Well, I planned the race, I raced the plan. The Garmin said 2:12:15, but the official Chip time was 2:14:12.

In this race, the plan was to pace 10 minute miles the entire way, and for the most part, that’s what I did. I looked at this race as 6 miles out and 6 miles back, with a little “extra” tacked on at the end. In terms of time, my goal was simply to be at the 12 mile mark in 2 hours, and I was largely on pace. I had a long mile at mile 10, as there was some hilly stuff there, and I probably didn’t push hard enough to keep the pace I wanted. So did I meet my goal? “No” in that I missed my goal time, but “yes” in that I raced using the strategy I intended, which worked. I also destroyed my Half Mary PR by over 8 minutes.

My observations:

• I ran the entire distance (which hasn’t been the case in my other half marys), and felt more comfortable than ever, which I believe to be a sign of my overall fitness.
• The plan was to simply run at a 10 minute pace, and not try any race-day-heroics, which is the result of some actual experience running this distance. I’m proud of that newly acquired experience and it paid off.
• Somehow, I didn’t have that mile 10 fatigue that makes me want to crawl off the course. I was strong the entire distance, which makes me wonder if I could’ve/should’ve pushed harder.
• I believe my diet for the entire week prior to the race was directly related to my ability to run strong. Pasta, bagels good carbs and some good proteins were a part of my weekly intake.
• I hydrated on my terms by carrying a hydration belt. After watching the bottlenecks that are created in the water stops, I’m convinced I’ll never hydrate at a water stop again.
• Clif Shots seem to work for me every 3 miles.
• I run my own race when I’m running by myself. My father-in-law met up with me at mile 9, but at that point I had largely run exactly the race I had planned. Focus was the key with minimal distractions.

I also thought it was great to start the race with the marathoners. We took a right at mile 10, and they kept going straight. I watched the folks coming into mile 26, many of whom I ran with at the beginning of the course. It was truly inspirational to watch those coming into mile 26 around 12:30 PM, putting them at a 4:30 marathon. They represented the approximate time it would have taken me to run the marathon if I continued to pace as I had in the half. Many of them were folks I made small talk with at the start. They looked a lot different at mile 26. My hat goes off to them.

I’m posting my splits below. As you can see, it was, overall, pretty close to even splits throughout. I probably should have pushed for a couple more 9 1/2 minute miles. That would have sealed the deal in terms of meeting my goal. I was fearful, however, of running out of gas, which didn’t happen. Next time, I’ll follow my instincts.

On a sour note, my age group is the fastest in the world, and I finished 115th out of 138 in the 35-39 age bracket. The first 100 finishers ran a sub 2 hour race. I need to stop making such comparisons, however, and I curse my Capricorn blood for being aware of such things.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue to train, and yes, I think I may try the marathon next year, just to see if I can do it.

2006 is over, but 2007 fast approaches.

See you out on the road.

1. Congratulations on your PR. The weather was almost perfect.

   Posted by ShoreTurtle | November 24, 2006, 7:27 pm

2. Thanks, Charlie. I have to admit that the weather certainly helped me along. If I had to run twice the distance, such as you did, that would be my weather of choice.

   Congrats to you as well on what looks like the successful traversal of your first marathon!

   Posted by Gino Guarnere | November 24, 2006, 11:48 pm