ING Georgia Marathon - RunMarathon


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Atlanta, Georgia
United States
The ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon
40F / 4C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 29m 51s
Overall Rank = 188/2076
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 9/?
Pre-race routine:

Kids slept at my in laws so I only had myself to worry about. Got up at 4:30, had coffee, Uncle Sam cereal, bagel and water. Showered stretched and dressed. Husband drove me and dropped me at the start. I had about 25 minutes to mill around and pee 8000 times before the start.
Event warmup:

I don't see the point of warming up for a marathon. I think 26.2 miles is plenty.
Run
  • 3h 29m 51s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

I was 25th woman out of 713. I am happy with that. Last year I was 38th and year before I think closer to 100. So moving on down the line!!! When you are getting older it is nice to see some numbers get lower.
If you want more details about my run I wrote up a long report on my blog: http://thenegativesplit.blogspot.com/
What would you do differently?:

I don't know.
Maybe if I had drank the Gatorade available I might not have gotten a calf cramp and could have run a slight pr but then again maybe not because I might have had a tummy ache. Just because you fix one thing doesn't mean it might not have caused another problem. In a marathon you deal with what the day throws at you as best you can and I think I dealt with the issues perfectly.

I am really happy with this race. I pretty ran the exact race I wanted. I have tried running even splits to go under 3:30 and every time I hit 1:45 for the split I fade to 3:37/38 finish time. So for my last 2 marathons I've run hard the first half and come in around 1:40/41 and then try to hold on as long as can and give myself a break the last few miles. I know banking time rarely works but it has worked twice for me in the past 2 months to get me under 3:30.
I may have to think up a different strategy to get closer to 3:20 next fall.


Post race
Warm down:

My feet hurt so bad at the finish I wanted someone to carry me. Calf was good and everything else was fine. My husband always seems to pick the furtherest parking space at the top of the biggest hill he can find. So my "warm down" (isn't this suppose to be called a cool down?) was complaining and hobbling to the car while I turned blue from being so cold. Then, as always happens after a marathon as soon as I sit down, I got hit with like 10 different Charlie horses. So fun.

Then I put on some 3 inch wedges (helped my sore arches) and drank 26 pints of beer. Okay, only like 4 but I wanted to drink 26-- 4 seems to be limit and still being able to walk. Doesn't matter what it is,there is always something holding me back.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Well I think I performed fairly optimal all things considered--3 marathon in 4 months and I have been plagued by illness and injury between this one and the previous one.
2 months ago on a flat course I ran 3:28xx. So my 3:29xx on a hilly course I actually think is a bit of an improvement considering I stopped to use the bathroom and walked lots of aid stations--2 things I did not do at my last marathon. Right now, considering my capabilities and prs at shorter distances the best I could expect would be around 3:25 anyway and I think that is with perfect training, tapering and an easier course.

Event comments:

Congrats to everyone! I think the Ga Marathon is finally making itself into a really great race and I actually feel comfortable recommending this race to people.
I will however caution those going for a BQ on this course: Unless the BQ is a soft goal you might fight yourself dissappointed. This can be a really hard course to meet your goals on--especially if those goals are contingent on peak capabilities.

Bottom line: Run this marathon, aim low and you won't be disappointed.




Last updated: 2009-03-23 12:00 AM
Running
03:29:51 | 26.2 miles | 08m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 9/?
Overall: 25/2076
Performance: Good
My splits are crazy. I ran this entire race however I felt like at that particular second. Even still the first 22 or so miles I was fairly even at about 7:45-50 avg pace.Had a few sub 7:30 miles and few 8 min miles. Then My pace dropped big time the final 3 miles and I was totally okay with and even expected and kind of planned for it. I was just keeping with the idea of forward progression and getting to the finish line.
Course: This course is tough but I love it! This was my 3rd year running it and third time trying to run 3:30. 3:44, 3:38 and ding ding ding 3:29xx!!!!!!!!! There are hills all through it and the only part that ticks me off is the final 2 miles that are not terribly steep or much a hill at all but at that point--after all the other ups and down--you just want a little flat. Oh and, while better this year, it does still totally suck to have to run through the walls of walking half marathoners when you get to those last 5 miles-- or is it 4? I feel like a broken record since I say that every year and it did bother me less this year than it has in the previous years. But maybe that is because I was with faster walkers this year having had a faster race.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
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?
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5