My goal in Baltimore was to keep a 7:30 pace and to get in a quality long run I needed in advance of the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon coming up in 2 weeks. The mistake I've made so many times before (most recently in Boston) is peaking too soon and I was determined to stick to a reasonable pace and not burn out early. A 7:30 pace was ambitious since it would put me in striking range of my most recent PR (3:17 2007 National Marathon) though it was hard to gauge how realistic this was. My longest training run was 20 miles and I would have a hard time sustaining that pace even as my training cycle was at its peak. Another factor was the terrain. Baltimore definitely looked hilly.
Well, I found myself running at what I thought was a comfortable pace but it was more like 7:15 than 7:30! The first half was definitely easier to stay on pace. The second half was chock full of hills. From my recollection of the elevation map, I expected hills from mile 13 to mile 19 but they didn't seem to end until mile 25! This course definitely had more hills than Boston.
The spectators were a cheerful lot though there weren't that many. The loop around Ft. McHenry (miles 9-10) was the most scenic: a fort jutting out into the Chesapeake Bay with large ships on the horizon.
I finished strong, but straining, with a new personal record of 3:12:59. Now I'm wondering, since the Marine Corps Marathon is comparatively flat, perhaps I can aim for a pace of 7:15 and break the 3:10 barrier...
Below are my stats, and a pace reading per mile with the corresponding elevation.
-Em
Baltimore Marathon Personal Statistics
========================================
age: 45
chip time: 3:12:59
overall: 113/2538
sex place: 101/1706
45-49 div place: 10/213
pace: 7:21.7
mile 6: 0:44:04
mile 10: 1:13:12
mile 13: 1:34:03
half: 1:36:03
mile 19: 2:20:02
mile 21: 2:35:58
mile elev pace
---- ------ -----
(each * counts as 50 feet in elevation)
m0 .** -
m1 .*** 7:35
m2 .**** 7:16~
m3 .*** 7:16~ (14:32)
m4 .**** 7:09
m5 .** 6:59
m6 .*** 7:13~
m7 .* 7:13~ (14:26)
m8 . 7:24
m9 . 7:50
m10 . 6:58
m11 . 7:27
m12 . 7:04
m13 . 7:18~
m14 . 7:18~ (14:35)
m15 .* 7:23
m16 .* 7:13
m17 .* 7:29
m18 .** 7:41
m19 .*** 7:52~
m20 .***** 7:52~ (15:43)
m21 .**** 7:27
m22 .**** 7:42
m23 .**** 7:24
m24 .** 6:59
m25 .*** 7:43
m26 .* 6:51
end . 1:17
