Perfect day for a marathon. Temperatures in the mid-40's at the starting line with very little wind. Here's6 my best shot at the splits and personal thoughts will follow...
Mile 1: 6:37 (too fast, so tried to slow down)
Mile 2: 6:43 (still too fast...tried to move closer to a 7min pace)
Mile 3: 6:53
Mile 4: 6:57
Mile 5: 7:06
Mile 6: 6:57
Mile 7: 7:03
Mile 8: 6:57
Mile 9: 7:00
Mile 10: 6:56
Mile 11: 7:03
Mile 12: 6:59
Mile 13: 6:53
Half Marathon: 1:31:15
Mile 14: 7:03
Mile 15: 6:57
Mile 16: 7:03 (thought at this point to begin counting how many runners I could pass from here to the finish- passed 3 in this mile)
Mile 17: 7:17 (uh-oh)
Mile 18: 7:24 (legs are getting tight)
Mile 19: ??? Looked at my watch to figure out what was needed to BQ...Needed to do 7.2 miles in just over an hour. Decided to make sure my pace was 8:30 or faster until the end. Kind of bummed because it was such perfect marathon weather, yet needed to stay positive because my legs and feet were definitely beginning to feel thrashed.
Miles 20-23: Kept 8-8:30 pace fairly easily, but was concerned that I could not keep this up.
Mile 24: Very painful mile...almost decided to walk...just kept shuffling along...never went over 9min pace.
Miles 25: Boardering on 9min pace, but would not let myself do slower.
Mile 26: Knew I needed close to a 9min pace to BQ, so picked it up a tad and ran this mile in 8:22...really draining!!
Finish: 3:14:20- My family was there cheering and I was able to pump fist a few times. At the finish I couldn't take a single step. My wife joined me and helped me near the food tent. I was very wobbly and almost fell a couple of times. Once she got a little chicken soup in my system, I began to "come to."
Overall, although I blew up in the second half, I am pleased to have re-qualified for Boston. It's been almost 2 years since I've run a decent marathon (3:06 in Philly/2010). My shorter distances have improved (Half Marathon/10k/5k), but I've struggled with distance due to some achilles issues.
This past summer I could not run over 9 miles at a time until August. And even then I would stop every 5 miles or so to rub out my achilles. By September I was able to get a decent 20-miler in while my wife road on a bike, yet I still stopped every 3-5 miles to rub out the achilles. My thought is to take a short break and then back off distance running for a while. Once I'm recovered from this race, build up the mileage gradually (rather than going from 9-milers to 18-milers).
Interestingly, my achilles never acted up at all. My issue became my quads and legs tightening. This probably comes from lack of distance training- building up gradually and doing uninterrupted 20-milers. Thanks to all on the blog! Access to other training programs and occasional feedback from great runners continues to motivate me as a runner and does wonders for my health and fitness. | 