Elevation Profile Tacoma City MarathonSometimes even an experienced long distance runner is reminded of the three cardinal rules of marathon. They are of course 1)Pace, 2) Pace, 3) Pace. Two weeks ago at Big Sur I let those three rules slip from my grasp and was reminded at about mile 22 that you must respect the distance. My reward came of course in the form of leg cramps and some short painful death marches.
With that experience clearly etched into my mind I chose to hang with the 3:40 pacers at Tacoma City Marathon today. My typical MO is generally to go out too fast. I have proven that this technique does not work on a consistent basis but have resisted to learn from my mistakes. In 53 marathon or greater distances I have only run negative splits twice. Once in Seattle which with hills late in the course is somewhat of an oddity and once today. What both days had in common was that I started the races out at a reasonable pace just below my goal time.
The pacers for the 3:40 crowd were Marathon Maniac #1 and Marathon Maniac #2, Steve Yee and Chris Warren respectively. I hung with them for the first 20 miles and then picked up the pace. Instead of my death march from two weeks ago I actually had some wheels and finished strong with a 3:34:17 and a Boston Qualifier.
I've got a busy weekend and a couple of crazy work days coming up but will post some pictures (I didn't get many) when I can get back on my home computer.
Cheers!
Eric
22 comments:
3:34 is a BQ ... Dang you're old!
Just kidding.
Great race, that's only about 10 minutes faster than my PR.
Superstar!
Awesome Eric! Older and wiser....hah!
Wise planning...and a BQ as a reward!! Congrats!!!
Nice race! You looked awesome when I saw you at the finish, I can't even imagine looking so fresh with a BQ time. Way to go!
Totally awesome! Congrats on the Boston Qualifier!!
Negative split and Boston qualifier - how cool. You and Michelle had an awesome weekend.
Nice work on nailing the BQ! How did #1 and #2 do pacing? I heard rumors of bonk city for most folks in the 3:30-ish range for some reason.
Negative splits and a BQ, you don't mess around :-) Congrats!
Wow, you qualified for Boston. Congratulations! I hope you plan to do that race. It takes a lot of discipline to hold back in a marathon. I'll try to follow your good example for San Diego.
Nice race! Obviously, you didn't follow our usual rules about pacing.
Sweet! Sometimes you need a not so good race experience to remind you how to do it right. Congrats. : )
Congrats on the Boston qualifier! I will only qualify if I get old and am still running! Missed Tacoma cause I had to do Mac Forest.
Nice! Isn't it so much less painful to run smart? You would think that we'd learn, but somehow, sometimes, we still just bust out too fast, too soon. Glad to hear you had a smart weekend!
Meghan
You are a man that writes his own rules and continues to amaze us all. MACHINE!!!!! When do you ever sleep between all of the running:)
negative splits have such a bad connotation anyway. i try to avoid them whenever possible.
Great running with you. I tried to keep up after you picked up the pace at mile 20 but was unable to. Still you pulled me along to a fast finish. Congrats on the BQ
WOW! That's an amazing time. Nice work!
I want o hear about what you challenged yourself to this week. REALLY!!!! Something new.....
Wait a minute.... 2 marathons in two weeks... ARE YOU CRAZY!?!... Oh no, I forgot... You're an ultra runner!! ;o)
Great job on the pacing thing! :o)
Great race Eric, nice job holding yourself back and finishing with a kick. Hope to see u in Boston in '09 if come I'll take u for a running tour of the city.
Way to go on the pace! I'm glad that I'm not the only one who knows, but doesn't always learn. ;)
By the way, do you choose your runs based on the insanity of the elevation changes? :)
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