All of those - combined with fantastic weather in Austin - made for a great weekend at the 2008 AT&T Austin Marathon.Courtesy of Jennifer's friend Kareem (from Austin), we were chauffeured to the starting line at about 6:30 for a 7:00 race time. Being only 50 degrees and dark, that made for a short wait in the "cold." But that didn't stop us from finding the warming station, and waiting under several outdoor heaters until about 10 minutes to race time.
We headed up and found the 4:30 pace group. My plan was to run with Jennifer the entire time, and her plan was to try for a P.R. (currently about 4:27) with the most realistic goal (because of the fairly tough course) being right around 4:30.
We headed off at the gun (ok, 4 minutes later), and we were on our way. The course was beutiful and scenic. The first few miles were very crowded. With both the half-marathon and marathon together for more than 10 miles, there would be no room to yourself. But, packed crowds can also be encouraging. As can the great support of Austin. The first 8 or so miles went by like a flash. That always means a great day in my mind.
The entire course was what I would call "hilly." Miles 9-13 were in fact pretty rough and steep hills. Up and down. A close majority of the nearly 900 feet of elevation gain I suspect happened here.
Through the first half we were on pace for both a sub 4:30 and a P.R. for Jennifer, but not by much. We were on a 10:10 pace through the 13 mile marker, but clearly the hills were taking a toll. It would be very tough to keep up that pace for the second half, but we were very willing to try. Through the next 7 miles, we kept pace - slowing some miles, but getting some good miles as we came back down some of the hills. Through mile 20 we were again dead on a 4:26, but we had no room to spare.
Jennifer faught on. Through nearly mile 22 we were on pace, but some very poorly place hills knocked us off (one in particular at mile 22). Off of P.R. pace but not discouraged, we forged on for a 4:30 finish time. By this point, the sun was full blast. While the temperature was only about 65 degrees, full sun and 65 degrees over the last few miles of a marathon is quite a challege. The next 4 wouldn't be easy, but Jennifer never gave up. We crossed the finish line in 4:30:13.
I am very proud of her. Jennifer is a great runner. She is dedicated. But hills are not her strenght. She faced the hills and she got over them. And she enjoyed herself doing it. She did well, she never gave up, and she enjoyed herself.
As for me, I feel well. In fact, I felt better after the marathon than I had felt the day before (having run a marathon on Friday). And when we finished, it was nice to again have the feeling of knowing that another 10 or 15 miles would not have been a problem. With that feeling, I think I am ready to start training for my next 100 miler.
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