Notes
Flet good in the morning, ate a bowl of oatmeal and had one cup of coffee and then a glass of gatoraid.
Was chilly at the start but felt great around 52 and windy (10-15 mph) at times. Had some problems when I clicked off the miles missed a few but here is what I tracked.
1 - 10:35 (trapped in the crowd did not try to fight it but was suprised at just how slow this mile was, had planned a 9:30 to 9:45
2 - 9:24 got a little more space and started to make my way toward the 4hr pace goup
3 - 9:12 kept pace group insight and clicked of a good mile 3, worried a little that this was too fast but stuck with it
4 & 5 - 17:22 this equates to an avg of 8:39
6 & 7 - 16:28 around 8:14 miles
7-10 no time recorded Saw Dave and Randy in Madison
11 - 7:57 WTF??? Wow when I saw this I thought I am in real trouble I am going way to fast, didn't even know I was capable of that speed, especially around this mile marker. Saw Mom and Dad at Hyde park square was a great boost.
12 - 8:27 Still going to fast and I tried to slow down, I was not right next to the 4hr pace group
13 - 8:31 down hill and fast, now ahead of the pace group, but that was ok in this case thought I would put some in the bank because it was downhill
14 - 9:01 suprised that this mile was this slow, felt faster
15 - 9:05 stayed on pace, saw Sarah, Max, Cindy, Amy, Luke, and Oliva. Was an awsome feeling, got a great boost and new I would loop back around and see them agian. Was cool.
16 - 8:58 another sub 9 mile, felt great
17 - 9:34 slowed, suprised by a nice hill on this part, 4hr pace group caught me
18 - 9:09 hung with the 4hr pace group, but could feel the strain creping in.
19 - 9:22 slowed some more, columbia parkway was brutal
20 - 9:53 wow things really start slowing down and I felt that it took a long time to get to 20, lost sight of the 4hr pace group, wondered weather I could regain it or not, thought that I maybe able to run through this.
21 - 10:00 my first 10 min mile since mile 1, felt bad and really tough, kissed the 4hr time goal bye bye, and now started to focuse on finishing.
22 - 10:11 suprised I held on to a 10min mile here things really starting to break down, saw parents again and that was a great boost but not as long lived as last time. The miles really felt like they are going by very very very slowly. I know now that I definitly need to focus on finishing and not walking.
23 - 10:57 the breakdown continues, still hanging on to sub 11 min miles, think that I can hold this pace but this mile is killing me
24 - 11:06 wow this is pain, left foot really acting up, feels cramped, legs and quads realy crying, truly not sure now that I am going to be able to hang on and not walk.
25 - 12:37 this is the bottom, legs are in shambles, wanted to stop tons of times, questioning everything. Why am I doing this? Why don't I just walk? This was truely the toughest mile ever.
26 - forgot to hit the button, but once I toped the hill at the boat house the crowd carried me to the finished.
.2 - Wow this is awsome, felt like I was the winner of the race, the crowd was unbelievable, parents were there Sarah and Max, Cindy and Amy with Luke and Liv. This is what it was all about.
Overall thoughts:
Wow, was tougher than I expected. I of course went to fast in the begining. Cardinal rule broken, don't go out too fast. But I was never really struggleing for breath, just legs stopped working. I think that if I did not have such weak Dec and Jan mileage because of the weather, I could have done a 4hr marathon. The last sixe miles were really tough and I think next time I will add at least a 22 miler, maybe a 24 miler, into my training reg. This was truely a humbling experience.
Mine and Mike's Chip Times
Chip . 6_8m 12m 13_1m 19_3m 25_2 pace
Nate
4:09:05 1:03:18 1:48:04 1:57:28 2:55:04 3:58:34 9:30
Mike
3:52:55 54:35 1:37:42 1:46:51 2:41:34 3:43:07 8:54