26 down, change to go

0, 26mi, aidsmarathon

Start time: 10/01/05, 7:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 26 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 3:1
Average pace: 12:45min/mile

Ta da! The last long run of the season was today… aka the big 26-miler. Like any distance over 14 miles, we ran at a slower pace than our normal training pace, in order to keep from hurting yourself. We were supposed to hit a 13:00min/mile pace, but I think everyone was just too amped up (and it’s hard, to be honest, to slow yourself down two minutes per mile) and our average (not including very long water stops and several bathroom breaks for the group) was really closer to a 12:45min/mile.

We had a lot of people out on the trail, both in our group and out there in general. It’s always fun to see familiar faces: grok was coaching, jhim was running, and threegoldfish was water volunteering. All of them brought big smiles to my face every time I saw them; it makes such a huge difference out there.

Our group did a great job of staying together; we had one person stop after 6 miles because they were suffering from a cold and belatedly realized that discretion was the better part of valor, and two runners zoomed off into the distance with about three miles to go, but no real incidents were going on. Everyone was looking good and strong, and I was proud to be both leading the group as well as running with them.

Best of all? Despite being at a deliberately slower pace than what’s planned for race day, and with some hugely long stops for people to use the restrooms and such, both Julie and I beat our finishing time for the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon. (Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is that the practice marathon will be about an hour longer than your real marathon.) Quite honestly, barring disaster I think we’re going to have a tremendous race on the big day itself. 29 days and counting!

6 thoughts on “26 down, change to go”

  2. Will MCM have the live updates for runners this year. I remember when Devaney ran they did but it was so horribly slow… would like to track you and Jules.

    1. Yeah, they will–I’ll be curious to hear how well (or not so well) they work this year. 2004’s live results were an improvement over 2003 (which infamously signalled my cell phone that Julie had just passed the 10K mark when in reality she was around mile 24 by then), but with all the extra people this year it might overload again. 🙂

      1. Oh yeah, I had Devaney’s times sent to my cell phone. I only got one, well after he had finished and I talked with him. I think I’ll go investigate what the are going to do and when to sign up, etc. Not too much longer!

      2. Map Track – new feature
        ActiveNetwork

        This new feature allows spectators to track a runner on a simplified Course Map and follow their progress as they run the race. Their position on the course will be projected in real-time along the course map using their latest pace data. A status bar keeps track of the runner’s progress and is updated with new pace information every time a runner crosses a split location. It’s the next best thing to being at the event.

        AND

        The Marine Corps Marathon will transmit LIVE splits and finishing times to the internet. Each runner’s time at designated checkpoints during the race will be transmitted to our website hosted by ActiveNetwork.

Comments are closed.