Saturday, October 10th - Hartford Marathon!
After getting dropped off about a mile from the start, we jogged over and got into the Seeded start. Pete and I were positioned in the 3rd row, we got out relaxed and stayed right with one and other. The plan was to run 605-615's for the first 15-20, the first mile starts with some down hill and you still have the half guys with you. We hit the first mile in 6:00 all things considered right where we should be.
The next few miles clipped by around the same and we hit the first 10k in 37:40 (6:05 pace) somewhere around 8m I started to notice my quads already getting tight, this was a little concerning but I also figured they would loosen back up. Shortly after this point Pete started to bring the pace back down, I tried to cover but wasn't keeping up. At 10m (61:07) I was back about 10secs of Pete and figured I would latch onto a group and keep plugging away.
I was able to get with a group which consisted of the 2nd & 3rd place females. My pace had slowed but I was working with the group and we seemed to be staying steady, between 15 & 16 I made a quick bathroom break. I was surprised by this as I'm usually not that hydrated. There were some plus and minus to this, I no longer was thinking of having to piss but now was 35-40 secs back of the pack and alone.
The next 5-6m I ran solo trying to get back up with the group, but wasn't really making up any ground. I had myself a 1st class ticket on the pain train and no one to suffer with! Around 23 I heard Renee and Erin and was able to snap out of it for a little, there were a few people coming back to me and I pressed to catch them. I could also hear someone closing in and the cheers being closer and closer, I got a quick look around a turn and saw it was Dan Verrington. I knew he would catch me (extremely tough) but also knew he would drag me along with him. Just after 25 he went by and I tried to follow, I was able to keep Dan close enough that I caught some more people in front of me but no quite close enough to catch him.
I finished up 30th in 2:48:22 (18 secs off my PR) although it wasn't the time I was looking for I was happy to take a step in the right direction. This was my best marathon since my debut and I know the training is working, I also know I need to add a few more elements (some 10-15m tempos) into the mix.
