Second marathon in two weeks in the books.
Posted by
Dano (aka dano)
Nov 10 '19, 13:24
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Doing a bigger famous marathon like Marine Corps is great but there’s also something to be said about the smaller local race. I left my house 45 minutes before start time and parked about 200 yards from the starting line.
I signed up last minute because I really wanted to break 5 hours which I didn’t at Marine Corps. It was 25 degrees cooler and 100% dryer than two weeks ago. It really was perfect marathon weather.
I told myself that this time I would run a smart race. I started slow just keeping the 5 hour pacer in my sight. I had to pee almost immediately so I stopped at a port-a-potty at around mile 2. I didn’t panic and try to catch the 5 hour pacer right away and instead figured I could gradually catch up.
I stepped funny around mile 3 and felt a sharp pain in my knee and thought oh crap. I kept running and the pain went away by mile 4 so I dodged a bullet. I caught up to the 5 hour pacer around mile 6, but I also noticed that my legs were already starting to feel sore and tired. I started to worry that I may not have given myself the recovery time I needed from the last marathon but there wasn’t much to do but keep running.
At mile 8 I decided to pick up the pace a bit and pull away from the 5 hour group. My legs were sore but they were working. With so many fewer runners it was nothing like the constant running in a pack like Marine Corps. There were plenty of times where I was running by myself. That also meant that I never found someone with a hot ass to pace.
My sore legs may have been a blessing in the middle of the race because it made me more conscious not to pick up the pace too much. I ran miles 12-20 at a good pace but within myself. I was also making sure to get 2 waters at every water stop and eat my gels at every 45-50 minutes. It was the first time I’ve gotten to mile 20 and could still run continuously.
At mile 23 my hamstring started cramping and I had a mini panic. I started trying to calculate how much of a buffer I had on 5 hours. Instead of walking I decided to completely stop and take a minute to stretch. That seemed to help but I kept feeling twinges.
At mile 24 was the fireball station where the guy was giving out shots of fireball. I usually skip it but decided to take it today figuring maybe it would relax my muscles and help with the cramping. Maybe it was coincidence or placebo but my cramping went away and I was not only able to run but also pick up my pace for the last 3 miles.
I even had an actual kick at the end when I went around the last turn to the straight away to the finish. My time was 4:54:45 which was 17 minutes faster than Marine Corps and 48 minutes faster than last year’s Harrisburg.
Now I’m done with marathons at least until next year.
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Responses:
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Awesome. I'm just like you, also done with marathons until next year. (NM) -- (edited)
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Marlowe
Nov 10, 15:13
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Damn! Very well done!!! -- nm
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Krusty
Nov 10, 15:07
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WTG Dano! -- nm
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Amoxy
Nov 10, 15:03
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Congrats! Great job. I’m lamenting no hawt ass to pace with. Bummer. Apparently you didn’t need it! -- nm
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Pippy, Dipping the dip
Nov 10, 14:16
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Nicely done -- nm
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JaxSean
Nov 10, 14:13
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This is a very clever ad for Fireball. -- nm
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Qale
Nov 10, 14:12
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BOOM! -- nm
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Spawn
Nov 10, 14:03
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Well done! -- nm
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znufrii, human scum
Nov 10, 13:51
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great job -- nm
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Peglegpete
Nov 10, 13:47
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Sub 5!
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JD
Nov 10, 13:45
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Fantastic job! -- nm
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spamlet
Nov 10, 13:42
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Don Homer! -- nm
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Beaker
Nov 10, 13:41
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You are all that is man! -- nm
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David
Nov 10, 13:33
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Fantastic. Congratulations. -- nm
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pmb
Nov 10, 13:31
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!! -- nm
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budice
Nov 10, 13:25
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