Back For Seconds

I woke up at 5:45 AM. Slept a total of about 5.5 hours, which is pretty good for the night before a marathon. I was relaxed and ready to go. When we got there, it was a little chilly (compared to the 90 degrees I was seeing during the week in Baltimore), a nice cool 50 degrees. We made a quick stop at the port-a-potties before a short warm-up. The start I had been waiting for, for nearly 10 months, was just minutes away.

We could have slept right at the starting line.

I was a little concerned that I would go out too fast due to the small size of the race and quick drop in times. Based on past results, the winner was generally in the 2:30s and by 15th place, times were already around my goal (3:10). Not to mention the downhill start. I was also a little concerned that the early mile markers would mess with me mentally. They had construction before mile 13 and had to re-route it a little, and to compensate moved the starting line up 65 yards. They didn't, however, move the mile markers at all. In the end, the fact that they announced it made it all okay. Since there were no chips, I started in the second row.

Soon after the gun went off and we turned the first corner, I settled into a comfortable pace and a solid 14th place. I came through the mile at 6:43 (I added 20 seconds for the 65 yards) - rather fast, but considering the downhill and how I felt, I kept going. The first half was mostly downhill, making it a fast half - I PR'd with a 1:30:40. It was also quite pretty. Fall colors filled the tree-lined country roads, some along the river. A few rolling hills were thrown in the first half to keep us honest. My mom and Ethan surprised me with a visit around the 9.5-mile mark and I was feeling great. I didn't have a split above 7:00 until Mile 11. There was a big hill in Mile 12 (7:23) and I bounced back with a 6:53, my last sub-7:00 mile. At the halfway point we started weaving our way around the city.

Some scenery along the course (taken Saturday). Notice the cracked, uneven pavement?

Then the second half of the race started. I knew with the downhill first half and tougher second half I had to "bank" some time, even though I don't like doing that too much. It was inevitable, really. Overall I think elevation profile is a little misleading, and now I know that it is actually similar to Boston's. A few hidden hills were in there and we didn't get to drive Mile 20, since it was on a park path. Now it was just a matter of if I banked the right amount.

(1) CDM, (2) Boston, and (3) my log's mapped version of CDM.

About Mile 14 things started to hurt. My ankles were sore, perhaps from the uneven footing (some canted roads and a few bad spots paving-wise). My right heel began to blister, as I had feared. I focused on staying strong mentally - and physically - and worked through the pain. It's rare not to have any pain in a marathon, after all.

There were a few tough little hills before 19, and Mile 20 in the park surprised us with a couple tough hills of its own. About then I started to struggle a little bit. Some dude named Paul, a high school coach from Connecticut, helped drag me along through the first part of the park. The next 4 miles were the toughest on me, time-wise. I hit near 8:00 for Mile 21 and Mile 22, and then we hit the biggest hill on the course in Mile 23 (8:39, my slowest). I walked about half of it and at that point, even the downhills after that started getting difficult. I hit the 24-mile only 10 seconds ahead of my Vegas time and knew that I had to pick it up. I had to break 8:00 for the last 2 miles to have a good shot at a BQ.

I managed to run sub-8:00s for the next two miles and turned the corner and hit the 26-mile mark two seconds behind my Vegas time despite running a faster 26th mile. I knew I had to go. I wasn't going to let it happen again. I got to the last corner and heard my aunt yell "20 SECONDS!"

Gotta go, Mike. Gotta go now.