St. Jude Memphis Marathon - RunMarathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Memphis, Tennessee
United States
30F / -1C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 37m 41s
Overall Rank = 363/2459
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 52/231
Pre-race routine:

Training went well, generally following the training plan. Felt strong during training with no real injuries, though the mileage had me constantly feeling tired.
Event warmup:

Got moving early that morning, which allowed me to go to the gym by the race and warm up on the stationary bike for about 15 minutes - just a slow spin to get the legs moving first thing in the morning.

Surprising, I was not that nervous and my stomach felt good so I was able to eat a banana and toast with peanut butter and drink a cup of coffee, bottle of infinit, and an accelerade gel. Actually felt full before the race.
Run
  • 3h 37m 41s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

Was expecting a 3:40 race while hoping that if everything went great I could do 3:30 to 3:35. I chose to start with the 3:35 pace group, but I was feeling great that morning so left them about two miles into the race. I kept looking at my watch and was doing 7:30 - 7:45 minute/miles. I knew this was too fast this early in the race and tried to slow down, but the pace felt comfortable and I was feeling good.

The first half of the race was kind of a blur and really uneventful. Knew that I was averaging 8:00 minute miles and was on pace for a 3:30. However, when the half marathoners turned off, suddenly there were a lot fewer runners and therefore also a lot less energy around me. The number of supporters on the side of the road also decreased, which made the race a lot more dull.

Miles 13-20 were pretty hilly and really took a toll on my legs, which started to cramp about mile 20. The most disheartening thing was when the 3:35 pace group caught me about mile 20. I was determined to try to finish with the 3:35 pace group and so kept up despite the cramps until about mile 23 where I just couldn't keep up on a hill. The cramps came on pretty strong after mile 23 and the last three miles seemed like a death march. My legs kept saying lets slow down and walk, but I was determined to run the entire distance and so kept going. My pace felt like a shuffle, but when I looked at my watch I was still doing 9:00 min/miles so I was pretty happy with that.

Crossing the finish line in Autozone Park felt great although I did not hear them call my name this year.
What would you do differently?:

Need to incorporate more hill training into the program, especially on tired legs.
Post race
Warm down:

Felt great finishing the race so took the opportunity to get my picture taken with Elvis - only in Memphis. Collected my belongings and put on a warm sweat shirt as the weather was still pretty cool.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hills! Should of paced myself better knowing that the second half of the course had more hills.

Event comments:

This is a great race every year, and benefits a very worth cause. Second half of the marathon course gets more difficult so I have a lot of respect for anybody who can negative split this race.




Last updated: 2009-09-22 12:00 AM
Running
03:37:41 | 26.2 miles | 08m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 52/231
Overall: 362/2459
Performance: Good
10k 49:38 8:01 min/mi 13.1 1:45:06 8:02 min/mi 20 2:43:14 8:10 min/mi 26.2 3:37:41 8:19 min/mi
Course: They changed to course this year to go through the middle of St Jude, which was amazing! Patients and employees lined the street through St Jude cheering - felt great running through that support.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5