I got in the back of the second corral (6:30-8:00/mi), figuring I'd start out kinda slow then settle into my 7:40/mi goal pace. Being my first marathon, I wasn't sure what to expect from a number of situations. One, of which was how other runners paced themselves. Starting off, I just ran with the pack was was probably not as in tune to my own body as I would be running solo. But before I could even think about pacing, I had to deal with a bouncing quartet of gels in my race belt. Hadn't run with this belt before. Fortunately, I could tighten it sufficiently and stay comfortable - problem solved. After that, I was just going with the flow, enjoying the scenery. Everything felt pretty easy, so I was surprised to see my first split come up as 7:18. Whoa, that was way too fast! But, I just put 22 seconds in the bank. I immediately start my internal debate of "Can I sustain this pace?" "What'll happen if I can't?", and, of course, "Why not?!" "Why not" tends to win these little debates. So, I reeled off 5 more nearly identical miles and was now 2 minutes ahead of goal pace. Even at this pace I was getting passed quite a bit and couldn't help thinking, "Wow, there's a lot of really good runners in this field!" During this stretch we ran through mostly wooded residential areas and on bike paths. My ~7:20 pace still felt pretty doable and I found myself running with two guys of a similar pace. There was a little bit of back and forth, but I mostly paced myself off of them. #1 looked like he was out for an easy jog and #2 looked pretty steady, as well, while I felt like I was pushing it somewhat.
Encountered one hill heading into a residential development, but pretty smooth sailing through Kill Devil Hills. It was pretty cool to run around the Wright Brothers monument. After this we headed off the pavement and onto a dirt road through a maritime forest. This was a nice change of pace. Footing was good, but it was slower going because the road had some undulations and turns. Then we truly headed off road on a trail through the woods. It wasn't quite single track, but passing would have been tight. During this stretch I lost sight of the guys I had been running with. We were finally back on the paved road after mile 13 and got out to Rt 158 where we could really feel the tailwind. My pace dramatically improved at this point. Saw Brenda and the kids at the YMCA and gave them high fives. Nice pick-me-up at the half way point. I caught back up to the two guys I was running with and was motivating myself to maintain pace. I kept thinking back to HIM races, trying to put myself in half marathon mode. Detoured off 158 and caught some crosswind, which, at this point made the going a bit tougher, but I passed runner #2. We went through Nags Head Golf Links and this was one of the tougher stretches as we curled back into the wind. I really fought to keep the effort level up and what compounded the stress was catching a glimpse of the bridge to Roanoke Island. It looked sooooo far away and I had about 8 miles to go. Bad thought. Back on 158 to enjoy the last brief stretch of tailwind for the day. Just after the turn at Whalebone Junction I passed runner #1. I figured he must just be backing off for a charge at the end. This guy appeared to be running so easy throughout the race, I used this as a motivational tool to keep pushing myself to stay one step ahead.
I had been psyching myself up to conquor this bridge ever since I decided to do this race. Of course, during my mental preperation I had never envisioned running at a 7:24 pace for the 22+ miles prior to the bridge, so now I was running at a distance I had never covered before at a pace I had not trained at. My mile 22 split came up at the base of the bridge's main span - 7:25. So my motivation was to keep this next mile under my goal pace of 7:40. Going up the bridge, I actually felt better than I did 3 months ago at the A-10 crossing the Severn. The bridge itself wasn't really that bad, the challenge was more of where it was in the race. One of the guys I remember passing me early in the race was now walking up the bridge. Over the crest and only 5K to go. Once on Roanaoke Island I was running cross to the wind, and, eventhough I was catching up to the tail end of the half marathon, I felt really slow and plodding. And the next turn in the road looked far away. Once on Rt 64, I was headed directly into the wind, but this was also just over 1.5 miles to go. Strangely, I don't remember much of the scenery on this stretch, just that I kept motivating myself to keep pushing harder. I drew on images of elite runners, used my own feedback (land on the balls of my feet, good posture), talked myself into embracing the pain, I told myself that runner #1 was right on my heels. I knew I had a shot at breaking 3:15, but just couldn't do the math - "Uh... just run faster!" Once I made the turn onto Fernando St I knew it was all over. The pain didn't matter, the time didn't matter, I was done. I let it all go.

Hard to say. Take in a few more calories.

Saw Brenda and the kids almost as soon as I finished. (The shuttle from Nags Head to Manteo was no faster than I was.) Got hugs and Endurox. I was absolutely drained. Took quite awhile to feel any semblance of normalcy.
Got some water, bananas. Tossed the football with Buck. We walked over to the "Marathon Village" and looked at results. Back to the Outer Banks for Coldstone (MP 7).



Ha. Age, weight, too much taper(?).
I took 4 gels during the race (Miles 7, 13, 19, 23). I could always tell when I was ready for a gel because I'd start having negative thoughts. If I had maybe one more gel or drank a little Gatorade my energy level might have been a bit more even.


I was absolutley amazed that I could run 26.36 miles (the course was long according to the Garmin) at a 7:24/mi pace. I far exceeded my expectations. One of my motivators, especially during the middle miles, whenever I'd question myself about the effort I was putting out and whether I was going to have anything left at the end was to tell myself, "It's a Z5 kind of day! Let's just roll!"
One of the surprising things was how many people start out too fast. (I'm one to talk). During the last 6 miles I passed quite a few people that I couldn't run with early in the race.
After we got back to the house, I popped open a beer and relaxed in the hot tub. It felt awesome, but I got really light-headed afterward. This occurred off and on for about a half hour. A bit worrisome. Wonder what that was all about.
I would highly recommend the OBX Marathon. The race was well supported. A lot of people at the ends of their driveways cheering. I'm sure it's not the same feel as a big city marathon, but, for as small a community as the Outer Banks is, it seemed like a lot.
I probably should have stretched more afterwards and maybe got a massage. Oh, my legs are sore!