Mercedes Marathon - RunMarathon

I had a great time for my first marathon. I was a little worried b/c I haven't been able to do a run longer than 11-12 for about a 6wks, but that seems to have worked out fine.
After the first mile, during which it is impossible to go slow, we did a great job moderating our pace. We went out very conservatively, probably running 9:15miles for the first 8-10mi. The only exception was mile 5, which has the first big hill. David and I both love running hills hard, so we hammered that mile, with its 400ft elevation gain hill, running about an 8:00. Its always really fun the fly by people on an uphill. The middle miles were kind of a blur b/c we were running w/ a couple of thousand 1/2marathoners. About the time we got to the 11mile mark we split off. We were still doing a great job controlling the pace, and we ran about a 2:01 half marathon. At that point we had about 4 flat miles to work with and we stepped up our pace considerably, and started running 8:15-8:30 miles. At about mile 19 we went into Mountain Brook, and really started laying the hammer down. From this point on, no one passed us. After a few flattish miles in and around town, we started up the second, steeper climb. We held pace pretty well, and really took it up strong. We were both maxed out near the top as we sprinted over the crest after nearly a mile of climbing, but I have rarely felt more alive. That was definately a moment of clarity for me and the defining point of the race. We had a killer view of the city just before we plunged down the backside of the hill. Our next two miles we ran like someone was chasing us. I'm guessing they took about 15min. The last mile or so was just a cruise to the finish. I loved the sense of grand accomplishment and achievement attained by such finishing such a long race. I feel AWESOME; most of the run felt easy and relaxed like I was spinning the earth beneath me instead of running on top of it.

nada

After meeting up w/ Abby and Cait and Anna, I walked around in endorphine euphoria for a while, then we went and got a beer, and bar-b-que. We stretched pretty fequently, and drank tons of water.


Inability to train b/c of injury and my better judgement.


The water/feed stations were well placed and sufficiently staffed. The race was very well done, albeit expensive. I will definately be doing this race again, and loving those hills!