26.2 miles (Sunday)

I ran the Philly Marathon on Sunday. I ended up with a time of 4:44. One way to state it is this was my second fastest marathon ever, but it could also be said it was my second slowest marathon.

I'm happy overall as I had fun running it. I got cramps in my left foot starting around mile 18 and had to walk for a bit until it went anyway. This happened just about every mile remaining and so I lost some time there walking away the cramp. It's odd because it's not something that has happened to me before. However, even without the cramps I doubt I would have been more than 5-10 minutes faster overall (about the same time as my last marathon).

I forgot how hard it can be to run at a steady pace for the first few miles of a crowded marathon. I would come up on a row of other runners and have to move left or right or just slow down. The course cleared out after the half-marathon people split off to their finish (around mile 12 or so). After that is was easier just to run at a steady pace.

It was a well organized marathon and the volunteers did a great job with the aid stations. There could have been more porta potties but I guess that's always the case with big events. I lost about five minutes during the run waiting for one.

I think the major reason I was not able to run faster was my fitness level at the start of this training cycle. It would be a stretch to say I was in good running shape when I started the program. I think my training was really good as I improved with each 20 miler run. If I am able to keep running over the next year, I'm sure my next marathon will be faster.

The current plan is to aim for the 40 mile run in the late spring. I don't feel like I could have run yesterday's marathon much faster but I do feel like I could have run another few miles at the pace I was going. If the 40 miler does not work for scheduling reasons, I'll aim to do the Nashville Marathon in April (my first marathon done with my great wife of 10 years!)