Didn't quite get the sub-3 (3:01:42 for those too lazy to read until the end), but a good day on the prettiest marathon course I've run, plus a lucky stretch of morning weather and a good finish makes it alright. Here's the details:
North Olympic runs from Sequim to Port Angeles on the Olympic Discovery Trail, a paved trail that runs across the top of the Olympic Peninsula. After a loop from the start on city streets and a quick tour through downtown Sequim, you hit the trail and pretty much stay there through the finish line in downtown PA. Rambles through lilac fields, past dairy cows grazing, through a pretty thick forest for a long stretch, across old wooden bridges (and new wooden foot bridges), and finally right along the shoreline of the Straight of Juan de Fuca so you smell the salt air as you finish. One really mild climb, three sharp but short uphills, and one really nice long downhill stretch at mile 20. It's beautiful scenery, and the next-to-zero traffic is a real plus. Sun came out in the morning just as we started, making it a little warm and muggy, and the clouds and a little sprinkle was back by the finish. Good timing. Well-aided also, my only complaints were the inaccurate mile markers (all over the place, I'll get to that during the blow-by-blow) and having to dodge marathon and half-marathon walkers down the stretch. (I finished side-by-side with a woman pushing a jogging stroller, so I had to negotiate her while straining to finish off the kick. Also, I called "on your right" to a trio of women blocking the whole trail once. And they all stepped *to* the right. making me step lightly back to the left.) So Mike and I started together, planning an easy start to avoid our usual mistake of too fast too early. The first mile was 7:57, purportedly. Then we ran a 5:43. See where I'm going with this? Couldn't really trust any mile markers until at least mile 8, where it seemed somewhat consistent. All over the place: another sub-6, then one almost 8, though I know we were running a consistent pace that felt conservative. So I won't bore you with all the splits, since I don't trust them. We were probably pushing a bit through the first half, and our 13.1 was approximately 1:28 and change. I felt really good through there, and we picked up another guy at mile three who stayed with me until 19. Good guy, it was fun to have the company. The plan then was to reign in the pace a touch through 20, to make sure we were running smart. We dropped Mike at mile 16, then I ran two conservative miles around 7:30 (probably too conservative, in retrospect, though I did feel a twinge of cramping there and dealt with it with more salt tablets and a gu). I dropped the other guy at 19 and was on my own to the finish. After 19 I needed to be just under 7 per to go sub-3. I hit one kind of slow one, then another that was just a little over, then nabbed two miles at 6:50 to help close the gap again. I knew I was close. The trail levels there for the stretch run. I wasn't bonking or cramping, but my legs were beat up. Engine was alright and I had fueled correctly, but I just couldn't get the turnover going and seemed locked into a pace. Two 7:25s and I knew it wasn't going to happen. I ended with a 7:04 and 1:11 for the 0.2. I could see the finish as my watch closed in on 3:00:00, but there wasn't any juice for a kick that I would have needed. Easily held on to third place and crossed the line at 3:01:42. And Mike ended up taking fourth, which is kind of neat that we finished back-to-back in the top five.
So I had fun, and can't complain about a good morning. Don't even feel that bad now. And I still have my sub-3 motivation for the rest of the summer, now it's time to pick another one to take aim at (Portland? Top of Utah? Chicago? If you have advice, vote in the comments below). I think my legs are finally ok with 26 miles (or more), but I need higher volume speedwork at that pace to train them to get going when they are at that stage of the game. So that's next, and we're back on the train.
supernova glide -- 236
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