Forums >Racing>Commit to a sub-4 marathon in 2011 -- then run it
Unofficial time 4:00:06
Oh my! Fingers crossed for the official version. (BTW, I have a 4:00:09 and a 4:00:21 on my list. I know.)
Sounds like some good runs today. Congrats to you all.
Happy Camper
Congrats John &Chris! Nice race!
Determination: The feeling you get right before you try something incredibly stupid.
Good weekend for all. Well done. Keeping my fingers crossed for you MMEsq
“Attitude is the Difference Between an Ordeal and an Adventure”
Goals 2016
Do stuff
fantastic job by all of you today!! 2 more to report in??
My time listed on the website was 3:56:01.
Also, I was thinking about it today, and I was pretty happy to be under 4 hours, but I think I was more happy to have run the whole race without completely falling apart in the last 5 miles. This was my third marathon, but it was the first one I did without crashing hard around mile 21, so I am most happy about that.
Good luck to everybody else running later in the year.
Consistently Slow
+1 more
Run until the trail runs out.
SCHEDULE 2016--
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
http://bkclay.blogspot.com/
Great job John & Chris, you too MMEsq. Soo close, hopefully you will be sub 4 next time out.
Fantastic stuff Jon, Chris. You guys comfortably crushed the 4hr ogre. Any elaborate race reports on what went through your mind and how your body felt throughout the run?
MMEsq: This is surreal stuff !!! Eitherways, its fantastic !!
I dont sweat. I ooze liquid awesome.
I am surprised you remember anything from your "list" which i am sure runs several pages long !!! How come you havent updated your blog for a couple of years now?
The Irreverent Reverend
Fantastic stuff Jon, Chris. You guys comfortably crushed the 4hr ogre. Any elaborate race reports on what went through your mind and how your body felt throughout the run? MMEsq: This is surreal stuff !!! Eitherways, its fantastic !!
This was my first marathon. I had been consistently training up to 21ish miles at about a 8:40-9:00 pace, so I knew sub-4:00 was possible. Still, what every marathoner says to a first-timer is true: those last few miles are an "expletive." If you look at my log, you'll see that my pace slows around mile 19, and I hit my first over-9:00 mile at Mile 24. Though miles 19-22 were tough, I didn't start to really hurt or question my sanity until Mile 23. For me, the last three miles were the worst.
I went out a bit too fast - 13 miles @ 1:52 - and stopped to use the bathroom near Mile 6 (a stop that cost me about 90 seconds - I stopped at a Caribou Coffee, rather than in the long lines at the port-a-potties. Though I've since learned that experienced marathoners of both genders know how to find discreet spots along the course, even in an urban marathon, such as low walls around a parking lot, trees adjacent to an apartment building, etc.). I also swung wide on most of the turns during the first half, avoiding the crush of runners trying to cut the corners as tight as possible. It kept my stride open, but also added .5 miles to my run.
I ate an entire bag of Chomps from just prior to the gun to the Half mark, but then ate nothing on the second half. In retrospect, I wish I had eaten some more Chomps from Miles 13-18, as that might have helped me somewhat during those last few miles (during which I was suffering from some wooziness). In addition to drinking from my own hydration belt (large bottle of water, small 5oz bottle of Gatorade) I hit my first water station at about Mile 9, and then drank water and/or Powerade at nearly every station after the Half mark.
Still, despite all that, when I began to hit a wall at Mile 23, I knew my time was good enough that I was going to get my goal of sub-4:00. So, despite the pain and mental anguish, some of the pressure was off. Sure, I would have preferred to run negative splits, but with only 3-4 miles to go, I knew that I was able to finish at a slower pace and still get my goal. I was glad to be in that position of being able to simply focus on finishing rather than trying to keep or pick up a pace on my last few miles to achieve a goal.
Finally, I wish I had known the approach to the finish line. As I was crossing the bridge toward RFK Stadium, I knew I was getting close, but I didn't know exactly where the finish line was (the finish was on an uphill along a curve, and there were no large signs or balloons or anything rising over the crowds and trees, so it was hard to see the finish line area from the course). I remember going up the road around the north side of the stadium, where spectators were starting to line up, and asking one of the spectators, "Where the heck is the finish line?" I wish I had known the last mile better. It wouldn't have changed my time significantly, of course, but it would have made the last mile mentally much easier ...
Good luck to all striving for this goal!
Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.
Thanks for the details !! You hung in there and made it all count !! Great run and congrats once again. From what i read, i think there is ample room for you to go well below 3:52. I mean despite the potty breaks, going out too fast, curving long, you still beat 4 with time to spare. You can chew on that thought some time later but not now .. now is the time to bask in the glory of your magnificent run !!
I said all there is to say.
Ok, not really. And, gosh, it has been a couple years. Yikes.
I've been working on a book. Well, that was more true mid-2009 through mid-2010. I learned that I have a limited amount of words that I could get out of my brain/fingers each week, and if I spent it on the race report blog, I didn't have the energy to write the book.
Since then, I've mostly just been screwing around with it trying to make book better. And annoying spaniel here.
On the road again...
MMEsq - Nice race, sorry you were so close, but you've got a great attitude and a HUUUUUGGGEEEEE PR! Congrats.
I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.
Paul