The Akron Marathon was last Saturday 9/30. This was my second marathon. My first marathon was seven (7) years ago in 1999. My training was better for this marathon and I did not suffer from joint pain in my hips, knees and ankles.
The temperature for the race was in the upper 40’s with light rain. At times the wind was strong so it was not ideal race conditions. My goal for the race was to run under 3:40 (3 hours and 40 minutes). A 3:40 marathon is a pace of 8:23 per mile. I started the race relaxed and did not go out too fast. My pace was consistent for the first 18 miles. I felt good at this point so I decided to push the pace. From mile 18-23 I ran a sub eight (8) minute mile five (5) times. These miles were through a stretch where there was a gradual uphill. Once I hit mile 25 my legs felt like concrete. I knew at this point I just had to push a little more to reach the finish. My official time was 3:37:14 (8:17/mile pace). This is my personal record for the marathon!
Statistics
- 148th overall out of 1036 finishers
- 128th male out of 723 males
- 22nd in age group (35-39) out of 119
Below is information about the race from my Garmin Forerunner 205:
Unofficial mile splits
Note: the last split (11:07) was for 1.2 miles
2 responses so far ↓
DPeach // October 9, 2006 at 9:27 am
Congratulations on the PR. Sounds like you not only had a great run, but enjoyed doing it.
David // October 17, 2006 at 9:18 pm
DPeach – Thanks for comment. I did have a great run. Very even paced and I was able to pick up the pace a bit at the end. I had a great time. The family support was great.