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2011 National Marathon Results

SunTrust National Marathon
March 26, 2011 USATF Certified DC08006RT Washington, D.C.

Place Div/Tot  Div   Guntime Nettime Pace      
===== ======== ===== ======= ======= ===== 
1289  166/288  M3539 4:07:35 4:00:39 9:11    

There were 2879 finishers in the race so I finished in the top 45% of the field and 58% of my age division.

Thanks to the USNA Marathon Team for pacing me and the other 4Hr runners. It was great a great run and I appreciate the moral support to help keep me mentally in the race.

Official results can be found here.

Today's Run - 3/26

Race day started at 4:40am and I was out of the house by 5:30am to drive from my folks house to the DC Armory for the race.  I hit a little bit of traffic but I was able to get a parking space in RFK parking lot a little after 6am. I decided to wait it out in my car vs going into the DC Armory. I left the car and got to the starting corrals a 20mins before the gun. I hit the porta-potty line and then found my starting corral.

What an awesome day for a race! The winter weather originally forecasted for race day held off for 12hrs. It was clear and crisp when the race started. I finally learned from my previous mistakes and did not over dress for the race. I decided to wear a Short Sleeve Tech Shirt, Running Shorts and a pair of Running Gloves.  Although it was in the low 30's at gun time, once in the starting corral the tightly packed group of runners shielded the wind and raised the air temp.

Shortly before race time, I spotted the 4:00hr pace team and wandered over to start the race with them. As we headed out I decided to hang with the this pace team to make sure I did not start to fast. This worked very well as I was able to ease into the race. I enjoyed running in the streets of the District. The first half of the race provides a great tour of the different monuments, Capital, Adams Morgan and Howard University. As we returned to RFK Stadium, I thought to myself that the first half of the race to be much easier than last year when I ran the 1/2 Marathon and was optimistic as I started out for the next 13.1 Miles.

I continued to hang with the 4:00hr pace team and found running with a small pack of runners provided a good support crew. We had a bit of small talk amongst the runners, but overall I concentrated on keeping the a smooth consistent pace. Between miles 16 to 20 we started passing other runners on a more regular basis. As we ran down by the Anacostia River a cross head wind picked up and I worked on drafting behind or next to runners. My game plan for fueling and hydration seemed to be working well in the later miles as I was not feeling thirsty and the regular use of GU kept my energy levels high. We left the river section and crossed the 20 Mile mark right on time at 3Hrs.

The last 10K section of the race started on a section of rolling hills which when you saw them appeared to ask "Are you up for the Challenge?". I was determine to stay with the pace team as we hit the hills. I found my training in the hills in Charlottesville prepared me well for this section but I had 3 cases where my left hamstring cramped requiring me to slow down for a bit. I was able to remain cool and catch the pace group each time. At the 26th Mile I felt very good as I knew that I made it through without hitting the wall.

The last 0.2 Miles was a blur. The pack continue to pickup speed as we headed to the finish and we could see RFK stadium just over river as we turned onto East Capital St. This is a long straight shot to the finish with a 30Ft rise in elevation. The spectators grew in number as we approached. I worked to stay in front of the pace group and successfully croassed the finish line at 4:00:39, a new Personal Record.

Right after crossing the finish line I heard a group shouting my name and looked over to see my brother in-law holding a "Run Dug Run" sign, my brother, my wife and children along the spectator rail.   I ran over to get high-fives, hugs and kisses.   It was awesome to see my support team so soon after completing the race.

I appreciate the support and understanding of my wife, family and friends who enabled me to train, listened to my ramblings about my LSR/Tempo/Speedwork runs, and provided grounding advice when I minimize the accomplishment of completing a marathon in 4hrs.  Even though I did not obtain my goal of breaking 4Hrs, it was an excellent run and experience that I am proud of.    I am thankful I was able to run this race and that I continue to improve my running capabilities.  Looking back I can see that I enjoyed the training as much as the race.

Today's Run - 3/24

After a long day of travel yesterday, I forgot to set my alarm to get up an run this morning. Looking back at it that was actually a blessing, I got to sleep in a little bit and I got to run after work. I headed down to Innsbrook for my last run. I parked that Marriott and headed out. It was a little cool and windy but I was comfortable in running shorts and tech shirt after the first 1/2Mile. I did a easy 3Miles around the office buildings and lake. It was a nice way to put the end to a long week and a good training season.

Today's Run - 3/22

Well my marathon week started out with a bit of trouble. I needed to skip my run on Monday due to an issue at work which prevented me getting good rest on Sunday night. I was happy to get out and run this morning just to blow off some steam and get my feet moving under me again. Today was the last speed workout and it called for 4 miles consisting of 2 8:07 Mile with 1/2Mile Jogs repeats. After a little warm up I jumped right in and hit the splits with little issue. I always feel great after speed workouts.

Today's Run - 3/19

Today was the last long run before the marathon next weekend. It started out a bit rough and I was surprised on how much effort it seemed to take to hit the 9:45 pace. There was a considerable amount of head wind which may have contributed to the pace difficulties. I continue to test different timings of fueling during my run with the GUs. This time I used a Octane GU at mile 5, and that seemed to work pretty well. Race day fueling will be at miles 5, 10, 15, 20, 24 which is slight adjustment from previous thoughts. I am also concerned with my hydration as I know that I get very dehydrated late in the runs where I have a unquenchable thirst. I will work to drink more earlier in the race to maintain hydration.

Not much on tap this week, just a few small runs early in the week to keep the rust off. The speedwork on Tuesday should help build some confidence for the pace.

I am thinking about following the pace team during the race. I want to understand how they will target the expected pace with either even, negative or positive splits. I will create a mile by mile pace chart just in case I don't like the approach the pace team is taking.

Today's Run - 3/16 & 3/17

Traveling again this week to CT and the taper week is in full affect. I decided to run on the treadmill primarily because of the rainy weather and types of runs that I was doing. There was some discrepancies between my Garmin and Treadmill calculation of the distance and speed. The tempo and easy runs were pretty good.

Today's Run - 3/14

Let the Taper begin! An easy 5Miles this morning. I was not feeling to speedy this morning but felt better as the run progressed. I headed back around the lake and out the Darby loop. I had a good mix of flat and hills on this run. The time change made the morning run very dark which was something I did not enjoy.

Today's Run - 3/12

The last long run of my spring marathon training campaign and I headed back to the UVA Park, UVA Track and the C-Ville 10Miler for this weeks long run. I can't say that I was feeling confident for this run after last weeks long run. It was a hard week at work so my mental state for this run was not in the best frame. I decided to try and sprinkle in a few miles around the park and track before heading out onto the 10Miler course. I did this so that when I finished up with the 10Miler I would be more than 50% done with my run. I found completing the 10Miler and still having 10miles to go a difficult aspect of the run last week. I found that adding these extra miles in kept me mentally engaged in the finishing miles. Overall not the fastest pace, but inline with the training plan.

I worked on the timing of my GUs and found that eating at 5.75Miles, 11.5Miles and 17Miles was very good. For race day I will plan GUs at 5.75Miles, 11.5Miles, 17Miles, 21Miles to help me get through the wall.

I am glad that this run is over so I can start to concentrate on resting and preparing mentally for the race.

Today's Run - 3/10

Today's Run - 3/9

I woke up and jumped out of bed all pumped up for the days speed workout. I started out slow with my warm up mile, then headed into the speed work with 1600 on and 800 off. I started at 8:42 and headed down from there to pace of 8:10 by dropping ~10-15 sec in pace per 1600 lap. I felt good during and after this run, it was not until after my shower that I realized I was supposed to do all 1600's at 8:10pace! It was still a good work out and exactly what I needed after the long grinding runs I have been doing lately.

Today's Run - 3/7

Today's Run - 3/5

A tough long run this morning. I headed back to the C-Ville 10Miler course and the Park on the UVA Campus. There were plenty of runners out preparing for spring races. I enjoyed seeing the different runners and groups out. The C-Ville 10Miler course is very challenging with lots of rolling hills and I did not have the mental capacity to run it twice. I was happy to finish this run, but I must admit that it did not add to my confidence as I struggled to get to the end. I think the 8Mile run that I did on Friday may have left me a bit tired as I headed into this long run. We will see how next week goes.

Today's Run - 3/4

My work and personal schedule required me to move my normal Thursday run to Friday. This was just an easy 7Mile out and back run. I tried not to push to hard because I have a 20Mile long run scheduled for tomorrow.

Today's Run - 3/2

A good tempo run this morning and I hit all my splits. The weather has been excellent with cool crisp morning with no wind and early sunrises.