Notes
Rockford Marathon 2008
May 18, 2008 7:00 AM
Race morning was finally here, weather conditions were favorable, but not perfect, with 48 degrees and a north-north-west wind at ~14 miles per hour. There were about 400 people in the marathon and another 600 in the half marathon. The race started out in the Rockford downtown area on the west side of the river. The first 5 miles proceeded north on Main St which led us about a mile and a half out of town. At this point there were plenty of people to draft off, because of the half marathon people running with us.
The first 5 miles went by quickly and my only concern was going out too fast (I have done that plenty of times). My goal time for this race was a sub-3 hour marathon and for the training that I had done, I felt it was very possible.
1 6.23
2 6.39
3 6.35
4 6.37
5 6.43
Finally, after mile 5 we turned East onto the bike path for about a mile. This was a nice break and I cruised through this section leaving behind some of the people I was drafting off of during the first 5 miles (suckers - I thanked them as I passed – to be honest we traded off leaders for the drafting).
The next 8 miles were in the town streets and went mainly back south (with the wind) and back downtown on the east side of the river. The miles seemed to go by fairly quickly without many problems; I was able to run with some people along this stretch. At this point my only concern was having the ½ marathon people leave the course, I knew I was running with a few of the people that were running the half and couldn’t find a marathon runner around me.
6 6.28
7 6.35
8 6.29
9 6.3
As we proceeded back towards the north we picked up the bike path again and I remembered the time my brother, David and I did a long run on this stretch. I smiled and kept on cruising along, mile 11 I took in my granola bar, this was a good boost of energy, and I didn’t feel I needed it but it was nice to have with me.
10 6.36
11 6.4
12 6.47
13 6.44
Once I passed the halfway point the nearest runner was not in sight – I was alone. This was ok for the next couple of miles but once I hit mile 15 the hills started to pile on. We turned onto 20th street ~15 miles into it and this street was full of ROLLING hills, with climbing gear required, to get up them. I pushed through the first couple of miles, but started running consistently into the 7’s after mile 17.
14 6.48
15 7.05
16 6.56
17 7.23
18 7.18
19 7.4
20 7.36
At mile 20 we went past the airport and I knew that we were about to turn back towards the north to finish this run off. I had been dreading this point since the beginning of the run. From mile 21 on, the head wind really started to take its toll. I was able to keep pushing forward but decided that I had to start walking. Eventually, a couple of guys caught up with me and I wanted to stick with them. I ran with them for ~1/2 mile to mile marker 22 but after that 1 of them took off and the other dropped out. This was a little disheartening and I tried to muster up the strength to keep pushing forward, but I couldn’t go to quick.
21 8.52
22 8.4
23 8.42
24 9.13
Mile 24 finally came and went and I took a look at my watch to see it at 2 hours and 52 minutes. I only had 2.2 miles left to go and I could potentially qualify for the Boston Marathon if I could run ~8.20 miles for the last two and finish just below 3.10.59. This didn’t sound too hard but I knew what my mile splits were leading up to this point. So, I decided to go for it, mile 25 was a very tough mile but I came through with that one in 8.25 – a little behind pace but in decent shape. The crowds were starting to line the streets a little more so my thoughts were fixated on the finish line at this point. I was hoping their energy would carry me into the finish (because I didn’t have any left), as I was coming to the downtown area I had to surmount one last little hill and then it was downhill to the finish line. I passed by the 26 mile mark with an 8.08 and I knew at this point I would qualify. Another runner caught up to me and we dashed towards the finish line, and I ended up crossing the line in 3.10.01, 58 seconds to spare !
25 8.25
26 8.08
0.2 1.16
Overall, the day was good, I was really hoping to break 3 hours but satisfied with my time none the less. I realized at this point this was my 4th best marathon time ever, which isn’t bad considering I have now done 14 marathons. Also, in doing a 3.10 marathon this was the first time to break into ANY of my Chicago Marathon time bests. I have run 4 Chicago Marathon’s, and up until this day; Chicago had my 4 best times for marathons.