Marine Corps Marathon - RunMarathon


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Washington, DC, Washington, D.C.
United States
Marine Corps
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up nervous and ready at 4:45 a.m. and trotted downstairs at my friend's house to wake her up and drink my pre-race Ensure. I tried to chug down some hornet juice but that stuff just makes me sick. I grabbed a banana as well and had Rachel drop me off at the Metro in Cherverly.
Event warmup:

When I got to the race site, I found bag dropoff and said goodbye to my nice warm pants and headed out in search of a porta-potty. I was still waiting in line as the anthem was sung and the Ospreys flew over. It was worth it however as I talked to a runner whose son, Ben, was getting ready to head overseas for combat. It put things in perspective. I got to the start with just 2 minutes to spare. I wanted to get up by the 415 group, but it was too hard to get my space. I settled in further and just decided to see where the day would take me. My number one goal was to have a good day and run hard and be happy with where I ended up. I gave myself between 4:00 and 4:30 for a goal. Big range, but with the number of people racing, I knew timing was variable.
Run
  • 4h 10m 15s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 33s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was really fun. At least for the first 16 miles. I was moving along at a nice clip and just having fun running. Funny thing that I didn't really notice the monuments too much but instead just focused on running well and enjoying the beautiful day! The weather was lovely and cool and it was just a fun day. The hills in the first 3 miles were not bad, only because I was just excited to be there. It was at about mile 16 that my knee tightened up (damn IT band) and I began to hurt at all. I kept chugging along and felt pretty good until half way through Haines Point. I think that it was hard because so many people started walking. That made running tougher at that point. the 14th street bridge was not too bad at first, but it just dragged on, and on, and on. I had a hard time the second half of the bridge and then the slog through Crystal City was rough. I was just determined to finish at that point! There was a nasty hill coming out of Crystal City up towards the last 2 miles. Not what I wanted, but it was what we had! I didn't have a lot left in the tank at that point, but I just persevered on. Hitting the finish was great! I tucked away my IPOD and held up my Hook Em Horns!
What would you do differently?:

Run my last 20 miler 3 weeks before the race. I had a late season tri 2 weeks before and was helping out at a long course training camp the week before that so my last long run was a month before the race. This threw off my training some and hurt me in the last bit. Also, get my sports massage goddess to work on my IT band the week before the race. I have a couple of months until Houston Marathon, so I'm going to work on dropping a few more minutes to come near 4:00.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through a million slow hurting people (like myself) to get to my bag and phone to call my friends. Drank a gatorade and waddled to the car and then out to a concert and dinner. Sangria made it all better. Headed back to Dallas the next morning and back to work.

Event comments:

Loved the Marines on the course as well as those Marines running for their fallen commrades. I also had the honor of running next to the Marines carrying the flags. Very inspiring and humbling.




Last updated: 2007-11-05 12:00 AM
Running
04:10:15 | 26.2 miles | 09m 33s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4