Indianapolis Monumental Marathon today. This was the 3rd time I've run this race; not my best performance today, but I managed to keep it together and run tough and gritted out a 4th place, which I am happy with.
Perfect weather: low 40s at the start, and very little to no wind. Probably got up to about 50 degrees by the end.
Ran with Bryant Jensen and Jon Greis (who turned out to be another Calvin alum, small world) for the first 8 miles, but I could tell by then that sub-2:18 (or sub-2:20 for that matter) was not going to happen, which should not have been a shocker given that my training for this race did not come close to the quality or quantity of previous such efforts.
I backed off after 8, and Bryant and Jon went through the half around 1:09:30, whereas I was 1:10:35. At that point I was in 6th, so outside the money, but was hoping just to keep it together enough for the last half to pick off some roadkill or DNFs, and of course not be roadkill or a DNF myself. Legs really had no pop today, and the whole thing was a struggle.
But the one thing I had going for me was 12+ years of marathon experience (today was marathon #26), and ran the last 18 miles solo, grinding out every mile between 5:30 and 5:45. I was quite happy to have nothing slower than 5:45. Last half was 1:14:16.
I ended up getting my wish of a couple DNFs ahead of me, and climbed into 4th by the end. Not the most epic style of race, but I will take it. Sometimes the marathon is just about beating your own mind and making yourself finish a race with everything you have, rather than racing actually people. That's how today was.
So not the time I was was hoping for, but an ok placing, and a good mental race. Plus it was an absolutely beautiful day, and I was really happy to be out there the whole time, even when my whole body hurt.
Now the plan is to recover then start training for Trials. Who knows, maybe I will actually make a training plan...the whole "winging it" thing isn't exactly working, although both my body and mind feel pretty fresh and actually eager to ramp up and get a little more serious, so that part has worked out.
Splits:
| Mile |
Split |
| 1 |
5:10 |
| 2 |
5:21 |
| 3 |
5:24 |
| 4 |
5:20 |
| 5 |
5:15 |
| 6 |
5:14 |
| 7 |
5:15 |
| 8 |
5:18 |
| 9 |
5:25 |
| 10 |
5:29 |
| 11 |
5:28 |
| 12 |
5:38 |
| 13 |
5:36 |
| 14 |
5:43 |
| 15 |
5:38 |
| 16 |
5:42 |
| 17 |
5:44 |
| 18 |
5:38 |
| 19 |
5:30 |
| 20 |
5:37 |
| 21 |
5:32 |
| 22 |
5:35 |
| 23 |
5:39 |
| 24 |
5:46 |
| 25 |
5:45 |
| 26 |
5:45 |
| .2 |
1:13 |
| 