Monday, October 29, 2012

Marine Marathon

My Seventh Marathon
The 37th Marine Corp Marathon
Washington D.C. 
28 Oct 2012


This was my seventh marathon, and my first big city marathon.  To be honest I was a bit nervous of the sheer size of this event.  The Marine Corp Marathon (MCM) is the US's fourth largest marathon, just getting to our starting corral was a challenge.  With 25,000 other runners and this little unexpected guest named Sandy, I did not know what to expect.

Mile 1:  10:39
Mile 2:  13:33

I was really happy with the opening mile I felt strong and knew I ran a good pace, but the second mile I have no idea what happened, I got lost in the run.  I have no memories of the second mile and my pace suffered.  I need to stay more focused, although with the large crowds it was easy to get trapped behind a group of slower runners and walkers...even this early on that lost time hurt.

Mile 3:  10:00
Mile 4:  10:00
Mile 5:  10:21
Mile 6:  10:01
Mile 7:  10:43

This opening section went by pretty fast.  This section was a bit tricky navigating the crowds and tackling the rolling hills.  I knew I had lost a little time to the clock, but felt good and knew I could make it up during the middle section.

Mile 8:    9:24
Mile 9:    9:47
Mile 10:  9:29
Mile 11:  9:42
Mile 12:  9:35
Mile 13:  9:38
Mile 14:  9:47

It was some where in this section of the race that I was so focused in the run keeping up a good pace and rhythm that I forgot where I was. At some point, I looked up to get a lay of the land and noticed Washington monument off to the left, "Oh yea, I'm running in Washington D.C."  Awesome place.  Then it was back to the grind...

Mile 15:  9:42
Mile 16:  9:23
Mile 17:  9:50
Mile 18:  9:40
Mile 19:  9:31
Mile 20:  9:25
Mile 21:  9:32

This middle section brought me 14 miles of sub goal pace and the next thing I knew I was past the wall.  My marathon experience told me that you could be feeling invincible on mile to only have the bottom fall out the next.  I was with this caution that I tried to run in control...

At mile 22 it happened...

Mile 22:  10:53

At this point in the run I hit my wall, it was not a life stopping impact but out of the blue I went from feeling great to feeling the effects of a major energy drain all within one stride.  It was at this point...I had to feel focus and keep the legs turning, it was a bit of a struggle.  But just as fast it hit me, I felt a second wind.

Mile 23:  8:35
Mile 24:  9:02

During these two miles (23 and 24) I felt strong and I knew I was running fast, I was passing a ton of people, but the miles took forever.  I think I need to work on my mental game...because as easy as it was to run...it was that hard to keep my mind focused.

Mile 25:  10:47
Mile 26:  10:31

Just a fast as this second wind hit me, it left.  At this point, I was just hanging on...

(Michele found me at mile 26 
and took this nice picture)

The last .02  6:39

4 hours 26 minutes 9 second..8730/23,515 in the top 37% of finishers and top 51% of my age group...Mission Accomplished!

Finisher video, I'm near the very end (6:53), on the screens lower right side, wearing black shorts , a red shirt, a black hat and I lift my arms giving thanks to the Lord at the end.  Can you find me....


Another first for the MCM was that I was blessed to share this run with two great friends, Jason K, and Susan C.  We all met our goals this day...and we had a great weekend!


(Before: Happy Runners Going To The Expo)


(After: Three Happy Runners Marathoners Back Home, 
We All Owe Thanks to Tiffany and Michele)



3 comments:

  1. Heh, your pace was all over the place! Awesome that you found little reserves of energy. Once I fell apart after mile 19, I meant it :) I'm actually in the same finish video, around the 3:30 mark, neon yellow shirt and pink hat. Congrats on another marathon, and finishing strong!

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  2. Lauren, yea it was an up and down...fast and slow kind of day. Trying to get though the crowds and keep my mind on the run was tough, but I enjoyed it and made my goal! I'll look for you in the video...congrats to you as well!

    Brian

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  3. Congrats on your finish! That downhill section after the first few miles was awesome. I was pretty surprised that we never had a ginormous uphill after that... Congrats!!

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