1st Marathon - Done

Place: 1111 out of 2287
Age Group: 97 out of 167
10 Mile: 1:29:27 8:57
13.1 Mile: 1:56:32 8:54
20 Mile: 3:02:45 9:09
26.2 Mile: 4:17:43 (clock) 4:13:14(chip) 9:40

Okay, so I'll start off by saying that I really am happy with the race overall. The weather turned out great, the event was very organized, loved the course and most importantly...I finished! (apologies up front for the monsterous post, had to get it all out).

However, I'm a little dissapointed as well.

Got a ride into Hartford from my father in-law as my wife and the kids were going to come down later on so I didn't want to have two cars downtown. Some people like malls for people watching, but I'm guessing they have never been to a race with 30k people. Some very interesting characters and routines happening for sure. I walked around for a bit looking for my friend Chris (who ran the Disney half with me, some of you met him), but think he showed up a little later than he wanted and I had to start warming up.

7:30 - Checked my bag, and took a 10 minute light jog before stretching.

7:45 - 15 minutes to go, took a GU gel with some water and headed for the start. They changed up where the full/half marathon started this year due to crowd control (I think). I liked it better this year actually, as we lined up right in front of the capital building, very scenic from that spot.

7:55 - A quick race blessing, the Star Spangled Banner, and we're ready to roll.

8:00 - Go time, well, sort of. I was hanging out by the 4:05 pace guide area so it took a while to actually get across the start (think it was around 4min). They announced that there were over 1300 first time marathoners for this race. I'm not sure if they ment full marathoners or combined with the half...either way, maybe people are starting to realize that their health and welbeing is going to fall on their own shoulders as the years go on. :-)

Mile 1 - Ahhh, just kidding, not going to go mile for mile, that would be brutal for me too! Here are the highlights though. With the 4 days of rest I got prior I felt as strong as ever for an event and for the majority of the race it showed. We saw the leader pass us on the loop back, and man, I felt the breeze and he ran by! Smokin' fast. I noted the body types of the leaders passing and as more and more ran by on the other side the type started to change...LOL

Felt like I was keeping good pace and perhaps a little faster than I had planned. At the 10 mile check point I was just under the 9min average, about 5-10 seconds faster than I targeted, but I just felt so darn good... As I passed through the 10 mile mark, the 13.1 checkpoint was just after it on the other side. With flat road ahead, cheering crowds, and the leaders smokin by my body naturally kicked it up a little.

13.1 - I have no idea how or why, but apparently I'm the model of consistency for a half-marathon with three of them at 1:56:xx in the past year, so why should this split be any different, right? Sure enough, my split for this 13.1, 1:56:3x. If I were just running the half I would have smoked this time I think as I was pacing for the 26.2. Granted, every run is different, so who knows. Post 13.1 checkpoint I realized that I was going a little faster than I wanted, so I slowed it up a bit.

Mile 18 - Things were going well to this point, but I started to feel spasms in my left calf. It went away, so I shrugged it off. Around mile 19.2 they came back and even locked up my leg at one point. Had to stop and stretch it out which worked for another half mile, then came back... Not going to recap the rest, but lets just say that I went through the stop, stretch, walk, jog/shuffle, stop, stretch, walk, jog/shuffle, for the next 6 miles. The frustrating part was that I had as much energy and drive as when I started the race. Still, I chugged on as fast as I could only walking as much as needed to loosen up the leg.

Half Mile to the finish. I started to jog lightly after a brief walk but was able to keep the jog up all the way through the finish. Not sure if it was the crowd or the chant in my head of (no pain, no pain...little Rocky IV for ya), but the leg didn't freeze up as long as I kept the slow pace. I think it was obvious that I was in trouble as the people lining the streets seem to cheer a little harder for me, huge help! Turned the corner for the final .1 and jog/shuffled as fast as I could. My wife and the kids were there cheering for me at the finish, although I missed them at first as I thought they were on the other side and I was focusing on not falling over....but caught up with them just after the finish line.

Bottom line is that I gave it all I could given the circumstances, didn't give up for one second, and feel extremely proud of the effort! The dissapointing thing is taht I was holding a sub 4hr pace for 20 miles, had the energy and will, but fell short due to whatever was going on in my calf. I've got to figure out how to correct that for the next one, but will make whatever adjustment and will get that sub 4hr marathon!

Special shout out to a couple of folks who really made a difference in my training and prep. Of course, my wife who encouraged and supported me to this goal. Wasn't always easy due to the hectic schedule and conflicting with her own training as well, but she did it with a smile. Justin, who had loads of great experience and advice to give. Mike F., Jeff W., Rae, and all the other Team Voicers who've always been there with kind words and support. Not a mile goes by where I don't think of you guys and turn that into fuel!! I call you guys my X-factor. Yeah I could do it and all, but I do it better knowing the team is behind me. Wow, it sounds like an academy award speech or something...Maybe more like a Nobel Peace Prize...they give those out to anybody these days. :-b

Mike G had to get that headphone comment in there I see, ha! Yeah, I know.... Actually, I didn't use them for half the race, but after a while it just got boring out there....They say they have all kinds of music, but it really didn't feel like it. Shut them off at the end there so I could really take in the crowd.

One more thing, Team Voice shirts rock! Kept me cool and comfortable, gotta get me another one. Oh, and gentleman, band aid the nips! Worked like a charm.