Considering how beautiful our weather has been since mid August, today's weather was not exactly what I hoped for (45 degrees, blustery winds with light rain). Despite the weather over 1200 runners entered and ran the race. My goal was to break 41 minutes for the first time which would be a personal best (ran 41:04 on July 25th). Gail, Emily, Soda and Murphy came along to provide support.
The race began in front of the State Capitol next to the marathon finish line and followed the last 3 miles of the TC marathon course in reverse before the turnaround where we retraced our steps back to the marathon finish line. The first mile was an uphill climb to Summit Avenue which I ran in 6:44 - 10 seconds slower than my goal pace. We headed due west on Summit for the next two miles before reaching the half way turnaround point. I ran the second mile in 6:33 and the 3rd in 6:38.
Making the turnaround I had some ground to make up to achieve my goal. I ran a 6:15 4th mile, my best of the race and was back in business with a 6:29 5th mile. Just 1.2 miles to go, mostly downhill but into a stiff wind. I just tried to stay focused on my form and run as efficiently as I could through my exhaustion. Extra motivation came when the Capitol came into view and I could hear the race announcer over the loud speaker and see the finish line in the distance. I ran a 6:21 6th mile and averaged a 5:57 pace over the extra 0.2 miles. My official time was 40:32, achieving my goal and a new PR! I finished 14th overall among 1,238 finishers and 1st in my age group of 38.
Well now it's on to New York City in less than 4 weeks! I hope to experience that perfect marathon race weather I've been longing for in my previous 5 marathons - 55 degrees, dry, and calm. Let's see what the good people of New York can deliver!
http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=11772&relist_record_type=result&lower_bound=0&upper_bound=1235&use_previous_sql=1&group_by=default#racetop
