nyc marathon finisher!

I am so excited! I finished the race yesterday and on top of that, I did better than expected. 

To anyone not familar, a marathon is 26.2 miles.  Generally a rule of thumb is to take a recent 1/2 marathon, double the time, and then add 10-15 mins on for general fatigue.  Well, The NYC marathon guidelines recommend adding an ADDITIONAL 10-15 mins on due to the hilly nature of the course, and the extreme crowded conditions....giving me an ETA of H.M- 2:03:00 + 10 + 15 = 2:28:00.

I finished in 2:07:13!  The main reason for this, I swear, is MIND OVER MATTER!  The race had three different starting "waves", each 20 mins apart.  Then, within each wave, is about 15,000 people.  So by the time I reached the start line, in my wave (10:00 AM start) I knew it was 10:10 so I figured the ENTIRE race that I was actually doing 10 mins better than what the clocks said.  I based my entire race and pace off of this, figuring I was on track to finish between 4:20:00 and 4:30:00. 

After the race finished I felt great about my time, thinking I had finished in 4:27:00.  Then things got confusing.  After hearing some other people talk about their times I got confused, asked around, and found out the clock had been set for the 1st wave (9:40 start), so really I was running 30 mins better!  A lot of my split times were SUB 9 min miles.  The crazy thing is, I would have never ever ever ran at that kind of pace if I had known, I mentally owuld have freaked out and convinced myself it was too fast and I couldnt finish.

Sooo moral of the story is that sometimes leaving a bit to the unknown can work to our benefit!  I take this to mean that if I were on a flat course  Icould have had a sub 4 hr marathon, CRAZY!!!  (ps- my first marathon time was over 5 hrs, hahaha i still can't believe that!!

To anyone out there even CONSIDERING a marathon, DO IT!!! Its insane how accomplished you will feel afterwards!  If you would like any advice feel free to msg me!

CONGRATS!!! That is so incredible. I'm considering training for a marathon once I make it through the New Rules of Lifting and can focus more on maintaining muscle mass than building it.

AWESOME!  I can't imagine how good that must feel! GREAT JOB!

I agree, it is totally incredible and awesome. Congrats!!!!!!!

Hi dplatzer: Congratulations. I watched the race on tv add it looked like an awesome race. Sooo many people.  I agree with you, if anyone is considering doing a marathon they should do it.  The feeling of accomplishment after the race is so worth it.  I did my first marathon on the 12th of October, it was an experience of a life time.  

thanks everyone!  Munrori, did you do the Chicago marathon?  If not, which one did you do? 

Awesome, congrats!

Super huge congrats on finishing a marathon!  However, not to be a downer, but if you did the full 26.2 miles  I think you probably took 4 hours + (on par with your estimate), which is still a great feat, I am not disputing that at all!!  You are able to search for your results at http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/results/index.p hp, and your 2:07 that you think you had was faster than the first place male or female, so it is probably not correct. See top finishers at: http://www.adventure-marathon.com/ING-New-Yor k-City-Marathon-results.aspx . Truly I am not busting your chops or being a hater, please no one attack me for this post.  I'm just trying to help you find the correct result.  Congrats again, truly it is a great accomplishment.

haha yes you are right- typo there!  i meant to say 4:07:13.  i finished my last half in 2:03:02, so yeah that would be a bit of a stretch to then finish a full in that time

Congratulations! That is quiet an accomplishment. That is a great finishing time as well. When I saw 2 hours I thought you were ready for the Olympics!

Original Post by dplatzer:

thanks everyone!  Munrori, did you do the Chicago marathon?  If not, which one did you do? 

 I did my first marathon at a very small race (135 runners) just outside of Ottawa, Ontario Canada Called the Ottawa **** Fall Colours.  I completed the race in 3:26:02 which is good enough for me to qualify for Boston.  I just got my registration confirmation for Boston last week. 

awesome job!!!! 

any advice? i am doing my first marathon in 8 days, and my stomach turns every time that i think about it. i am so nervous. i ran 2 halfs this year, the philly distance run was a mega disappointment for me at 2:11, so i drove down to A.C. not to long ago to better my time so that i had the confidence to try the marathon. i finished in 1:56, so i was psyched! but i am really scared. i have been training and i know i shouldn't be as freaked out as i am, but my first half was such a "bad running day" for me it totally has me shook....

help, and congrats again, you're a hero to me!!!