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Pittsburgh Marathon - RunMarathon


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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
United States
64F / 18C
Precipitation
Total Time = 3h 58m 18s
Overall Rank = 1243/4276
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 92/258
Pre-race routine:

The trip started Friday by riding to Dayton (OH) with Sam. My mom and I drove the remaining 4 hours from Dayton to Pittsburgh on Saturday, checked into the hotel, and then down to the convention center to get the bib numbers transferred for Sam and me. Picked up the bibs, then had to finish the transfer process, pick up shirts and the swag bag. Spend a few minutes at the expo, but not many. Got some dinner at the Church Works Brewery (Chicken-Spinach Alfredo Pizza and salad) where we shared our table with another family celebrating a CMU graduation. Back to the hotel where I organized my gear, got some water, and went to bed. Got up at 5, dressed, shaved, and had a bagel, hard boiled egg, glass of OJ, and a cup of coffee. Drove 20 minutes and parked at the first place near the start.
Event warmup:

Hit the porta-pot then found Corral "C" where the 3:50 and 4:00 pace groups were. Stood around about 20 minutes in the light mist chatting with other runners. Walked into place with the rest of the herd. Crossed the start line about 6 minutes after the gun.
Run
  • 3h 58m 18s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 06s  min/mile
Comments:

With the mist and the forecast, I decided to start with the 3:50 pace group rather than the 4:00 group. Stayed with them, even getting 30 seconds ahead of them a couple places for the first 16 miles. Saw a porta-pot with the green indicator, so ducked in at 16 miles for some relief (just a slight urge most of the first 15 miles, so hydration was pretty good). Spent miles 17 and 18 trying to catch up to the pace group but the cooling, misty, rain had stopped and I was starting to feel the late-race fatigue. Closed to within 20 seconds of the group at mile 18 and made a conscious decision to let them go. Wanted to take the next 5 miles easy and pick it up for the last 5K. My pace dropped from 8:35 to 9:30 and then up to 9:03 and I hit the 20-mile timing strip at 2:56:51. OK...I've got an hour to run a 10K and I was feeling good enough for that. A hot spot was forming under the ball of my left foot, but not bad. The next couple miles were around 9:30-10:00 but I ran it all, slaying some mental demons from earlier marathons where I was mostly walking by this time. Got to mile 23 and couldn't find high gear again. Kept plodding along with 10-11 minute miles as a lot of people passed me, but I was committed to run the whole thing and I'd still finish sub-4. Saw my mom on the corner at mile 25 and then they put one last bridge in the last half mile. I look at the climb and think "why here??" but then decided I hadn't walked yet, I wouldn't start now. Jogged up the bridge, coasted down to the other side, rounded the corner and saw the finish line off in the distance.
What would you do differently?:

Debated whether to start with the 3:50 or 4:00 pace groups. Decided with the mist that I could be a little aggressive and that my overall time might be faster to start with the faster group and fade rather than start with the slower group and expect to run ahead IF I felt good after 20 miles. Almost got caught by the 4:00 group (I never looked back to see how close they were, but they were probably within a minute of me).
Post race
Warm down:

Got my medal, some fruit, and a cup of water. Walked around a bit, stretched, and tried to find Sam. Was starting to get light-headed as the sun had come out and it was now warming up more than predicted. Sat down for a few minutes, then walked around before finding Sam and my mom. Walked to Sam's car and he gave us a ride back to Mom's car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

genetics? diet? training? I could have used a couple more long runs (18-20 miles) or some 20-22 mile runs. Running a solid 18/26 is probably about all that can be expected when you're running less than 35 miles per week (as most triathletes do). If I could survive a season of 50 mile weeks, I could do better in the last 6 miles.



Event comments:

They did a very nice job. This is the 3rd year bringing it back and they do a lot of things well. I was really disappointed in the food choices at the finish area and no bottles of water/gatorade (really...how many runners are going to want just a glass of water post-race??)




Last updated: 2011-04-27 12:00 AM
Running
03:58:18 | 26.2 miles | 09m 06s  min/mile
Age Group: 92/258
Overall: 1243/4276
Performance: Good
9:03 8:37 8:47 3:38 8:42 8:46 17:24 (2 miles) 25:34 (3 miles) 9:10 9:45 (1.1 miles) 7:41 (0.9 miles) 8:46 9:30 (includes a potty stop) 8:30 9:01 9:30 9:28 9:32 9:56 9:44 9:54 9:28 10:53 2:02 (0.2 miles)
Course: Meandering course that starts downtown, heads up through the strip, back towards downtown and across the 16th street bridge to the North Side. Over the West End bridge, up-back and then to South Station and across the Birmingham bridge. Up a mile-long climb towards Oakland (Carnegie Mellon & UPitt) then around Shadyside, Walnut St. and a couple up-backs as we worked our way through neighborhoods and around geography back to the strip for the last few miles. Across the 6th St. bridge to finish in front of PNC park on the North Shore.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2011-05-17 5:42 PM

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Champion
7547
5000200050025
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Bronze member
Subject: Pittsburgh Marathon


2011-05-18 11:18 AM
in reply to: #3504841

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Expert
783
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Spokane, Washington
Subject: RE: Pittsburgh Marathon
Wow, that was some nice work at this race!  Yeah, those last six miles are a bear, but it sounds like you put the demons to rest, then stomped on them for good measure by running the whole thing!  Way to go, McF!
2011-05-19 7:04 PM
in reply to: #3504841

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Expert
1146
100010025
Chugiak, Alaska
Subject: RE: Pittsburgh Marathon
Awesome job - under 4 hours wooohooo!!!!!
2011-05-20 9:10 AM
in reply to: #3504841

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Extreme Veteran
393
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Columbia, South Carolina
Subject: RE: Pittsburgh Marathon
Great job, congrats!  Way to "slay some mental demons" and push through to keep running when things got tough near the end.
2011-05-21 7:30 AM
in reply to: #3504841

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Veteran
323
100100100
Sandusky, OH
Subject: RE: Pittsburgh Marathon
got your goal!!!
2011-05-21 12:50 PM
in reply to: #3504841

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Expert
1118
1000100
, North Carolina
Subject: RE: Pittsburgh Marathon
Good job running the whole way!  Sub 4 even with a potty stop!  Woo hoo!!!


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