My Fifth Marine Corps Marathon - Course PR by 7 Minutes!

With perfect weather and solid training, I ran my fifth Marine Corps Marathon. It was a glorious day where my result is the reward of good training. My 3:01:35 is a course personal best, my sixth fastest of my fifty-one marathons, and an experience I'm going to cherish for awhile. My time was good for 157th overall and 8th in my age group. I had no "bad" miles - I just need to run the tangents better, and I would have broken 3 hours.

Running the tangents is easier said than done. A large race like MCM with big streets and lots of turns makes it difficult not to run extra. Had I run perfectly, I would have broken 3 with a few seconds to spare. Perhaps if it wasn't hilly in the beginning, I may have also broken 3. But my strategy for the day was solid. I rode the Metro with Rachel and Adrienne. They picked me up at 5AM, and we were on the first Metro at Forest Glen. At Fort Totten, someone got off - too late for me to remind them that the Yellow Line is shut down currently. We transferred Metro Center to the Blue Line. At Gallery Place, I was able to alert a few riders to stay on since there is no Yellow Line. We got off at Pentagon City rather than Pentagon since the way to the athlete's village was to walk down from Pentagon to the same spot we were walking up to from Pentagon City. I figured fewer people would get off at our stop, and I was right. We chilled in the cold morning air, staying warm as we availed ourselves of the port-o-potties and baggage drop. We watched the servicemen skydive, then I walked north to meet Shlomo. He agreed to run with me at a 90 minute half marathon pace. At the half, he was going to take off and see how big of a negative split he could get (10 minutes as he finished in 2:50).

We also ran into Jed at the start. He stuck with us for a bit and kept us in sight for the first 8-9 miles. He's a few years younger than me. He ran a 3:07, an 8 minute PR and good for his first BQ. He credits finding us at the start for his race. I said he did the hard work! The first two miles, I was slow at 7:11 then 7:13. I wasn't warmed up yet, and there were hills. But, I have enough experience to not panic. It was the right strategy to run by feel and not try to get into my pace too early. Into the third mile, I found my rhythm and held steady. I found a group of guys aiming for 3 and we stuck together. Shawn was cheering on Rock Creek, and I think I heard Laura Ramos. I saw my old running buddy, Grace, cheering on her husband, Harrison. For the most part, I stayed in my game. When it got hard, I breathed. And I remembered my songs for the day (Better Now by Collective Soul and Orange Crush by R.E.M.). I hit the half exactly at 90 minutes, and Shlomo was off!

I thought I was slowing as we went towards the Lincoln, but staying within myself, there really wasn't a decline. I was strong along the Mall. I prepared myself for the 14th Street bridge. I actually ran it strong as I caught a lot of roadkill. In Crystal City, I saw Michael Pryce-Jones and his wife, Kathy. They encouraged me, and I ran through that area well. I held strong along the last few miles. In fact, I'm pleased that my worst two miles were my first two. My third worst (7:07) was the 26th miles, and then I kicked it into gear for the finish. Overall, another marathon in the books and another 3:01!

3:01:35 at mcm yesterday. 6th fastest of my 51 marathons. My fifth 3:01, second this year. 8th in my age group and 157th overall out of ten or so thousand. Perfect weather. I need to run the tangents better. Added over a quarter of a mile.

7:11/13/6:48/35/44/48/46/39/42/45/49/44/42/45/52/54/45/49/51/59/59/58/7:03/6:43/58/7:07 (3:21 / 6:52 pace for final .5)