Originally Posted by Ksyrup
Well, I ran my marathon on Sunday and did about what I expected, maybe a bit better. My goal was under 4 hours, and I finished at 3:53:03. My ideal goal was 3:50 which I think I would/could have hit if not for the Great Unknown every race morning. I did not have a good enough bathroom moment, and I told my wife as we walked to the race that I was likely in trouble at some point on the course. And sure enough, it started to hit around Mile 13 and I held off until Mile 17 when I had to stop. I lost at least 3 minutes, maybe closer to 4 minutes, and that killed any chance I had of getting 3:50.
That last 10K was a slog - it was wet, cool and during Miles 18-24 lightly raining, which I would ordinarily have welcomed, but I was already damp and cool and my shoes/socks soaked, so it was more annoying than anything. But the race overall was really fun and a great atmosphere.
At no point was I winded or even breathing heavily. I handled the inclines pretty easily, slowing down, and made up time on the downhills as I planned. I didn't really hit a wall, but that last 7 or so miles, I just didn't have that extra gear to ramp up the speed at all. I felt like I was running faster than I was, and I'd look down at my watch thinking I was running at an 8:30 pace only to see 9:15, so I'd push myself to get under a 9 minute pace because I knew that would guarantee a sub-4 time. I just couldn't push myself any faster for more than 20-30 seconds at a time, and I'd slow down without realizing it.
Korme also ran it, but we weren't able to meet up (I didn't run with my phone, and there were thousands of people, so it was impossible to find each other).
I'll do another one, for sure. I need to get stronger. My cardio level is fine, and if I wanted, I could probably cruise at a 10 minute pace and not really feel like I needed to push too hard to finish. I'm going to look for a flatter course and see if that helps me ramp up my pace at all. Maybe this fall, or maybe I'll give it a year and look at next spring.
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