I couldn't have asked for a better result - I'm extremely happy! I won't go through the whole race play by play but I will recap the highlights:
My first mile was 5:51. I felt like I just committed the cardinal sin of going out too fast but I was talking, giving the bands the thumbs up, just having a great time and hardly breathing. I really had the confidence I could keep this up. I was running with the majority of the lead women (save it a couple Kenyan women) so it was nice to have the crowd cheering for them and thinking it was for me... Mile after mile I was hitting in the upper 5:50s, even had one mile at 5:27 (probably marked wrong) but I never felt like I got out of my comfort zone until late. I was regularly taking in a sip of water every other mile, ate a Power Gel at 50 minutes, 1.40, and again at 2.10.
Things sorta changed when I hit mile 17 as I started to feel a little fatigued and for the first time I felt myself pushing out of that zone. But from mile 17 to 22 I was regularly hitting 6:05s so I was still on pace to get under 2.40. As Josh Brimhall told me before the race, "a fast marathon is no joke" and he was right. My effort out there today rank among my hardest 50s for sure! When I hit mile 24 I cracked with a 6:20 and I felt like I was going faster... I would speed up for 30 seconds or so and then the motor would quit. I guess you can say I left it all out on the course today. In the end I sprinted with Ken Pliska to the line, I beat him by 3 feet but somehow they gave him the masters win... oh well, no biggie I got my PR and that's all that matters.
When I started training for this marathon 7 weeks ago I thought I'd be pushing it to hit 6:15s. After a couple speed workouts I re-evaluated with 6:08s in mind. And today I end with 6:02s. If I had one piece of advice to anyone it would be: Race the way you train and stay in the comfort zone for as long as possible. When the motor quits -dig deep- and know you gave it your all.
Here are my splits for today:
5K - 18:30
10K - 36:49
Half - 1.16:59
20 mile - 1.58:54
And last I leave you with the highlight of my trip
Frank Shorter and II asked him about his 5K race with Pre in 74. It was amazing to hear the story in his words. I got goose bumps.... Frank says he still gets goose bumps some 30 years later. And just for the record, he didn't let Pre win.
19 comments:
Solid solid race. Well done.
Well done Fast One. Great to hear how you felt. Congrats. I really thought the highlight of the trip would be a different photo.
Aric
Awesome race result, man. You threw it down. Way to go!
~stubert.
http://www.runsturun.com
Great job! Though your second half was way too slow, typical of the NoCRUD guys.
Congrats on a great run! That is fast.
In fact, your race suggests to me that you may have finally found your distance and surface so it is my suggestion that you focus on the roads this year to maximize your strengths.
Nice work Scott! Congratulations on a very fast race. Your season is off to a great start!
Hey great job Scott - I know how hard you trained for this. You no longer have to cringe when the marathon PR subject come up around a certain CRUD guy!
Paul
Good race! That's a good time.
Nice job, roadie! That is a great effort, be proud. I'm curious what Aric thought the highlight photo would have been?
Fantastic race!
Thanks all! I appreciate the good words but I can honestly say "one and done" for the road marathon. I have a tremendous amount of respect for those guys and gals that run the road all year - that's some discipline right there!
Brad - I'll post the picture Aric was referring to later this week.
Congrats- nice job getting your goal! Road marathons are certainly tough- the pounding on the hard surface and fast speeds take a toll. Congrats again.
What a great run! Be proud - you deserve it.
tim
Way to kill it Scott. I knew you were going under 2:40.
Sorry to say it, but getting that close to a 5:xx per mile marathon has to leave you feeling like you might need to get back out there ... just one more time.
I ran a road marathon in December, and I felt the same way afterwards - about twice as sore as after having run a trail 50 miler.
The road marathon is a HARD race.
Congratulations. Way to focus and meet those objectives!
Onward.
Great marathon Scott. What are your upcoming plans?
great job scott. that's fast.......billy
Hey Dave Holt,
Didn't mean to side step your question, just forgot. I'm doing Caumsett 50K in New York in March and then back to the trails for the rest of the year. A few 50 mile, 2 100s, and a 100K. My schedule is on the side of my blog with links. Hope to see you soon
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