Suntrust National Marathon - RunMarathon


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Washingon, D.C., Washington, D.C.
United States
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 25m 6s
Overall Rank = 267/2322
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 41/239
Pre-race routine:

got up, ate 2 packs of oatmeal, drank 1 bottle of gatorade on the way to the race
Event warmup:

walked the 1/4 mile from the subway stop to the PortOPort to the Start line
Run
  • 3h 25m 6s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 07m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

The run went great. Going into it, I didn't know what to expect with my lack of training th elast 3 weeks. It was ideal waether and a pretty flat course, so I thought I would push it a bit. After the slow first mile, I settled into a nice rhythm that felt good, and was surprisingly about 10 sec faster than I had anticipated. Bby 10 miles, I was 2:45 ahead of my ususal 3:30 pace, hit half way at 1:41 or so. At mile 20, I was 5.5 minutes ahead of 3:30 pace and still feeling pretty good. I knew I would have to keep it steady 8 min miles to get 3:25. Miles 23,24 were the worst, and when I hit 24, I knew it would be close. I needed to run just under 8 min miles to hit 3:25, and even though I missed it, I ran it well. The last 1/2 mile was a slow gradual incline that hurt
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This was my most consistent effort throughout a race, and a 3 minute PR . THe course was hillier than I had expected, although not too bad. Unfortunately, the last 5 miles were rollers the entire way. Took gels at Miles 11,15 19,23, drank one cup of gatorade at every otehr stop. Nutrition seemed right on. I might try 11,14,17,20,23 for the gels next race and see if teh gut can handle it. Usually after taking one, I couldn't really feel it until after a mile or so. Maybe a 3-3.5 mile increment between them would help.
Post race
Warm down:

walked around, got my banana and cookies and water and went back to the house, showered and was at the airport 2.5 hours later

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing

Event comments:

This was very well done. Expo moved smoothly, the Metro ran early race morning to assist in transport to the start, things went off on time, tons of volunteers and plentiful water stops. Lots of drinks and gels were out at least 5 stops. Post race was adequate, I didn't stick around to check it out too closely. Good medal and race shirt. Very well done race. A good PR never hurts, either




Last updated: 2010-03-11 12:00 AM
Running
03:25:06 | 26.2 miles | 07m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 41/239
Overall: 0/2322
Performance: Good
8:28, 7:28, 7:29, 7:37, 7:41 (38:44),7:46, 7:51, 7:41, 7:35, 7:39 (1:17:17), 7:36, 7:54, 7:36, 7:54, 7:40 (1:56:00), 7:41, 7:40, 7:40, 7:48, 7:42 (2:34:34), 8:02, 7:49, 8:13, 8:29, 8:12 (3:15:22), 8:01, 1:43
Course: loop around DC
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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] 4