Well, here goes nothing. The training for my first marathon was a bit hap-hazard. From mid-July to early-September things were going great. Somewhere in September, right after my 2nd ankle sprain of training, things fell apart though. I was having the hardest time making my way out the door, and maybe ran 3-4 times over a course of 3 weeks. Two weeks before the marathon I started running again, just enough to try to regain some fitness and get my legs used to the feeling again.

Lets fast forward a bit now, on Thursday I made Chicken Parmesan, with lots and lots of pasta. The day before race day I went down town to pick up my race packet. The expo was at M&T Bank Stadium, on the club level. There were plenty of vendors to fill up the area, including the equivalent of a small Under Armour store. I guess being the title sponsor has its perks? The pick up went smooth, I got my bib, which had the D-Tag chip attached, I got my race shirt and signed up for a pace group all in about 30 minutes. I made my way to one of the booths and grabbed 5 GU's, 3 Vanilla, 2 Chocolate. I made my way to bed around 10:30 that night, and surprisingly enough, was asleep by mid-night.

Race morning came at 5:03am, when my first alarm went off. I promptly shut that off, then alarm number two went off at 5:05am. At the point it was time to stand up. I enjoyed my normal breakfast of (chunky) peanut butter toast with apples and cinnamon oatmeal. I then hit the bathroom and made my way out to door to downtown Baltimore. I made it downtown and parked at 6:30am, with a scheduled race start of 8:00am. I took about a half hour at my car prepping, changing my shirt, getting out of my long pants, taping my foot, all those little things. I made my way over to the start at Oriole Park at Camden Yards from M&T Bank Stadium. On my way over I had to cross where the finish line was. I paid special attention to walk around, instead of over the line, I didn't want to cross it until I earned it. I found a nice bench and zoned out for about a half-hour, I watched the volunteers making the final preps to the last .2 miles. I envisioned each leg of the race mentally I made my way up to Druid Hill, down to Ft. McHenry, around the inner harbour, through Patterson Park, to Clifton Park, a lap around lake Montebello, then the final straight back to Camden Yards.

I made my way to the start area and met up with the 4:45 pace group. I knew this goal was optimistic considering my training. But I decided that if I was going to go out too fast I'd like to know exactly how too fast I was going to be. The national anthem played as 4 helicopters circled over head, 3 state police and one news chopper. The gun went off and the nerves all went away. It took about three minutes to get to the start line. When I crossed the confetti was still blowing and the fans were still cheering, it was a great feeling.

~~Miles 1-6~~
Mile one happened so fast, we ran it only a few seconds ahead of pace, but it felt like it was a 4 minute mile. Mile two came in right on pace as did mile three. I was feeling amazing, even as the first set of hills started. Miles four five and six were also right on pace, the 4:45 pace group was amazing. I don't remember much of this part of the race, it was all a blur.

~~Miles 7-13~~
We started to make our way back down to the harbor at mile seven. I was having fun chatting with all the other runners. I missed all the mile markers from mile 4-9, but my Garmin was keeping track for me. All of these miles came in within 5 seconds of pace. At mile seven we had our picture taken as a pace group. At this point we were running past the harbor and crows support was growing. After making it past the harbor we made our way to Ft. McHenry. After a loop there we were at mile ten. Still feeling great and on pace. Coming up to mile twelve I saw my spinning teacher who just finished up her relay leg. It was nice to see a familiar face. I also knew that my family was going to be at mile thirteen with two more GUs for me, I had three in my pockets at the start. My dad held them out as I came up, and one of the women who was running with the 4:45 group tried to grab them from him. I ended up getting them from him and I gave her one, she apologized not knowing they were meant for me, which I totally understood. I crossed the mat at the half

~~Miles 14-18~~
This is where things started to get hairy. I was beginning to feel it. I was still staying with the pace group, but it was getting harder and harder. My breathing was great, but my legs just weren't carrying me as quickly anymore, the lack of training was starting to kick in. I fought to stick with them until mile 17. They slowly started to fade out into the distance. By mile 18 they were out of sight. My hamstrings were cramping up very bad. I kept pushing but ahhh! It was probably the long stretch of hills from 16-20 that took everything out of my legs.

~~Mile 19-21~~
Mile 19 was the crest of the hills, which was a very welcomed sight. Mile 20 was a lap around the very flat lake Montebello. My legs were hurting so bad, as I ran by the mile 21 marker y left hamstring and right calf started spasming very bad. My walk breaks that started at 18 were getting longer and longer. Coming out of lake we had a mile or two of rolling hills.

~~Miles 22-23~~
The pain wasn't getting any worse, but it certainly wasn't getting any better. I kept pushing forward. There were to women running together that I started to stick with. They were very friendly and it was great to have someone to talk to. It helped take my mind away from the pain. At the end of mile 23 we made the final left turn and began making our way back downtown.

~~Miles 24-25~~
Coming down Howard St. back into the city I was starting to go numb, the pain didn't matter anymore. I stopped paying attention to my watch and just wanted to get to the end. Mile 24's marker came and went, then 25 came and went. This was it. We made a quick S turn onto Eutaw St. and it was at this point that I saw the clock tower across from Camden Yards. That was it, to the tower, down the warehouse and across the line. I made it to the tower, I made it to the warehouse.

~~Mile 26-Finish~~
We ran through Oriole Park at Camden Yards along the warehouse, then all that was left was the walk way to M&T Stadium, where the finish line was. People were walking at this point and I couldn't understand why, as I ran by I tried to get them to run with me, some did, others couldn't. I was amazed how many people were still mingling around after I passed the 26.1 (mile 13 sign for the half) point. It felt like I was sprinting at this point, even though I know I was probably barely moving. I made the last little curve and the finish line was right there. I hit the mat and my hands went straight to my head, I was finally done. I crossed the line with 5:46:23 showing on the clock. The announcer called my name and all sorts of feelings were going through my head.

~~Post Race~~
I made my way to the finishers area to pick up my medal. I saw a friend of mine there who was there cheering on the runners. She gave me a hug, and took a picture with me. I grabed a bottle of water and chugged it. Picked up and orange, took a giant bite of the skin so I could get in there and peel it. Once I got it peeled it was gone in no more then 3 bites. I walked around for a little trying to make sure I my body was ready to walk back to the car. On my way out of the celebration village I found my parents and girlfriend. They wanted to stand there and talk, I wanted to find somewhere to sit down. We chatted for a few minutes, which felt like hours before making our way back to my car. I don't think I said anything on the walk back to the car, besides obscenities directed towards the bridge we had to cross. When we got to the car I got my shoes off and my feet into my crocs. I pushed my seat all the way back, reclined it a bit, let my girlfriend take me home. Somehow I never fell asleep that day. My legs were hurting, and I was walking very funny.

~~The day after~~
I woke up and to my surprise I could walk! There was still some soreness, but that was more then expected.

All in all, I can't wait to do another. The only thing I'll do different the next time will be a shorted training schedule, probably a 10 week schedule rather then an 18 week schedule. I think burning out of training really hurt my finish time Saturday.


~~Official Splits (chip times)~~
Mile 6: 1:05:17
Mile 10: 1:48:42
20K: 2:19:17
Half 2:22:37
30K: 3:49:51
Mile 21: 4:26:34
Finish: 5:43:52

Some Photos
Right before the halfway point
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/2934547846_08a5cb158b.jpg?v=0

The clock tower
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/2938486318_c3395a740a.jpg?v=0

.05 Miles to go
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2934554106_46d2215867.jpg?v=0

Final steps
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3235/2933692677_0538e61b3a.jpg?v=0

Crossing the line
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/2934546006_0cd3167ae5.jpg?v=0

The hardware
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/2938395554_ab427017bc.jpg?v=0