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5/11/2014

8:00 AM

43 km

3:21:15.25

4:41 km

Health

157 bpm
178 bpm
48

Weather

23 C

Ratings

9 / 10
8 / 10
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Notes

2014 Fredericton Marathon.

Great run overall, almost exactly the same performance as last year. First 1/4 was great, however when I got to the first turn around the official there didn't know if the full marathon runners were supposed to turn around. So I ended up going about 350m past the turn around with a couple of other guys, lost about 3:30 doing this. Maintained the quick pace for the next 1/4, had some minor stomach craps at about 17k, didn't slow me down too much.

At the half way mark still felt good, but the heat really started to pick up. Was passed slowly by 2 guys coming around Queens Square. At about the 28km mark the heat really started to get to me, my diaphragm cramped up and I was having trouble breathing. I made the decision to slow some at this point instead of pushing until I completely fell apart like last year.

The two guys that passed me had about 3 minutes on my approaching the 32k turn around, they rounded a corner and just went out of sight, the next thing I knew they were heading back in to town with a 10+ minute lead on me. The either cheated or ran to the far turnaround the first time and turned at the early turnaround this time...

Started feeling a bit better at the 32k turn around, but it didn't last. In the Nashawaak Valley it was about 24 degrees and humid, probably close to 30 with the humidex, by far the hottest run yet this year, I wasn't used to it. I had a couple of more bouts of cramping on the way back, but at least this year other runners were having the same problems and I passed more people on the way back than passed me, unlike last year.

Ended up passing the 42.2k mark in 3:17:42, which was 34 seconds faster than my official time last year. My official time was 3:21:07 (42.95k).

So in the end my pace was very close to last year, maybe a few seconds faster, but I felt better at the finish. The heat definitely had played a roll and probably slowed me by 3-5 minutes in the end. My legs felt decent in the end, it was really the heat that slowed me down, and the last 10k felt a lot more controlled than last year.

I would like to have been able to maintain the pace to the end, but the heat wouldn't allow it. Maybe some day I'll focus on a marathon again.

Andy Roberts ran this year, 2nd place in 2:52:02. I hadn't seen him in about 10 years, he couldn't believe that I was so close behind him. The last time we hung out I was a chubby drinker. Ha!

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