Marathon Done. Two Week Break Over. Time to Train like a Mad Man!!!

Ok, so I just finished the Marine Corps Marathon 2 weeks ago in a PR time of 2:44:38. The race went almost as planned except I lost about 2minutes in the last 3.2 miles due to my quads locking up a bit. This was due to not getting in enough 20+ long runs, which next fall I will have to do more of to help get me under that 2:40 mark.

The marathon itself was really great although getting around DC was a bit of a pain. My parents dropped me off in the runners village around 6 am and I pretty much hung out and made my way up to the start line. I did a little bit off jogging and stretching to get loose and try to stay warm as it was only 37 degrees. I was surprised how easy it was to use the porta johns since there were so many of them. At 7:30 the opening ceremonies began with the National Anthem, a fly by, then the wheel chair race followed shortly by the beginning of the marathon with Drew Carey firing the pistol then jumping in himself and running a 4:37 for his first marathon.

The first 8 miles are pretty hilly with it flattening out after about 8 for the next 12 miles. Miles 5 through 20 were very scenic making your way around Georgetown, the Tidal Basin, and the National Mall with a great crowd going crazy and motivating you along the way. Miles 20-26 are rather boring with a few hills and a lot of turns but this is where I focused on trying to pick up as many places as I could as I was dying but not as bad as some others. The last .2 is the is the steepest hill on the course up into the Arlington national cemetery which is a punishing finish to the marathon but it makes it that much nicer to be done.


After the finish you are force to walk almost a mile to get your stuff from the baggage claim and find your friends and family. I can see it being really bad if you hit the wall hard but otherwise it was a good cool down.

Now for the last 2 weeks I have been pretty lazy with only doing some light gym workouts, playing basketball, but now I am ready to get down to business.

Some Pictures and Splits of the Race.

  http://community.marathonfoto.com/marine-corps-marathon/finisher-page?language=en&id=796E95