A Goal - Sub 3 B Goal - PR (beat 3:03 time from STG last year) C Goal - Don't let the last 6 miles "win" Yeah, I didn't come close to getting any of my goals, but oh well. Plan was to hit the half mark around 1:27ish and hopefully hold on to come in just under 3 hrs. Miles 1-5 6:23, 6:27, 6:21, 6:25, 6:31 I'm in with a nice pack of about 10-11. It includes Allie, Paul P. and the guy he is pacing and several others. It's a bit cold, but things are good. Pace was a bit faster than I anticipated, but I figured I would go with it. I didn't want to be too scared to hit the half mark earlier than I ever have in a marathon. Allie gaps the group a bit around the 5 mile mark and we eventually see her pass the lady in front. Loving running with a big group. Miles 6-13 6:27, 6:27, 6:19, 6:27, 6:36, 6:34, 6:56, 6:25 We hit the 10K clock right about 40:20 and I'm still feeling good. The group slowly dissipates a bit as we go through aid stations and by about mile 11 I'm only surrounded by a few people. I can still see Allie and Paul P. up ahead a bit. The 6:56 mile is where I stopped for a bathroom break. Hit the halfway mark around 1:25:50. Legs are more tired than I would prefer, but oh well. Miles 14-20 6:24, 6:28, 6:52, 6:43, 7:00, 7:07, 8:07 Caught a good rythem on Hollow Rd. Saw Smooth and some others I know. Saw Michelle from the blog running the other way and almost offered to pay her to run me to the finish. I'm doing good until mile 20 and then I start to have some problems. The uphill was rough in this section.
Miles 21-26.2 8:27, 7:35, 9:19, 8:57, 8:02, 8:23, 3:38 So, basically I'm either really mentally weak, or I'm having some physical problems at this point in the race. Looking back it is probably a combination of both. Starting at mile 20 I believe I start to have some dehydration issues. Sorry, for the details, but it feels like I have to pee, so I stop at the POP. Nothing comes out really, and what does come out tells me that I'm pretty dehydrated. Well, I continue to have this feeling up until about mile 24. I think I visited 5-6 POP and have the same experience explained above. I do the walk/run thing the last couple miles. Overall, I was super disappointed. I feel like I've worked harder for this race than any other race to try and hit sub 3. I put in more miles than normal and had some good confidence building long runs along the way. But it just didn't work out for me. I ran a great 19 miles though before it all fell apart. I'm glad it's over and will learn from it. The marathon is tough and I have some issues to get through with those last 6 miles. I probably started out a bit fast, but I wanted to give myself a fair shot at the sub 3. Anyways, I guess it was funner than I thought looking back on it, but I'm glad it's over.
| 