Hello Everybody. So this was marathon number three for me. My A+ race would be to break 4 hours but I would be happy with just finishing faster than my previous best of 4:03:01. Of course after seeing the weather the day before the race, rainy and wind gusts of about 30-40 mph I was prepared to readjust expectations. I will start out by saying this, I really lucked out with some perfect weather. Temps in the mid 50's from the start to the end of the race and no wind to speak of and no rain. This is not the norm in Ireland from what I hear. No need to adjust expectations due to conditions.So I started out in the 3:45 to 4:15 corral. Well behind the 4 hour pace balloon but it was too difficult to weave my way up to that group. The first three miles of the race were really crowded as we were running in the actual city of Dublin with some 10,000 people. One of the first turns was actually a 90 degree right turn which brought all the runners to a slow walk. Yikes! Because of my handy GPS watch and the lap button I knew just how slow the first couple of miles were. Number 1-10:36, Number 2-9:05, Number 3-9:31. Yikes! For a finish of 4 hours, the average pace should be 9:09. So after the first 3 miles, I was about 2 minutes slower than I should have been.
Let it be said, that when you run a marathon you can REALLY shot your self in the foot by going out to fast. One might be able to deal with going out too fast in a 5k/10k/or even a half marathon but a marathon is a whole different story. The wall is real and hitting it is as painful as it sounds. (I will talk about this later.) I obviously hadn't gone out too fast, but what to do now? Having run 2 previous marathon and from gaining knowledge by talking to other running during the course of my training, I knew the key regarding going out too slow-Don't panic! Just gradually increase your pace and before you know it you will be on track. If one panic's then one risks the chance of running too fast and shooting one's own feet. Sure I could have run 2 x 8 minute miles, but that would have greatly depleted the gas can for later. Knowing better, I gradually increased my pace. I ran a few of miles in the 8:40 range and a mile slightly quicker thanks to a nice down hill stretch and before I knew it I was back on track. Overall, I really didn't start to feel the run until about mile 7 when an old hamstring injury started to say 'Hi, remember me?'. But other than that I felt good and said, 'I am not going to let this bother me'. About mile 10, is when I gradually realized that I had quite some distance left to go but I still felt good. The plan at this point was to gradually increase my speed and catch the 4 hour pace group and then let them do the work and just cruise in with them to the finish. If the pacers were good and got across the finish when they were supposed to and if I finished with them then I would have my sub 4 hour marathon because I started behind them. Pretty slick plan! (Co developed by myself, my uncle, and a friend Scott.) At about mile 12, I caught sight of the 4 hour pace group. But remember there should be no sprinting to catch them. I finally caught the pace group at mile 17. (This was a little later than it could have been but I was running with my uncle and he was struggling a little.) After running about 2 miles with them, I realized one important thing. Mainly that I felt good. A minor aspect of this being that I didn't want to rely on someone else to dictate how I finished this race. What if the pacers were shy of the 4 hour mark and I blindly followed them off the cliff? I did not want to be a lemming, so I left the pacers around mile 19 or 20 with the hope that I wouldn't see them again. At this point in my mind I was preparing a plan B if you will. I was thinking that if the 4 hour pace group caught me that I would use sheer mental strength to join them and not be passed. (The wall is mostly physical but partially mental.) To make a long story short, or a long race short. I finished in a 3:54:50. A PR by just over 8 minutes. And under 4 hours by about 5 minutes. Yeah! Do the math-the pacers never caught me. So this is how I ran my fastest marathon. A negative split. And a last 10k faster than the first 10k. So let me mention "the wall" for a brief minute. In all of the marathons that I have run, I can say the following is true: marathons are broken into two halves. Half number one being the first 20 miles, and half number two being the last 6.2 miles. During the last 10k of a marathon, you can see lots of visible signs of the wall. People walking, people limping, people laying the in the road, people bleeding. Sounds kind of bad doesn't it? But with proper training you can stack the odds in your favor so that you will not be a causality of war. For all my marathons, I have trained equally as hard if you will. I did the speed work. I did the tempo work. I did the long runs. I lifted weights. I got to the starting line of all my races knowing that I had done everything I could. I had confidence in my training and was ready to put the training to the test. Bring on the 26.2 miles! And after my first 2 marathons I didn't think I hit the wall. I had slowed down the last 10k but I didn't walk. But I did wonder if mere mortals could really run the elusive negative split marathon? Or was I doomed to running a 3:55 marathon pace to get me across the finish line at 4 hours, running a faster 'first half' to provide a cushion for a slower last 10k. After running this most recent marathon, I can say that negative splits for mere mortals is possible. And regarding my first 2 marathons that although I didn't 'hit the wall' 100%, I did hit it to some extent. Now the wise student might say, "Ah wise grasshopper share your knowledge with me, how can I run a negative spilt marathon." And to that I give you this advice. Train well, pray to the running god's for good weather, be prepared to adjust expectations, and have a plan as to how you want to run your race. Now I would like to thank everyone in the Finley Running group for putting up with some interesting emails this past summer. Thanks Andrew for hosting the track workouts and hill workouts. Umstead really was fun! Thanks to Adam (and James) for holding me accountable on the long runs with regards to pace. If I were running alone, I would have gone the distance but I guarantee that it would have taken me longer. Thank you Boulder Striders. I feel that I have channeled my inner Colleen De Reuck. (Look her up, she is pretty amazing! 45 yrs old and competing with 20/30 somethings.) As I will most likely be training for a half marathon this winter, I look forward to running with more of you. Until then... Keep Running! Anna