Harrisburg Marathon

November 9th, 2009 Posted in Harrisburg Marathon 2009

I ran the Harrisburg marathon on Sunday. I finished! I’m happy about that.

My original plan was to run at 8:23/mile pace (3:40) for the first half and, allowing for some fade, run at 8:35 pace/mile (3:45) for the second half. I knew that there were some hills in the second half that would be tough. As often as is the case, things don’t always go as planned and plans change.

Unfortunately, the temperature rose steadily from the 40s at race start to almost 70 degrees by the time I finished. I was on pace for a 3:40 finish through the first 15 miles. After that point, the hills and the heat wore me down. My finish goal changed from 3:40, to 3:45, to beating my 3:53 PR and finally to finish under 4 hours.

I crossed the finish line in 3:57:09. A sub 4 hour marathon was a minor victory for me.

I was under trained for the hills which probably did me in more than the warm weather. I’ve nursed both achilles during training and didn’t do as much hills or speed work as I should have. Knowing the course now in hindsight, I would have set a more realistic time goal and probably felt better along the way.

110809a

My wife, aka Redhead Fangirl, was awesome. I saw her four times during the race. She made signs for me and rang the cowbells for all of the runners. The best part was that she was there after I finished and she took good care of me.

Here are some photos from the marathon. I carried my camera with me and took some photos on the run:

I’ve added a Harrisburg Marathon banner to my rotating blog headers.

My race statistics:
3:57:09 chip tip, 3:57:36 gun time
312/909 overall
37/89 age group
43/84 if I was a relay team

Congratulations to Ashis Roy, 77, who completed the Harrisburg Marathon which was marathon #98 for him. I had read before the race that he was running. I actually saw him around mile 4, but I didn’t make the connection until after the race. Here’s an article about him.

 

  1. 23 Responses to “Harrisburg Marathon”

  2. By Running Jayhawk on Nov 8, 2009

    Great job out there on an unseasonably warm day. :) Glad the fangirl is taking good care of you, too!

     

     

  3. By YM on Nov 8, 2009

    Great job ShoreTurtle!

     

     

  4. By david on Nov 8, 2009

    I think the number of degrees of temperature change was worse than the high end 60s; although to me, those are cool temps compared to my usual conditions. Sub 4:00 is always a satisfying time.
    How was breakfast?

     

     

  5. By darrell on Nov 8, 2009

    What a day?! I was not expecting the hills to take the toll they did. More frequent water stations sure would have been appreciated. Congrats on hanging on for a sub 4:00 and still smiling at the end.

     

     

  6. By FLYERS26 on Nov 8, 2009

    Nice job!
    Congrats on finishing another marathon!

     

     

  7. By Jenny on Nov 8, 2009

    Congrats! That is a big change in temperature, that can be tough to handle. Great job hanging in there and pushing to the finish!

     

     

  8. By Jenny on Nov 8, 2009

    By the way, I really like the changing pictures on the header of your blog – just noticed it now! It’s almost like a slideshow. Fancy!

     

     

  9. By Danny on Nov 8, 2009

    sounds like a tough one – and you persevered. (what’s with you and the hot marathons?!) rest up, and i look forward to hearing about it…

     

     

  10. By Roy on Nov 9, 2009

    Great work! Sub-4 is always good. Thanks for the report.

     

     

  11. By Progman2000 on Nov 9, 2009

    Way to go Charlie – that’s a handsome medal

     

     

  12. By jank on Nov 9, 2009

    YEAH!

     

     

  13. By Dan on Nov 9, 2009

    Great job Charlie with getting in under 4 hours with those hills and heat.

     

     

  14. By lindsay on Nov 9, 2009

    congrats on the sub-4! the unseasonable heat can make it tough, and hills are always hard – great job sticking it out! nice bling!

     

     

  15. By Denise on Nov 9, 2009

    Great job!! The weather right now is crazy!

     

     

  16. By Marlene on Nov 9, 2009

    Nice medal and congratulations on another marathon. Sorry to hear it didn’t go as planned (I can relate!) but there are just some things we can’t control no matter how well prepared we are.

    Awesome that your wife was there to support you all the wya and especially at the end.

    Recover well and keep smiling!

     

     

  17. By sneakersister on Nov 9, 2009

    I love the pace band, thanks for the link.

    Also, I told you that ramp up to the bridge at the end was pure evil! During the half marathon in September a guy dropped flat on his back on that ramp.

    Great job shoreturtle! It sure wasn’t the weather you were expecting, was it?

     

     

  18. By Robb on Nov 9, 2009

    Good job Charlie to finish under 4 hours. Sounds like tough conditions with the hills and the old injuries factored in.

     

     

  19. By Anne on Nov 9, 2009

    Look at all your fans coming out to congratulation you – including me. A sub-4 is a great time.

     

     

  20. By Joy on Nov 9, 2009

    HUGE congratulations! Beautiful pics & great work on a strong finish!

     

     

  21. By merrymishaps on Nov 9, 2009

    Hey, you still did great! Things don’t always work out the way we want them to. Congratulations!

     

     

  22. By FLYERS26 on Nov 9, 2009

    2nd post !!
    Nice pics, Turtle.

     

     

  23. By DREW on Nov 9, 2009

    Congratulations on finishing what you started. It was good to see that you were still smiling, even after the partial dissapointment.

     

     

  24. By Middalia Wayman on Nov 17, 2009

    congrats! Sounds like your marathon experience was very similar to mine. Same start goal and goal at the end, but you beat me. lol great job!

     

     

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