No, wait a minute. My legs are telling me something. What's that? Oh, yes. My apologies. My quads want you to know I ran a lot of friggin' HILLS today. My scalp wants you to know it was friggin' sunny and hotter than blazes out there.
It was a very pretty race course, for the most part. Even the hills. The race was better tended to by the volunteers only after the marathon and half-marathon runners parted company at the fourth mile. They had some water and Powerade issues but I lived through them.I took it really easy through the first ten miles. I felt strongest from miles 10-16 within which I was greeted twice, "Proud not Loud," by Mrs. T who had everything I wanted in her tote bag.
The race temps were not even chilly at the start and it only got worse. I was eternally grateful for the hand towels wet and wrapped in some medical cooling packs that our hostess provided. The two of them were at miles 14 and 16 and commented that I looked good, meaning I was running up the hills and lots of others were walking. At that point they were right. I didn't walk any parts of a hill until Mile 21. Damn that Highland Avenue.
Running in the shady residential areas was tolerable. Once we got back from Decatur and into the city of Atlanta, the sun was beating down and very sapping. My splits dropped quickly from 10:45 pace to about 13:00 over the last five miles. Coming down Peachtree Street was a good finish because the skyscrapers provided some shade and the crowds were pushing us.I watched my goal time of 4:40 slip away and turned my attention to a PR of anything under 5:00. Mission accomplished by five minutes. Given the weather and the course I suspect everybody was struggling. The winner crossed in a taxed 2:19 so I do believe we could all have done better on a different day.
Nevertheless, I am pleased. All my body parts work. I only had a few foot cramps towards the end of the race and worked through them with no further issues.Thanks to those of you out there in bloggy-land who followed along. The technology for race tracking is pretty neat. Your attention kept me going.
22 comments:
Congratulations on your PR in difficult circumstances. Somehow we all knew you were going to accomplish it. Heat and humidity always knock me for a loop. Plus hills, yikes!
Great, quick summary!! From monitoring your splits, I feared the heat might be taking it's toll.
But it seems you successfully avoided the cramping and pain you saw in Miami last year, right???
Great performance in tough circumstances. Congratulations!!
Yay!
Great Race Report!
A little off you goal, but a PR nonetheless! Congratulations!
It was exciting to get your times throughout the morning. We were cheering for you in Central Florida (did you hear us?)
Great Job!
That was quick; your time and your report. A PR is always sweet. Congrats.
Congratulations!
From Richmond VA--well done, David!! The heat must have been a killer, but you hung in. Great photos--so glad you had a support crew:)
You, as always, are my inspiration...
Nice PR! congrats David. Your hardwork paid off. Now we need to focus on New Haven!
Nice job, David! I can't imagine running a marathon in someplace hot like that. Seeing your finish picture made me smile. That look of happy relief. I remember it. :)
Hope those legs are feeling good tomorrow.
great job! heat=no good, but you beat it! Yay for no cramps and for PR!! you're only getting faster and faster.
:)
damn, i'm repeating myself. blame it on my old age.
:)
YAY! Awesome job out there - you look great in the pics! I'm pretty sure mine will look like a death march. Wow, the heat. That was absolutely nuts, what a killer. You will do awesome in your next one (if there is one!) after handling that one so well!
whoever thought of putting these marathons in hot environments???
way to persevere on what sounds like a tough day. congrats!!
around here Atlanta is aptly nicknamed "hotlanta"! nice report and great pictures, congratulations on your marathon finish! wahoo!
A PR with hills and heat...I'm not worthy to know you! I think the first picture of you up there is my favorite picture *ever*, of anyone running that I've seen. You look happy and strong and Mrs. T should be proud. So should you. Yay!
Congratulations on beating the heat, you still look pretty fresh at the finish.
You ran well in that heat, and you have pictures to prove it.
Well-played David.
cool, good job david! i can't believe the temps! what a PR, the hard way for sure!
You look just fine in those pictures. And that's a sweet looking medal.
congrats! sounds like we had very similar experience!!
Thanks for the race report and Congrats on the PR!!!
Congrats on the PR. You rock.
What a great report! I did the 1/2 and it was tough. I can't wait for the next one.
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