AM Went for a 7am run this morning 3 mile Z1 run with a few MP p/u, temp not bad but is was windy and is to be very breezy for tonights run with temps at the start of 50 and finish at 41 not bad but am concerned about how windy it is going to be!
PM I had a great time running this race as it was so much different then the rest of them and I had to put some thought into this one as to how to dress for it and when to carb load and eat the morning of the race. Going into this race I had already told myself that I was going to probably have to walk to the start line. I know at 13.1 miles there was going to be a wall of runners and that the aid stations were going to be chaos for the first few of them, and that there was going to be some hills on the first 13 miles, but not extreme hills even though they said it was flat.
Got to the parking lot were we were suppost to park and the attendent did not let me in because I was not a registered guest , so I had to go down to the MGM's parking lot because it was bigger. I had to walk 1.5 miles to the start line. Found the gear check and checked my stuff in and went out to watch some of the concert and then headed to corral #1 for the start. I was talking with other runners and just trying to stay warm before the start as I had decided to over dress for the first of the race and when it cooled down I was already dressed for it and it worked out just right as around mile 7 it got dark and had cooled off and I was feeling just right. The plan was to try and run around a 7:25 to 7:30 pace for the first half and see what happens for the second half when I get there due to the merge with the half marathoners. Race got started and thing went well and was not alot of crowding or any of that as I was in corral #1 with some good runners and we all respected each other.
1 - 8:02 just a nice and easy start
2 - 7:31 wanted to wait for another mile before I was at this pace but had a tail wind and it just happend.
3 - 7:33 feel a bit warm due to the arm warmers and gloves
4 - 7:23
5 - 7:31 a slight hill here
6 - 7:31 It is starting to get dark now have portable lights set up and turned on.
7 - 7:27
8 - 7:33 This is the start of a 1.50 mile hill just at I thought there was going to be.
9 - 7:42 not alot of grade but long and steady and the only flat spot was when we crossed an intersection.
10 - 7:19 had a U-turn and went down the same way we came up it and wanted to make up for the time I lost going up the hill.
11 - 7:17 down hill
12 - 7:13 At this point there was a huge amount of spectators and must have gotten my adrenaline going.
13 - 7:17 Same as mile 12 only now we are meeting this huge wall of runners and was hopping that there was going to be the marathon lane that they talked about. There was but it was not roped off as it was just cones that said marathon to the left and half marathon to the right on every one of them.
14 - 16 - 7:19 I kept missing the sign as there some half marathon runners in the marathon lane and was dodging and weaving some what but not to bad as a majority stayed in there lane.
17 - 7:26 At this point there was alot of weaving around as they (half) just didn't care anymore, but I expected it and it did not bother me to bad as we all had the same problem. 18 - 7:35
19 - 7:39 We are now down around Freemont St. and it is very dark and I was not able to see my Garmin very well and I did not look at it as often and the problem that I was having was that I kept falling into another runners pace that was just alittle slower then mine and because it was dark and just harder to identify my pace as well.
20 - 7:36 more of the same
21 - 8:02 OK it happend, the legs got heavy - they didn't hurt but just got very heavy
22 - 8:00 Heavy legs maybe due to the slowing and speeding up from the past miles
23 - 7:46 Wanted to make an honest atempt at a 7:30ish pace
24 -26.35 miles - 8:29
Thats right 26.35 miles as I had talked to other marathon runners and they all had the same with in .02 miles and even one half said she had 13.35 miles and went to the face book today and heard others say the same. Just trying to hang on at this point! I had a great time at this race and it was alot of fun to run even though there is alot of runners that was not very happy with the way things went, and I am just guessing that they finished towards the end and alot of things were low or out on the course and in the finish area. I will want to run it again next year if it works to plan with other runs. WOW - I can't beleive it but I finishe 217 OA and 25 in AG, very happy about that. Next Stop -- BOSTON on April 16 | 