Burlington (VT) Marathon – May 27, 2012
Final Time – 3:47:26.
Overall #667 out of 2,418
Men #501 out of 1,333
Men’s 40-44 Division - #73 out of 180
Temperatures from low 60’s to mid 70’s and sunny.
My hotel was 2 blocks from the start. I woke up a bit before 5 a.m. and went to the lobby hotel to eat a bagel with peanut butter as well as a clif bar. I was able to also get through some work email before heading back up to the room for a quick power nap. Woke back up around 6:45 and got up and started to getting ready. It was nice to be able to leave the hotel at 7:20 a.m. with plenty of time before the 8 a.m. start. It was especially nice to not have to worry about porta-potties! I checked my bag and did a quick warm up and headed to the starting corral.
This is my third marathon. My first two were 3:39 and 3:36. Admittedly, the temperatures were much cooler (ideal) than I was going to face this day in Burlington. In addition, due to personal and work reasons, my training had been very sporadic. I had only completed one training run of more than 15 miles. My goal was to finish between 3:45 and 3:50, however, I would go out at a 8:20/mile pace (3:38 marathon) and see how it went.
The start area wasn’t particularly well marked. This is a smaller marathon with nearly 3,200 people scheduled to run the full marathon and another 4,000 people doing relays (of which only a fraction were at the start running the first segment). There weren’t any recommendations or signs for lining up by expected pace. Since I wasn’t trying to qualify for Boston or go for a PR, I wasn’t anywhere near the start and actually happened to cross the start line near the 4:30 pacing group.
Mile 1 – 9:05
Mile 2 – 7:50
Mile 3 – 7:51
Mile 1 was PACKED with very little opportunity to move. I didn’t really try to zig zag and just went with the flow. In miles 2 and 3, it was mostly downhill, so although my pace was a bit fast, it was easy. I did have to jump up on the sidewalk to pass the 3:45 pace group in the middle of mile 2. They were huge and literally took over the entire street!
Mile 4 – 8:08
Mile 5 – 8:11
Mile 6 – 8:21
Mile 7 – 8:25
Mile 8 – 8:24
Mile 9 – 8:41
Mile 4-9 is an out and back on a divided roadway. I generally don’t like out and backs unless I can see the leaders. Fortunately, in this case, I got to see the leaders (including the wheelchair leaders). Amazing how fast and smooth those guys are. I also got to see the back of the pack as I was on mile 8 when the back of the pack was on mile 4. Mile 4 was about 100’ vertical down. Since it was an out and back, what goes down, must come back up so mile 9 was the same thing but uphill. There was no shade in this section of the course, fortunately, there was a sliver of clouds that kept me out of direct sun for most of this time.
Mile 10- 7:53
In mile 10, I got to see my wife, kids, and mother. This was the section that actually repeated the start line so there were literally thousands of cheering fans and in parts it was 4 to 5 people deep. It was kind of cool to see people sitting in trees, climbing light posts, standing on second floor porches to catch a view of the race. I felt like I was in the lead pack (albeit a very slow – and large – lead pack.) My time also was helped as this mile was mostly downhill. I also ate a banana during this mile.
Mile 11 – 8:26
Mile 12 – 8:38
Mile 13 – 8:25
Mile 14 - 8:21
Mile 15 – 8:37
In every good marathon, there is a section where the miles just melt away. This was that section for me. Nothing particularly noteworthy in this section of the course. Some small rolling hills, and obviously passing the halfway point in 1:50:01. I finished my first Gu right before the halfway mark. It was along this section that I started to really notice the heat. It was getting hot. Temps were at 70 at this section (passed a digital thermometer at a local business). Miles 14 and 15 are run along a bikepath along Lake Champlain. I did enjoy that section in particular as it had beautiful scenery and at times there was no noise except the shuffling of feet and breathing. A nice happy quiet time during a marathon!
Mile 16 – 8:50
Mile 16 brings forth the steepest and most intense hill of the course. 130’ of vertical up in six long blocks. Fortunately the crowds are back in this section. They have huge drums that produce a beat that you can almost try to run to. The road was radiating heat and I just looked down at the pavement and tried not to lose too much time. Of course, my focus on finishing the hill made me miss my family who was on this hill amongst the crowd. Our hotel was in the middle of this hill as well.
Mile 17 – 8:19
Mile 18 – 8:21
These next two miles were much tougher than they should have been. I was trying to keep my pace while recovering from the Mile 16 hill. At this point, there were some small rolling hills with more downhill than up, but I wasn’t cruising at this pace. I was pushing. The sun was beaming down and not a cloud was in the sky. I was getting drinks at every water stop. I knew this pace wasn’t sustainable for the next 8 miles.
Mile 19 – 9:17
Mile 20 – 9:17
As we ran through this residential area, some families organized marathon parties with music, tents, drinking, etc, it was quite a scene. Lots of hoses and sprinklers for the runners. I’ve never been one to like getting sprayed or dumping water on my head but it was so freakin hot. The sun was searing through my skin. I was taking in many of the sprinklers! Also, the 3:45 pace group passed me. That was a mental blow knowing I passed them at mile 2 and here they were returning the favor. (Of course, the group had gone from nearly 100 runners at mile 2 to perhaps 15 people left at this stage.) In addition, my brother in law (who has run a few marathons) joined me to run in the final miles with me.
Mile 21 – 9:04
Mile 22 – 8:42
Mile 23 – 9:02
My primary motivation here was to try to stay with that 3:45 group with a dream to potentially beat them at the end. That was a pipe dream as I was burning through my energy reserves too fast. I hung with that 3:45 group for a bit but they eventually pulled away. These miles were on a bike path along Lake Champlain.
Mile 24 – 9:21
Mile 25 – 9:50
Mile 25 was my slowest and the most painful. There was significant carnage with people stopped, walking, stretching, as well as a couple dazed runners with medical people assisting them. The sun was strong as it was near noon. There were no clouds and I don’t recall a breeze. The water stops were very busy as EVERYONE was getting liquids. Mile 25 was my most challenging (and slowest) mile I had in any of my three marathons. My brother in law was supportive and helped getting water, etc, however, unless he was willing to carry me, I wasn’t going much faster than I was.
Mile 26 – 9:13
Last 0.2 – 8:45
The final 1.2 miles were painful but I knew the end was near. I didn’t go “all out” as there wasn’t any time goal or PR in this race. I just cruised in and finished along Waterfront Park that lines Lake Champlain.
Overall, this marathon was my least prepared for and most difficult in terms of weather conditions. I sit here 48 hours later and am ready to go running NOW. This is great as the other two marathons, I had zero motivation to run after the marathon. I hope to PR in my hometown race in Connecticut in late July and then begin a serious push to get a marathon PR (and potentially break 3:30) in Philadelphia in November.
I was initially disappointed with my pacing dropoff. I looked further and noticed my placement throughout the race was as follows:
10K – 40-44 male division -
97th /Overall –
943rd
10 miles – 40-44 male division –
91st /Overall –
787th
Half Marathon – 40-44 male division –
88th /Overall –
776th
20 miles – 40-44 male division -
79th /Overall –
689th
Finish - 40-44 male division –
73rd /Overall –
667th
So, as badly as I was fading and my time was falling apart, I was passing more people than were passing me. Still, to meet my goals, I have to work at running a more consistent pace and that begins with a more complete training regimen going into the race.
You are really taking your stroking seriously. Awesome weekend of cross training 
:fingerscrossed:
Gonna try to go run it off over lunch...
) and with 2Young (including a now-annual fall trail relay 
I first met up with Tri-man on 6/6/09 for an 8k trail race near my house. I'll never forget running with him the first mile or so at a 7:## pace, puffing like crazy to try & keep up and he was talking away like we were walking.
Wraith: my quads typically get me when I'm dehydrated. Could that be it?
First of all the race is a week earlier than I thought, lol, coming up THIS Saturday. Also, I haven't trained much. And I have only run on pavement twice now. I ran 6 miles last Wednesday...totally flat, btw. And about 6 1/2 last Saturday with some hills. I timed the first 6-mile run. Did the first 3 miles in 28. The other 3 in 27:40. The last mile had to be my fastest, fwiw, so at least I have that going for me, ha.
