty good. The 3:30 pace group catches me in mile 18 while climbing a hill. I stick with them through mile 22. Having people to talk to and deal with the wind was good at this point.
Miles 21 through 24: 7:45, 7:57, 8:36, 9:37. I'm really running out of steam and I am out of gels but find some at a sag stop. I take two about a mile apart. I hit the wall in mile 23
Miles 25, 26 and .2: 9:27, 8:04, 3:38 (for 0.40 on garmin). Once I work through a few issues again and start passing people, I'm able to get my stride back for a strong finish. 3:33:12 is 26 minutes off of a pr but feel like an accomplishment today.
1st half: 1:42:12
second half: 1:50:00
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