Thousand Miles to Salamanca

Closer

LOG ENTRY

Distance: 26.2 miles

First, I'll start with my goal for the day. Monday night I went and did two miles on the track at goal pace. For that run, I picked a 7.15 pace. I watched my splits after each lap. And at 7.15 I was slightly uncomfortable. But when my time dropped one lap to what is the equivalent of a 7:30 pace, I felt fine.

That being said, I told myself for this marathon I will run how I feel with comfortable breathing. I would focus on nutrition before, and during. So my goal time was in the 3:15 – 3:18 range. I felt very comfortable with that goal and therefore didn't have too many nerves before the race.

Brief comment on the race. Everybody must do it. New York is fantastic. What a spectacle. I can’t describe it any better.

So back to the pre-race prep. I packed 4 Strawberry-Banana Power Gels, 2 Enevertine liquid packs and 4 packs of Eneverit. Safe to say my shorts were a bit weighed down.

Right about race time, the temperature couldn’t have been better. Around 42 degrees. After the canon was shot, we were off. The bridge was slow, so that was to be expected and by looking at the race clock it was about an 8:15 mile. After that, I was right into a comfortable rhythm.

First 5K: 23:51 (7:41 pace).

Took a Power Gel at around 2.5 miles and clocked my 4th mile just to get an idea of pace. It was around 7:20 something. Feeling very comfortable. Coulda gone faster, but chose not to.

Second 5K: 22:59 (7:24)
10K: 46:50 (7:32)

Took my Gels as planned ever few miles. Good balance of water.

Third 5K: 23:14 (7:29)
15K: 1:10:04 (7:31)

Still felt I was holding back as planned. Strategy was to hold, hold, and hold on until I crossed mile 16 into Manhattan.

Fourth 5K: 22:59 (7:24)
20K: 1:33:03 (7:29)

Still holding, taking in gels and water. Nice and comfortable.

Half marathon: 1:38:06 (7:29)

Honestly, I don't remember much of the first half. But I do remember hitting the bridge and crossing the mat and yelling out: "Whew, half to go." Brooklyn was amazing.

Fifth 5K: 23:37 (7:36)
25K: 1:56:40 (7:31)

This part of the course was a little challenging in that there was a significant bridge. Guess I slowed down a bit but it didn't feel like it.

Finally, the bridge into Manhattan came. I felt I was fully prepared. The 3:15 group caught me at about 16. This was where my go point was. On the bridge, as they passed, I guzzled down the Enevertine and stuck to them. Then, about half-mile later I thought: If it's going to happen, it's going to happen now. So I drank down the other Enevertine and got some water. I stuck with these guys into the Bronx.

Sixth 5K: 22:55 (7:22)
30K: 2:19:35 (7:29)

I was feeling uncomfortable, but I knew I could do it with a little self-talk. I was in countdown mode. I passed 20-miles feeling confident I'd be in reach of a strong finish—which is far more valuable to me this go-round than a goal-time.

"Oh no," I said. I immediately grabbed a salt pill from my bag and took it down at the next water stop. Then, another half-mile or so it locked: the left hamstring. I hobbled for a few seconds and stretched it. I was able to pull out another decent mile but it was certainly slower.

Seventh 5K: 26:29 (8:31)
35K: 2:46:04 (7:38)

Then, it locked again. Stretched for a few seconds, ran. Then again. I had the energy to pick up and go, but the darn hamstring kept locking up. I'd say I stopped for about 5-10 seconds about 5 times.

Eighth 5K: 30:18 (9:45)
40K: 3:16:22 (7:54)

At this point, there was nothing I felt that I could do. Sure I was tired, but the energy for a strong finish was there. But whenever I tried picking up the pace, the hamstring just wouldn't have it. So frustrating.

Last 2K: 13:41 (11:00)
Final Time: 3:30:03 (8:01)

But… all in all I'm very happy with the race. Although I was in extreme pain, I didn't walk one step and salvaged a 9:37 PR. This next sentence is not meant to be cliche, but it had to be the one damn thing I ignored this training session. I didn't pay enough attention to stretching. One more lesson I guess.

I can honestly say, with confidence, this wasn't a bonk. The mind games didn't win. I'm getting closer to my goals. If I can chip away 10-minutes per race, it won't take too long. :)

posted by Gray @ 5:39 PM