So marathon #1 of 2010 is in the books. Finished in 4 hours and 13 minutes. Same as my personal best at Portland last fall. Can’t seem to push past that time. I think I actually would have been a lot closer to 4 hours except for a brutal hill at mile 22 that went on for a mile and a half. And was steep. And did I mention it went on for a mile and a half? It killed me. I did manage an 8 minute mile on the downhill side so my legs were still functioning after the hill but, as soon as it flattened out and went back to rolling terrain, my legs were shot.
The marathon course was absolutely gorgeous. We ran along the Yakima River, through a canyon for about 95% of the run. It was the most low-key marathon I’ve run yet. They had a record turnout yesterday… of almost 600 runners. I know! But you know what? It was perfect. The start line was literally a line chalked on the road- no chip timers, no start waves, no pacers. We shared the road along the river with traffic but the traffic was fairly sparse.
It was about 34 degrees at the start but warmed up to almost 60 at the finish. Sunshine the entire way. I actually have a little sunburn.
The course was rolling terrain that was downhill overall. There were 3 major hills; the first two we managed to keep a decent pace for the entire hike up. The third hill, well I already talked about that beast.
I do have to say that my legs are stronger. Thank you Sven for your awesome workouts! I think my stamina has gotten better as well. I can’t wait to meet Sven on Thursday and talk about his take on the changes I noticed from the last run to this run. I know Sven has been working to increase my maximum lactate threshold so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say on whether he thinks that was a factor in this run or not.
Next marathon is the Rock N Roll Seattle in June. Goal is to hit the 4 hour mark or go just below it. Not sure if that’s possible but I’m setting the goal anyway. Wish me luck!
Hey, I just happened upon this. Nice recap.