2009 USAF Marathon

Duration = 2:37:48
Distance = 13.36
Calories = 1681
Max HR = 204
Avg HR = 163
Running Index = 43
Max Cadence = 120
Avg Cadence = 92

The USAF Marathon was my goal race for this year. While I was deployed to Iraq (the reason I've been quiet the last several months), I didn't get the miles in that I wanted to complete a full marathon. I swapped for the half-marathon.

It was great. The full marathon and the 10K started on 0730. They had a fly-over of a pair of F-16s that was right on time with full afterburner as the climbed out. The starting gun was a small explosion. The half marathon started at 0830 with a similar sequence. It took me three minutes to get to the start. The race runs through Wright-Patterson AFB, OH which is also the location of Huffman Prairie where the Wright brothers did work on their kites and gliders leading to the development of the Wright Flyer. We had a Wright B Flyer over the course for most of my run. We also had additional fly-overs at different times during the race.

From my watch, I have the following lap times (rounded to the second):
1 12:02
2 11:26
3 11:39
4 11:21
5 11:34
6 12:07
7 11:19
8 13:03 (Portajohn stop)
9 11:29
10 11:43
11 10:42
12 11:16
13 11:33

Finish = 2:33:02 Chip Time = 2:32:52

This is a rough value looking at the download from my Polar HRM. There are results posted, but I'm not in them. I'll see if there is anything I can do to get my chip time next week. ETA: I am now in the results.

I had a minor issue in mile 10 and walked up one hill in there. Except for that, I felt really good during this race. I walked through most of the aid stations drinking Gatorade and water. I didn't get a chance to try anything else during my training, so I didn't try anything new during the race. I was a bit sore after the race, but a shower, a 4-5 hour nap and an Advil seems to have helped greatly.

[Updated 2009-09-26 0126 EDT for results]