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.)

Congrats John &Chris!  Nice race!

fantastic job by all of you today!!   2 more to report in??

Congrats John &Chris!  Nice race!

 +1 more

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 !!

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!

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?

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.

MMEsq - Nice race, sorry you were so close, but you've got a great attitude and a HUUUUUGGGEEEEE PR!  Congrats.