As a tune up for the Chicago Marathon next month I used this race as a gauge for what I can expect next month. My long range goal is to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time in Chicago but I need to significantly improve upon my 4 hour time I set 4 months ago in Fargo. My goal in this race was to see if I can maintain my Projected marathon pace of 8 minutes/mile for the full 20 miles of this race.
It was an absolutely beautiful morning for a long race. Sunny but not warm with light winds. The course headed south from White Bear Lake HS for a few miles and then turned north toward Bald Eagle Lake. Two full loops around Bald Eagle and then back to the finish at White Bear Lake HS.
The first couple miles seemed very easy and I felt myself holding back. When we got to the lake around mile 3 I felt good. I had my own personal coach/trainer with me. I brought Gail and her bike along. Gail followed me along the course on her bike snapping pictures and providing me frozen banana slices every other mile or so. This was my big experiment for the race. I really struggle finding nourishment that doesn't upset my stomach during marathons. The gels, bars and other products have not worked for me.
One lap around the lake complete and only 8 more miles to go! I help my pace at 8 minutes/mile - mile after mile. The bananas were working as well! No upset stomach and they did provide the nurishment I needed. The only problem is I don't think they will let Gail follow me on bike in Chicago!
As the mile wound down my confidence that I could maintain this pace for a full marathon began to grow. My final mile back to the high school was a 7:30 pace. My overall time for the race was 2:39:02 (7:57/mile). It worked! I maintained my goal pace. Yes, I will have 6.2 additional miles to maintain this pace in Chicago which won't be easy, but for the first time in my training I really feel like I have a good shot at it!
I finished 28th of 157 finishers and 5th of 13 in my age group.
http://www.finalstretch.com/results/ready_to_rock/2008_20_mile_overall.htm
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