“Confidence is not some nonphysical quality snatched from the spiritual dimension and installed in the mind. It is the feeling that arises when the body’s knowledge of itself is in harmony with a person’s dreams.” – Matt Fitzgerald
After seven months of training, marathon weekend finally arrived. The day before the race, I stopped by the Pace Team table to meet the members and suggestions on running an efficient race. At first, I was very ambitious. Well, over ambitious to be exact. Based on past race performances, I was getting faster and stronger. One problem, the races were smaller distances. I understood that I could not run under seven minutes over the course of the marathon distance. A pacer asked me, what my previous time was (Vermont City 2017, 3:37:15). He recommended I run with the 3:30 or 3:38 pace group. After that discussion, I agreed that running a 7:00 mile/ 3:05 pace group was going to be a difficult task. The pace team gave me some excellent advice but I went against it slightly. Result of being over ambitious, a term that will be used several times over this recap.
April 29th, 6:45 AM Sunday morning, I arrive for the start at Monmouth Park in Oceanport. After stretching and dropping my bag off at gear check, it is time to take my place at the start line. Just after 7:30, the horn sounds and the runners are off. As the race began, the rain stopped, clouds started to open, and the temperatures gradually increased towards the fifties. Mile 1 started off really good with a 7:23 pace. Mile 2, I had to make an unexpected detour but got back into the race quickly. At around the 10 kilometer, I caught back up with the 3:15 pace group and held up for the next seven miles. Maybe it was the cheers from the crowd that got me going in the early portion of the race.
Around the halfway mark (13.1 miles), I was losing the 3:15 group falling slightly behind. This is where I started to slow up. My original plan was to run 7:15 miles the first half and pick up the pace slightly in the second half of the race. That all changed with about ten miles to go. Being over ambitious was catching up with me. I wanted to pick up the pace as planned but my body would not allow it. I never looked at my watch once because the times were posted at each mile marker. I was looking forward to running on the boardwalk portion of the marathon course. It was awesome hearing the spectators and volunteers cheering all the runners on. As I approached the final 10 kilometers, I was on pace to set a personal best.
The last 10 kilometers were my slowest (miles 20-Finish) hitting at least eight minute miles. I felt a brief period of sadness running on the boardwalk. Despite feeling a small pull in my right quad, I carried on towards the finish line. Getting closer to the finish line, my emotions changed because it turned out to be a pretty good day.
Finishing on the boardwalk was an awesome feeling. Definitely a nice change from the hard pavement on all marathon courses. My final time was 3:24:01, inside the top 300 overall, and a five minute personal best. Overall, it turned out to be a wonderful day. I met a so many wonderful people and heard so many inspiring stories. The course was awesome and the spectators were wonderful. Thank you very much event organizers, sponsors, pace teams, volunteers, law enforcement, and medical staff. New Jersey, you were awesome. Finishing my fourth marathon was a tremendous success along with a wonderful experience.
The beautiful feeling running a marathon is learning more about yourself every time you step up onto the course with other runners. It has given me an excuse to travel to different states and meet so many people along the way. For all my readers, my one piece of advice is do not go into a big race over ambitious. Plans usually change over the course of the run. Always be prepared to make adjustments.
Until next time, get outside and lace up those sneakers. It is a beautiful day.
No comments:
Post a Comment