Inaugural Pasadena Marathon Redux

Leading up to this race, my coworkers have all been sick and I don't know why they were allowed to come into work and infect everyone else! Send them home! It's also Spring time so my allergies were acting up. I don't like running races while sick or feeling under the weather. There are a couple of things that I tried new in this race. I have been training to run for 30 minutes and taking 1 minute walking breaks. I followed that plan for the first 20 miles of the race. I never really know what to expect for the last 10k. But to better implement that plan, I carried my own drink, which lasted me for the majority of the race. The size of the marathon field was just right. There was absolutely no crowding at the aid stations. I easily ran through since I had my own drink. It was nice that some of the stations had GU. I really need to continue to rehab my right leg so I can do more long runs. It hasn't felt this good for a long time. But I still can't push as hard as I want on the uphills, but it is a lot more manageable now.

During this race it was cold, somewhat windy at times, and raining for a good portion of the race. I wasn't able to park as early as I had hoped. I then was not able to hit the port-a-potties before the start. I just hopped into the starting area and hoped for the best. As is the norm, I started off with an aggressive pace. For me that would be a sub 4 (3:50) pace. I did not hold that for very long. I ended up getting to the halfway point a little past the 2hr mark. The mile markers were off, therefore I am not listing the splits. It's times like this that I kind of wish that I'd owned a Garmin. It was really nice to run through areas that I've trained on in the past. It's much easier when you know what to expect. Just right before the 19th mile marker, I stopped for a much needed potty break.

One thing that I've noticed wrong with the logistics for this race is the parking. I was able to cut through the back way and enter the parking structure at Hill and Del Mar. But everyone was being directed to the other parking structure on Bonnie. It was a shame that there was only a handful of cars parked where I was, when the place can hold thousands of cars. This undoubtedly caused a lot of people to be late for the start of the race. But this is the race's first year, I'm sure it'll get better in each subsequent year.

The course felt easier than it looked on paper. It was hilly, but not terribly bad. I finished in 4:21:25. A new PR, which is nothing spectacular, but good enough to beat Oprah's marathon time back when she was "skinny" Oprah. She's one of the reason why there's lots of recreational marathoners these days. I swear Oprah can get anybody to do anything. Anyways, I went for a steak afterwards. Surprise surprise! While I was eating my steak, my left pectoral muscle was cramping for what some unknown reason. The waitress came by and asked if I was alright when she saw me massaging my chest. If I could read her mind, she probably thought I was having a heart attack! :D To be honest, I did not really enjoy the steak... *gasp*! But it's true. I haven't been really enjoying red meat as of late. These days I crave seafood more than anything. Seafood, pho, and ramen.

Well that's 3 marathons down. At least 9 more to go for 2009. I seem to be getting better which each race and at this rate, I should go sub 4 by the middle of this year! But somehow I wouldn't bet money on that! :D