Notes
Well I lost my splits (sad) so I'll estimate what I can remember.
Conditions were fairly ideal: cool and foggy with very little wind. The air felt wet but not humid.
7:45AM Start Time
1st mile in 6:30, some side-to-side running to pass people. From there I starting getting more in the 6:15-6:25 range, not yet finding my stride and taking a few miles to loosen up my stiff calf that's been plaguing me. I found a few groups that I liked but none with consistent pacing. Even when I kept with a group, it would just implode at aid stations as everyone dispersed to find their preferred drinks. I just kept running through most aid stations, 10k in 39:09, which felt discouraging as I did the math in my head (I thought alot during this race, I'm not one to zone out so I split every mile and constantly reevaluated pace and strategy).
I started to test out different paces after 10k. I think mile 9 I hit a 6:00 and that along with feeling my back tighten worried me a bit so I tried to loosen up and relax. The paces felt easy, like a long run but clearly faster. I found Hoyem and chatted for a minute; he pointed out New Guy was up ahead so that was my next goal. I probably caught New Guy around mile 11, though he was wearing headphones and took awhile to realize I was running next to him. He was in a group of 3 and I joined them until the half (1:21:29). I think I destroyed his group when I picked up the pace to grab a sponge and then didn't slow down much. Since 10miles I had been slightly worried about finishing under 2:40 as I knew I would need to go faster. But I was happy at the current pace, and the plan was still to start moving at 20miles.
However, I was feeling great, and as New Guy rejoined me we started getting close to 6flat pace. After 2 miles with him, New Guy started to slow down (Sidebar: during this time we passed the half-marathon start and I grabbed someone’s discarded pullover just to keep my hands and wrists warm, or rather more importantly, dry. So I looked pretty odd for about a mile doing that). We had also just been passed by Orange T-Shirt and Mason Frank and I was getting antsy. So we went our separate ways and I started to hit sub-6’s from here on out. Miles 15-20 were interesting as I was passing many people and feeling great, but also knowing that I had a ways to go and I wasn’t going to feel as fresh at 20 miles as planned (20 miles in 2:02:09).
At 20 miles I knew I needed a sub 38min 10k which started to sound very doable when I knew my easy-going first 10k was just over 39min. After 21 miles things started to go less smoothly as my quads threw up the first warning sign. And yet, I wasn’t slowing down, I was hitting <5:50’s without much effort and hit Lemon Drop Hill feeling good. The crowds were getting larger (with some familiar faces) and I was feeding off them and passed Orange T-Shirt guy.
I despaired once as I took the short uphill to Superior St around mile 23 and slowed down. But soon the crowd lifted me and I started rolling again. At 24 miles I knew I was going under 2:40 and my quads actually were feeling better, even on the cobblestones. I believe the 25th mile was my fastest @ ~5:43. The last mile had a decent uphill bridge, but perhaps worse was the 2 steep downhills that battered my quads. Those along with the many turns slowed my momentum. Still, I passed 2 Run Ablaze guys and kicked it in slightly before cruising to the line.
Nutrition: I only ate a banana before the race, though I was still slightly full from the great dinner of pasta, salmon, fruit, etc. the previous night at the Johnson’s. Mile 6 and 13 I swallowed very little water. I don’t think I could have gotten away with that on a warmer day, though I think the sponges and wet air helped as well. Afterward, I was careful not to go overboard on liquids and food so I sipped water, then PowerAde, then some food.
Apparel: WTC jersey and Asics Interval shorts worked perfectly with some deodorant. Only chaffing was on right outside armpit which was just annoying a few times. Wore Asics Hyperspeeds and they were glorious (with socks).
Attention: As I noted, I timed almost every mile because I’m not one to zone out. I also started checking my watch between miles as I got more tired. For a while I checked every split at 4min, but the last few miles I could tell I was losing focus as I started checking at 3:30, then 3:00, and I believe the last mile I checked at 1:28, which would have been disheartening if I wasn’t feeling decent still.
Overall: Probably couldn’t have gone much better for my first marathon, and honestly not too impressed/humbled by the distance. I think I could have gone 3-4min faster the 1st half, but it was probably good to start easier. However, I doubt I’ll do another one soon simply because I doubt it could go much better (I also doubt I’ll ever again finish faster than a half marathon I did 3 weeks earlier). I’ll wait until I’m in clearly better shape. And though I quite enjoyed passing so many, I think next time I’d prefer to run with a group for ~20miles with predetermined splits we wanted to hit.
To any others considering the marathon, I will say it shouldn’t be feared, and could probably be just another race on someone’s schedule (I’m writing this 2 days after, I’m clearly sore, but I think I’ll run within a few days and be fine within a week, another race in 3 weeks). Granted, I did a large number of miles in May and generally prepared well (also, I am very glad I ran this to confirm my fitness and support my high-mileage efforts after the less-than-stellar Dam-to-Dam).
Post-script: I ran within a few days, but the 10k race 3 weeks out was basically at the same pace I ended my marathon (though I did win).