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ING Georgia Marathon - RunMarathon


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Atlanta, Georgia
United States
The ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon
52F / 11C
Precipitation
Total Time = 3h 54m 43s
Overall Rank = 482/2141
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 74/220
Pre-race routine:

Drove downtown and ate a granola bar and cereal bar along with a Propel and some water. Met up with Kirk and Heather in the Omni hotel to stash my bag there (thanks guys!).
Event warmup:

None, I think 26.2 is enough.
Run
  • 3h 54m 43s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 58s  min/mile
Comments:

I learned a lot on this run being that it was my first marathon.

I started in Corral C with Kirk. Plan was to start together and I would slow him down a bit and he would speed me up. Good thing that we did as my Garmin would find the satellites until almost the second mile. First miles were quick at 7:05, 7:31, 7:17, but was at a good conversational race pace. I decided to back off a bit after 3 miles and Kirk took off.

The first 10 miles went relatively uneventful (other than the hill at Chandler Park sucks!!!) and I was holding an even pace around 8's. From this point on, each of the splits got slower. I was getting frustrated and fighting myself mentally. Some of the thoughts:
- Seriously, why am I running out to Decatur and then I have to go back
- Suck it up
- Why am I not into this race
- Stop being a p*%(y
... and so on until about mile 19
This was the worst part of the race and I was mad that I was letting myself take walk breaks. I wasn't really looking at the scenery at all, wish I had, as I haven't been to some of these areas in Atlanta. I did laugh to myself at about mile 16.5 in Druid Hills when you could clearly smell some people smoking weed.

Somewhere between mile 19 and 20 I decided to kick my attitude and drive it one mile at a time. I was only going to walk at the water stations and the major hills (of which there were a bunch). I didn't quite hold to this, but I came close.

I was happy to get into Virginia Highlands and into the park. The loop around was kind of cool as it reminded me more of a tri feel where you can see the other competitors. The next step was getting over the connector and into GT. I hit the last water stop and then pushed through the pain to the finish. My quads and calves were killing me. There were times when my calves were cramping up mid stride and the only way to prevent it was to keep running.

For my first marathon, I'm okay with the result. Hopefully I'll recover quick.
What would you do differently?:

Things that went well:
- I finished
- I liked carrying one 24oz water bottle to supliment between the water stations and it also allowed me to take my gels whenever I wanted
- I know a bit more of what to expect

Things I need to fix:
- Figure out the mental game and stay with it all the time
- Do longer training runs as I don't think my longest was enough in this case
- Have confidence to even pace the run and maintain a plan
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through the finish and tried to find Kirk and Heater. Stretched a bunch to work out the cramps.




Last updated: 2010-03-21 12:00 AM
Running
03:54:43 | 26.2 miles | 08m 58s  min/mile
Age Group: 74/220
Overall: 482/2141
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2010-03-21 7:13 PM

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Veteran
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Subject: ING Georgia Marathon


2010-03-21 7:36 PM
in reply to: #2739016

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Master
1730
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Atlanta, GA
Subject: RE: ING Georgia Marathon

Congrats on a great first mary...the mental game is a big part of this stuff.  I had problems with it today.

2010-03-21 8:27 PM
in reply to: #2739016

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Champion
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Calgary
Subject: RE: ING Georgia Marathon
good job.
2010-03-22 8:50 PM
in reply to: #2739016

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Regular
53
2525
Subject: RE: ING Georgia Marathon
Great race!  After IMs, I say we take revenge on ING...by doing some other sponsors flat course. LaughingSeriously scary that you are dropping a sub 4 for your first one.  You'll only get faster.
2010-03-23 9:26 AM
in reply to: #2741655

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Expert
910
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North Metro ATL
Subject: RE: ING Georgia Marathon

I echo awesome time for a first!

It was the hill around 8 miles--before the one at 10 miles that told me I was not going to have a good day.  Those are the 2 hardest hills and you pay for them during the rest of the race.

Congrats!

2010-03-23 11:05 AM
in reply to: #2742443

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Expert
882
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Marietta, GA
Subject: RE: ING Georgia Marathon
Awesome race! Breaking 4 hours on your first marathon, especially THAT marathon, is a huge accomplishment. That distance is no joke and you have to have everything come together on race day. You learn from each one, now time to plan your next one.


2010-03-25 11:30 AM
in reply to: #2739016

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Expert
931
50010010010010025
Smyrna, GA
Subject: RE: ING Georgia Marathon

Great job, Kevin - that is a super-tough course!

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