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Comments: BQ pace was 7:49, and goal pace was 7:38. For the first 10 miles, I ran right around goal pace and it felt easy. I felt like I was out for a morning jog. I would have ran harder if I had more confidence, but the lack of any long runs the past six weeks made me proceed with caution. Coach wanted me to pick up the effort the second 10 miles, but I was feeling ok and didn't want to push my luck. Goal pace felt fine and I had no reason to run harder. I hit the 13.1 split right on target (1:40) and I grew confident that I had another 1:40 HM in me. My pace started to slip just a little at mile 17, then a little more after mile 20. I was still ahead of BQ pace though, I wanted to run the last 10K fast, but at this point I was in survival mode. I had a three minute cushion on my BQ and was trying like heck not to give too much back. My pace slowed a bit in miles 21-23, so I knew I had to run the final 5K as hard as I could. My lack of LR's was apparent, but I was still hanging in there. I knew I had the BQ but I needed to squeeze out as many seconds as I could to increase my chances of actually getting in. The last 5K was painful with lots of grunting and grimacing. My first glance of the finish clock saw 3:22:30, so I sprinted the final bit as hard as I could to save precious seconds. Official time was 3:22:38. I left it all out there, and I was in deep pain when I stopped running. After eight marathons, I finally got my BQ. This was also my second fastest marathon. What would you do differently?: Well actually training for the marathon would probably help. Given where my current conditioning is, I ran this about as well as I could have, and four minutes faster than 2015 when I was well trained for it.  Post race
Warm down: A friend of mine was a finish line volunteer and stayed with me to make sure I was ok, and I appreciated having her by my side. I found DW (who PR'd the HM!) and got a much needed hug. I got my medal and found a place to sit for about 10 minutes, thoroughly enjoying and soaking in my new status as a Boston qualifier. What limited your ability to perform faster: Not specifically training for the marathon. Event comments: I've done this marathon four times and the half marathon twice. It is always very well organized with plenty of volunteers, a closed course, and lots of water stations. And you can't beat New England on a cool October morning. Last updated: 2016-10-10 12:00 AM
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United States
Hartford Marathon Foundation
50F / 10C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 202/1816
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 25/154
This marathon was exactly six weeks after my IM debut, so the six weeks in between were basically recover from the IM, get a few quality runs in, rest up for the marathon. The only reason I ran this is that I get 10 extra minutes for my BQ time thanks to the AG bump, and the temptation was too much to resist. A 3:25 seemed very doable, though my longest run the prior six weeks was 14 miles so I was hopeful the IM training left me with enough endurance to last the distance. I was targeting 3:20 for a five minute BQ cushion.
DW was doing the HM. We were up early for my usual PB&J sandwich, and an early arrival in Hartford to get good parking. I hit the portapotty a few times to empty the tank, then a quick five minute warm up jog. I earned 1st corral seeding, so I was able to take my time getting to the start line. It was chilly, so I wore gloves to go with my shorts and tri club tech tee.