2010 Amica Newport (RI) race report:
Short version: This morning, I successfully finished my first (and likely last) ever marathon in a respectable but slower than goal time of approximately 4:09:20 (net time from my watch).
Long version: So this race started inauspiciously as I pulled a bostonfred and showed up to the start line somewhere between 5 and 6 minutes after the gun went off. This was due to a traffic jam outside the designated parking area from which runners and spectators were to take a shuttle to the race start. As our shuttle bus pulled up to the start site, we could see the tail end of the mass of runners crossing the start. So I wasn't able to line up with runners with the same goal pace as me (~9 minutes, hoping for a sub 4 minute marathon).
Once I got underway though, things went great. The weather was perfect. The route was very pretty, running along the shores of Newport and past some incredible mansions. I paced myself very well, hitting the half at 1:58ish (this included a 4-5 minute port-o-potty stop, no time before the race), and hit mile 20 at the 3 hour mark, which had me elated as I knew that I only had to run 10 minute pace for the last 6 miles to finish under 4 hours. I also noticed at this point a large increase in the number of people walking, however I really felt great except for a tinge in my right ankle around this point that lasted maybe 200 meters and a foot cramp that I also toughed it out through. However, around mile 22 my hips, which were sore since at least the halfway point, started screaming at me. I ran a 10:30 and 11:30 minute mile for miles 22 and 23 and hit the mile 24 marker at 3:40ish. At this point each step was just too much pain, and I'm sad to say I had to walk-run the rest of the marathon.
It sucked to get so close to my goal time and fall short, but I only decided on this goal time after a great 20K race midway through my training, and it's clear to me that although my cardiovascular and muscular endurance is good enough, my body hasn't adapted to the pounding of a 3.5 hour+ run. I mentioned here previously that I failed my last training run of 20 miles, pulling short at 17 due to lower leg pain that I think was mitigated by the new shoes I splurged on and have been training with the past 2 weeks - Asics Gel Nimbus. Not sure how I can prevent the hip pain.
Next on my plate is a 5K race two weeks from now, plus I start up indoor soccer again next week. Excited to see how I fare with my increased endurance.
Once again, thanks to all here who answered my noob questions, I really appreciated it. I look forward to hearing from the rest of this weekend's runners.