Just a beautiful day for a marathon! The starting temperature was somewhere in the mid-30's and there was virtually no wind. It was a great day to hit my PR Goal and at the end of the day, I did a 3 hour 35 minute and 5 second marathon.
Started the morning with text messages to Todd Luther, Curt Leonard, Matt Sunshine and Barry Moscowitz to make sure everyone was up and ready to go. Got down to the American Airlines Center around 645a to park and hang out at the Dallas Athletes tent.
My pre-race strategy was to run with the 3:40 pace group throughout the day. I wanted to run between 3:40 and 3:45 and get a PR. I felt this was achievable and was a good run compared to my 3:57 in '03 and my 3:54 in '04.
As always, I started out quicker than I plan (one of my race day weaknesses). The 3:30 pace leader was about 10 yards in front of me for the first 3 or 4 miles and we were averaging anywhere from 7:45 to 8 minute miles.
I was feeling great and my nutrition was dialed in. I was taking in water and PowerAid at each water station without stopping and was taking my Accel Gel every 45 minutes.
I fully committed to staying with the 3:30 pace group because my heart rate was in a good zone and I just felt fantastic. Once I hit the hills at mile 19/20, I fell back from the pace leader and I knew it was time to really focus on keeping the upcoming miles in the 8:30 to 8:45 per mile range.
Huge kudos to Matt Sunshine who was out there on his bike. Unfortunately, a recent foot injury kept him from running the marathon this weekend, but he rode the entire day checking in on people and cheering us on. Matt caught up to me at about mile 21 and stayed with me until mile 23. Those last 5 miles have always been a lesson in "staying focused", and I basically just put a song in my head and start clicking off the miles.
I really had 2 goals for those last miles: 1) run quicker than 9 minute miles and 2) don't stop. Dallas Athlete Mark Daniel passed me at about mile 25 and we basically had enough energy to say 'good job'. I kept him in my sights as we headed through downtown Dallas.
They changed up the finish line this year by having us finish one street farther West than last year, so you didn't see the finish line after going under the highway, but had to make a left turn, then another right.
It was worth it because the street was lined with people all yelling and cheering people on. I crossed under the finish line and all I saw was 3:35 and I knew I had beaten my goal. My family was just to the right of the finish line and I caught a glimpse of them once I stopped running and that was an amazing feeling. My dad came out to this year's race and it was awesome seeing him after the finish line.
I really think this year's improvements came down to a few things:
1) I have been training with faster runners than I was used to (Curt and Todd, you know who you are)
2) I have been doing 20 minute stretching exercises 3 to 4 times a week for a few months
3) Hour long massage therapy about every other week and every week, 3 weeks before the marathon (Pauline, you are the best!)
4) I only stopped once during the race. I had to take a quick bathroom break at about mile 21; other than that, I grabbed water and PowerAid through the aid stations, never stopping to drink
Now, get a little rest and continue the base training for next year's triathlon schedule.
[race results] for 2005 White Rock Marathon
_____
tags: marathon | white rock marathon
