Sunday October 23, 2011 I knocked 33 minutes of my marathon personal record.
The run started in earnest 18 weeks earlier. That's when I started on the training plan from Hal Higdon. The whole process was actually new yet familiar. I had followed one of his plans for a half marathon earlier in the year. It worked very well for me so I tried it for the full 26.2 miles. Let me tell you, 18 weeks is a long time to be following a plan.
Race weekend arrived. I made this journey with my best friends, StAshley or Stephen and Ashley. They're married and I have to say, awesome. This was Ashley's first marathon and she wanted Stephen to run it with her. He did and she ended killing my first marathon time, and Stephen's. While it is very obvious her accomplishment is fantastic I don't want Stephen's to become lost in the shuffle. Most people don't have any idea what it is like to run a long distance race at someone else's pace. It is an extremely selfless act.
The morning started off dark and chilly. I was in corral 1. The race started and I ran. I can't say I was really focused on my speed. I started with everyone around me but also made sure I was being slowly passed by those people. See, I have this little problem of going out too hot. It is occasionally used to get a laugh now and again.
There were around 25,000 people at this race. The first aid station was just over a mile in. With so many people I was having a bit of an issue getting a drink while being polite so I bolted to an open spot. Went to grab a cup but instead knocked the whole cup onto the volunteer. As you can tell we still had a lot of people at the 5k mark (24:43) from the picture below. You might also notice the very attractive lady over my right shoulder. Turns out she ran the half and beat my best half marathon time by 1 second. What a B! (Kidding, good work. Wanna go have dinner?)
Next big deal was around mile 8. Mom was going to be there. Well, supposed to be there. She was late. I thought about how Ashley would at least have some cheering for you and laughed about how she would try to ask them where I was. She sometimes doesn't understand what it's like on the course but I'm always happy when she is able to come to a race. This is also where we split from the half-marathoners. The course thinned out but we still had a lot of spectators and a fair number of runners.
Half way point was next (1:47:59) and arrived there feeling very good and being very impressed with my time. I thought, wow, I'm rollin.
That feeling changed around mile 20-22. This is when the struggle bus arrived and I got on board. I just started making deals with myself. Thinking about how I only had X number of miles. It's funny how easy 4 miles is at the front end, and how impossible it can be at the back end.
I crossed the finish line after 3:47:45 of running. This blew the old record out of the water by 33 minutes. Did I want to be faster, of course but am I happy with my time, ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY!
that PR is unheard of
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