Oct 13 Baltimore Marathon (PR)

This was my first Baltimore marathon, 14th overall in the 8 years I've been running marathons. It was a beautiful day. The weather was sunny and 47°F with a light breeze.

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