Marathon

"Marathoning provides you with a unique challenge. It pushes your body to its limits, but above all, it challenges you to come to terms with yourself, your fears and your strengths. Through the process you gain a deeper knowledge of yourself, if you are prepared to look" - Gary Elliott, Allison Roe's Coach

It has been nearly a month since I have written here. I intend to write here at least once a week but the time just seems to slip away.

The Baltimore Marathon is Saturday, my 5th consecutive Baltimore since its inaugural back in 2001. This is also my 15th marathon overall so this is somewhat of a milestone. I will also run a marathon in my 10th state this year.

I decided to deploy a bit of a different strategy leading up to Baltimore. I combined my 5 long runs (18-21 milers) with some up-tempo half-marathon races. My long runs as well as some specific workouts were on hills as the Baltimore marathon has an uphill climb in miles 16-22.

On September 18 I ran the Philadelphia Distance run, my first PDR and certainly not my last. I enjoyed this race quite a bit - excellent course, support and organization, except for the crappy EAS drink offered at aid stations. My time was respectable for a tempo run being 1:47:11. I felt best after the first 4 miles as I seemed find a relaxed pace. This is a large race with 8500 finishers (which is actually bigger than Baltimore). I wanted to feel the crowds and take the time to find my stride in the mass of runners. It just so happened that Deanna Kastor broke the women's American record of 21 years held by Joan Benoit Samuelson. Overall, it was an good day and I got exactly what I wanted out of it.

Two weeks later on October 2 I ran the Jersey Shore Half Marathon. I went into this race for it to truly be a tempo run at or near marathon pace. This may have been a mistake but I felt great and pushed the temp running a 1:44:55. I also ran a negative split in the second half which is quite rare for me but something I have always strived for. This is a double loop course so it is a bit more conducive to a negative split. It was a warm day but I fueled perfectly with both Gu and water. After mile 7, I just seemed to have a nice pace locked in as I passed nearly 20 or so runners in the last half. Every once in a while you get races like this where everything just clicks. This is my second race like this in 2005. I ran a 1:16 10-miler back in March that was just as perfect as this one. The common denominator in both that I went into each race with relaxed with little expectation. I just wanted to run a nice relaxed pace. Doing this for the start, as opposed to my normal quick-start and die approach (habit), appeared to be the right formula. Of course, everyone says to start off with a slower pace but I can never seem to get it done. In these two races, I did just that and got it done!

It is now marathon time and it has been 10 months since my last one. Frank Shorter told Kenny More in Sports Illustrated "You have to forget your last marathon before you run another, Your mind knows what's coming." Have I forgotten about Las Vegas? I never forget about the experience but I don't remember the pain which I suspect is a good thing. I know the pain will come both mentally and physically but the idea is delay it as long as possible. Do I dare make a prediction on time? I certainly have a time-goal but I don't have an expectation. My PR (Baltimore last year) is 3:48:01 so I am hoping to be around 3:45. Being under 3:45 would make for a great day! Of course, as I age, getting to the finish line and embellishing the experience is really what it is all about. This doesn't mean that I don't go out and run my best race. I always do. During the marathon last year, I repeated to myself, "leave everything out on the course." That is the way I run - I leave everything out on the course!