March 15, 2003
Start 0:09
This year the chip is being used to time the marathon here. Therefore, I don’t have to worry about getting too close to the front. The temperature is 42 degrees, and I am wearing just my shorts and a thin, short-sleeve t-shirt. I am not wearing my Oakleys today because I want to be able to wipe the sweat out of my eyes easily.Mile 1 7:17
This is a very nice opening mile. I am running with a couple of friends for as long as they care to run my pace. My plan is to try to keep my miles in the 7:20ish range.Mile 2 7:20
The temperature is perfect, and I am just barely beginning to sweat. My hands are slightly cold, but nothing to worry about. The only problem at this point is that my left groin is slightly strained. I tweaked it last Saturday while playing touch football with some guys from THE LIFE.Mile 3 7:23
One of my friends, Brad, thinks that this is a perfect day—weather wise. However, there is a slight breeze, but then again we are right on the boardwalk beside the ocean. Anyway, both of my friends begin to peel off all of the layers they are wearing.Mile 4 7:17
My running is comfortable, but I don’t know if I have a 3:10 marathon in me today. I think I better run cautiously. My friends drop off their extra layers when we see one of their wives and kids.Mile 5 7:15
I guess I will stay with these two as long as I don’t have to push too hard. They both seem ready to run. This isn’t too fast yet, but any faster and it will be time to let them go. I am drinking a full cup of water at each aid station.Mile 6 7:08
Now this is definitely too fast for me at this point. It is much better to save more for later. Even before I see my split at the mile marker, I have let my two friends, Brad and Tim, get ahead of me by about 20 yards or so.Mile 7 7:37
I conscientiously slow down to see what kind of mile time I run when I am only coasting with no effort to push. This is a little slow, so I will push just slightly.Mile 8 7:23
The past two years I have had to draft very closely because the wind was strong enough to effect me. However, so far this year, it is not a problem. There is some wind, but I think it is only about 5-10mph. My slight push gets me the mile times I want. Now I will get to see how well I can hold this.Mile 9 7:27
Miles 8-11 are mostly uphill. This is the only real hill on the course, and this one is very gradual. I am pushing a little bit more in order to maintain decent mile times.Mile 10 7:25
At this point, my time is 1:13 or so. I am probably averaging about 7:20 per mile. I am very satisfied with this effort so far. Thoughts going through my mind include staying hydrated and possibly catching Brad and Tim. I will get to see them at the turn around point around mile 14.Mile 11 7:21
Things are going well, but about the time I decide to draft off of someone, they seem to slow down. So I am continuing to try to find the right person to pace/draft off of. I turn onto Fort Story and most of the time on this base, I will be exposed to the wind.Mile 12 7:10
This mile is quick, but the reason it is quick is that I found myself in between packs of runners. I spend the majority of this mile pushing hard to catch up with the group ahead of me.Mile 13 7:24
After the last mile which was a little fast, I settle back into my comfort zone pace. There are a few of us hanging around, but nobody seems to be setting a consistent pace. I am also being drafted off of by at least one runner.Mile 14 7:33
My halfway split is 1:36:10. If I can run a negative split (2nd half faster than the first half) I can still get a 3:10 today. By the way, my best is 3:10:44 at Hartford in 1999. Either way, I am on a pace to finish under 3:15. I see Brad and Tim just before the turn around, and they are probably about two minutes ahead of me. They look very comfortable, and I doubt that I am going to catch them today unless they really crash.Mile 15 7:42
I eat my Access Bar and prepare myself for the last 10 miles. On my long training runs, I always try to run the last 10 miles at a quicker pace.Mile 16 7:26
Having finished my Access Bar, I get back to the pace I want to be running. Now, all I have to do is crank my speed up a little, and this might turn out to be a great marathon effort.Mile 17 7:22
One more mile to go and then I will be off of Fort Story. I feel like my energy level is staying high, and maybe I can still catch Brad and Tim. Other runners around me are also starting to pick up the effort. Picking up the effort doesn’t mean that any of us are necessarily running any faster, but it is obvious that it is time to begin racing.Mile 18 7:07
There are about four or five of us that are surging back and forth. I get on a good momentum roll and get in front of a couple of them, and then one of them will respond to get back in front of our little loose cluster.Mile 19 7:20
This is another good mile, but I don’t feel like the race is “coming to me.” I keep pushing hard, but I am wondering how much more push is left in my tank.Mile 20 7:50
I seem to have lost my focus for a minute and this is what happened. I am also still walking at the water stops as I drink. I think I will just take a sip on the go from now on—if I don’t have enough water in me at this point, it isn’t going to make a huge difference. Besides there are only six miles to go.Mile 21 7:46
I am attempting to focus hard and push myself even harder. It seems to take me a while to get back up to speed. I also don’t know how much faster I can turn my legs over at this point.Mile 22 7:36
Okay this is a good mile for this stage in the game—only four more to go. I start to do some mental calculations in my head to figure out if I can still make a 3:15. However, the 0.2 miles at the end really makes the equation more difficult.Mile 23 7:52
Well at least I have kept it under 8 minutes! The hardest part is that nobody close to me is slowing down and so we are all maintaining our relative position with one another.Mile 24 8:03
Now I am upset because I let myself slow down even further. However, the race time stands at 2:59:01 when I pass this mile mark. That means I have 16 minutes and 58 seconds in order to get a 3:15. See a 3:15 is anything under 3:16:00.Mile 25 8:01
I turn off of the boardwalk, hit the last water station, and try to pick up the pace for the last mile and 2/10 (never forget about the last 385 yards). As I go through the last water stop with no intention of getting any water, I tell them just to hit me with the water. Several of them figure it out, and I get about six cups of water thrown at me. It is awesome!Mile 26 7:24
Not a bad finishing mile. There is a guy that I am even with the last mile who has a friend pacing him on a bike. This of course is illegal, but it isn’t like we are winning any awards. However, I still can’t miss the opportunity to call someone out, but neither the runner nor the biker pays any attention to me.Mile 26.2 1:25
As I make the final turn, I really start sprinting and I think I have finally passed the illegally-paced guy. However, about ten yards from the finish, he comes back up on me and ends up out leaning me at the line.Final 3:15:52 officially.
I was 100th of 1,111 finishers. I finished 15th of 99, males 30-34.
I am very satisfied with my run. My clock time was 3:16:01, but my chip time, which takes off time before crossing the start line, is 3:15:52. Therefore, this is a Boston Marathon qualifying time because for next year’s Boston Marathon, I will be 35. The qualifying time for 35-39 year olds is 3:15. I try to look for Brad and Tim, but I am unsuccessful. Martha and the kids quickly find me, and we wander around the finish area for a while.
I think that on this day, in the shape I am in, this is a very good effort. I am still looking to improve on my best marathon of 3:10, but this year the focus of main effort is finishing my first 100. I have made two attempts at the 100 mile distance, but both ended with a DNF (did not finish). On June 21-22, I will make my third, and hopefully first successful, attempt at the Mohican Trail 100 in Ohio.
Never stop running,
Darin
