It seems that proper planning is the key to success ….

I succeeded in achieving a 3:45 today at the Delaware Marathon … by doing one simple thing, keeping the pace. My mile splits were unbelievable as I kept the 8:30-8:40 pace the entire time and didn’t die out at all .. I even finished strong, kicking it up in the last 50 yards, it was absolutely great! I don’t think I have ever had such a high going like this …

The marathon itself was a great experience overall, the course actually wasn’t that bad even though it was 4 loops, at least you knew what to expect. The weather thankfully held out, starting at around 56 degrees and ending in the mid 60’s and cloudy. The sun was out for the first 3 hours, but then went in but there was always a slight breeze since we were right around the riverfront… the crowds were great, the water stations were decently stocked, although the gatorade was mixed a little too weak for my taste, but it still hit the spot.

So before I go into the actual splits, the formal results are posted already, both my chip and gun time was a 3:45, AMAZING! The results are posted here. They also had posted the loop times (remember there were 4 loops in this marathon), my times were almost exact each time:

1: 1:25:27 1:25:27
2: 46:51 2:12:17
3: 46:38 2:58:55
4: 46:05 3:45:00

Funny how my best lap was the LAST LAP? Amazing, isn’t it?

So my formal splits are as follows:

1 – 8:39
2 – 8:20
3 – 8:30
4 – 8:34
5 – 8:43
6 – 8:27
7 – 8:45
8 – 8:45
9 – 8:26
10 – 8:28
11 – 8:33
12 – 8:43
13 – 8:41
14 – 8:38
15 – 8:36
16 – 8:42
17 – 8:34
18 – 8:33
19 – 8:35
20 – 8:33
21 – 8:40
22 – 8:40
23 – 8:44
24 – 8:35
25 – 8:28
26 – 8:17 – MY FASTEST MILE!!! in 26!
26.2 – 1:46

So the lesson is all about pacing … I felt for the people I was passing that were suffering like I was two weeks ago. I’m disappointed that there are no more spring marathons to get into, but I might need the break before kicking it up for the next one in September …

Well, i’m sore as can be, but still thrilled about my result … off to rest!