Vancouver Marathon

As I have said before, Vancouver is a beautiful city. Having spent so many summers there as a kid, I feel like it is a second home. It was a great place to go back and run a marathon. The weather could not have been more perfect.

Here are the vital stats:

3:12:32 (44 seconds shy of PR in 2004)

125 overall of 3200 runners
108/1808 male runners
20/325 in my age group M 35-39

SPLITS:

1- 7:33
2- 7:10
3- 7:20
4- 7:23
5- 7:11
6- 7:18
7- 7:16
8- 7:13
9- 7:20
10- 7:16
11- 7:19
12- 7:15
13- 7:15

13.1 1:35:40

14- 7:14
15- 7:14
16- 7:11
17- 7:14
18- 7:17
19- 7:13
20- 7:25

20 Miles: 2:25:26

21- 7:08
22- 7:38
23- 7:27
24- 7:37
25- 8:10
26.2 8:47 (missed exact 26 mile point, but equates to 7:19)


I went out with 3:09-3:10 in mind...but I still think I went out too fast. This course can be done by negative split (something I have yet to accomplish in any marathon). The Burrard Bridge was not so tough, but the segment maybe 1/2 mile before it sucked. It was not too hilly, but you run under the bridge and wind around to get there...it plays a mental trick on you!

It was at mile 21-22 where I really started to feel like hell. My muscles felt fine, but I became hungry and a little nauseated. I felt like another GU would make me sick...I ate well that morning, and took gel and water all race...who knows what happened?

Anyway, back to the negative split. I should have done the first have at 1:37, and the second at 1:33. This follows the 51%/49% principle and I believe it would have given me what I needed to finish strong. Instead I was at 1:35:40 at 13.1 and though if I worked it out just right, I could end up with a 1:34 second half. Not today.

In the big picture, I got my BQ again and this was the second best marathon I have run...by only a few seconds. Personally, I want 3:10 and maybe even 3:00 someday. I feel like I am recovering better than previously also. Now I can focus on some shorter races for this summer!

Oh yeah...the shitty part of the weekend, my wife's wallet getting stolen at the expo!!! Not fun at all, but they did not get away with too much. I had the cash, her ID, and her passport.