October 2017 – the space between the notes

They changed the course for the 10 Miler this year, but my previous personal record was 01:23:52, with a chip pace of 08:24 min/mi. This year I finished in 01:20:36, with a chip pace of 08:04 min/mi. That is a significant improvement.

I ran in compression shorts and a tank top. I did not stop at all to walk or pause, even to refill water. It was cool outside and I didn’t run out of water in my handheld.

I did grab a Gu for fuel, since they were giving them out, but I was already in the middle of fueling with my Huma gel at that point, so I stowed it for later. I didn’t end up using it during the race but I have it now for another time. The fuel that I used during the race was one Huma Gel, Apple Cinnamon flavor, no caffeine. I began fueling right around mile 4.75. I usually nurse my Gel for a while. It was after mile 6 when I finally finished it. Huma Chia Energy Gel, Apples & Cinnamon, 12 Gels – Premier Sports Nutrition for Endurance Exercise

I like the new course better than the old course, as it seemed like every uphill had a downhill on the new course. Even though the new course has us racing down Cardiac Hill instead of up it, this course is not without plenty of uphill. Thankfully the weather was perfect today. Cool but not cold and pretty much overcast for the whole time. Ideal!

https://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-27597?entryID=32503992&interval_time=2377390

PNC Atlanta 10 Miler » Atlanta, GA
Bib 2616 PINA PORCEDDU
Finished 01:20:36
Overall 400th of 4,152
Female 87th of 2,317
F40-44 11th of 387
Female Masters 22nd of 1,178

Timing

Interval	Time of Day	Chip Time	Chip Pace	Gun Time	Gun Pace
Start	7:20:23AM
Cardiac Hill	7:41:40AM	00:07:05	07:05 min/mi
5 Mile	8:00:00AM	00:39:37	07:56 min/mi	00:42:09	08:26 min/mi
Finish	8:40:59AM	01:20:36	08:04 min/mi	01:23:08	08:19 min/mi

New Personal Record for Marathon at the 7th Annual 7 Bridges Marathon, my 7th Full Marathon. (The 777)

I finished my 7th full Marathon (not counting Savannah, as I don’t count it since it was diverted) and it was my best Marathon time so far. It was also my best marathon experience, despite the fact that the course was over the standard distance and I ended up running 27.1 miles instead of 26.2. Even considering that, my time is a personal record at 4:17:58. The race director, attempting to appease those whom were attempting to qualify for Boston, also posted “adjusted” marathon times for everyone. Boston would not accept those times, however, so there were 3 individuals who could have qualified but were not able to, due to the extra distance. I was not one of those runners. I would have to make significant time improvements to be able to qualify for Boston; in my current age group I would have to run a 3:45 or better marathon. Nonetheless, my “adjusted” time is a quite pleasing 4:11:06 for the marathon distance. So, as it were, I don’t have simply a time for my 7th marathon, but rather a time and an “adjusted” time.

In other good news with regards to my 7th Full Marathon (the 7th Annual 7 Bridges Marathon), ‘The 777’ as I affectionately named it, I won the 1st Place in my Age Group. I left the race initially, not thinking I would have placed. After showering and changing I took a closer look at the printout of my time and saw 2nd place in my Age Group, so I headed back. When I went back to pick up the award, the lady took my picture on the podium. I got on the 2nd one. She said “first place, right?” and I said “no, second” and that’s were I stayed as she took the picture. The picture really doesn’t look very good as I had just rushed out of the shower with hair a mess and no makeup on, feeling a bit sore and so I didn’t smile that great but hey, I placed. As it turns out, however, when the results were posted on the website, it said I had gotten 1st place! That explains why she had said that when I was taking the photo. I should have questioned her then, that would have made for a better smile 🙂 The award was a mug, not nearly as cool an award as the trophy I received a couple years ago at the Museum of Aviation Marathon, but it is really the idea of the award rather than the award itself. It’s an honor to win, regardless. That is one of the better things about small races, you can place when you aren’t an elite.

I stayed at The Crash Pad in Chattanooga. It’s a hostel, with bunk beds, but it was totally cool and I would definitely stay there again. I slept well with their wrap around curtains and fans inside the bunks. They had lockable storage under the bunks and breakfast with coffee was included (cook yourself eggs and toast). People were awesome and it was very economical; I loved it.

The only thing that went wrong at my 777 experience was that the bus that was supposed to pick me up at The Crash Pad at 5:15 never showed up. This stressed me out. I waited for about 30 minutes and then decided to drive to the race and look for parking. I was in such panic mode that I forgot my wallet for the drive. Thankfully, this was not a problem at all and I found free parking. It was actually better having my car there at the finish line since I didn’t have to use gear check and I could leave at my convenience.

I had been concerned about the weather being too warm for the marathon but it stayed overcast for the whole race. It was slightly cool but not cold at all at the beginning and it was not even hot at the end, thanks to the clouds. I ran in compression shorts and a singlet. For breakfast before the race I ate a banana, a few dates, and a granola bar.

I only used 2 gels for fuel during the race: one with 50 mg. caffeine (mocha flavored Gu) at mile 9 and then a Berry Pomegranate with electrolytes and no caffeine at mile 17. (If you use these items, thank you for purchasing them via the links connected to my Amazon Associates account provided at the end of this post or here:
CLIF SHOT – Energy Gel – Mocha – With Caffeine (1.2 Ounce Packet, 24 Count)
Huma PLUS – Chia Energy Gel – Variety, 12 Gels – Natural Electrolyte Enhanced Energy Gel.)

I did not eat during the race but I did partake of Gatorade at many of the aid stations. Pickle juice at miles 18 (?) and 24 was most helpful. The only times I took walk breaks during the marathon was at the aid stations while drinking water or Gatorade or refilling my water bottle. This was an improvement on previous marathons, where I had taken occasional walk breaks otherwise. There were plenty of aid stations. Towards the end is when they are most helpful and it was great that there was one about every mile. It made the pain pass quickly knowing that there would be a station coming up soon. I really liked the frequency of them. I think that is one of the best things about this race.

The course for 7 Bridges Marathon is absolutely beautiful. It was the most beautiful course I have run so far. It is mostly along the water everywhere, thanks to the bridges and the path along the river; I always find that water is such a soothing thing to run near. The bridges are lovely and there are only minimal hills and very few of them. It’s too bad that my current plan is to not repeat marathons because I would definitely do this one again. Maybe once I have done a lot of different marathons I will consider repeating a course. If I were to ever repeat a marathon course again, this is one I would repeat. Hopefully they will get the distance more precise in the future, but this is a marathon not to be missed. It was wonderful.

Thank you, 7 Bridges Marathon, for my best marathon experience yet!!!

Race Results for 2017 7 Bridges Marathon can be found at: http://www.itsyourrace.com/Results/5882/2017/41458/299 My Bib number was 299 if you want to search for me from the Main Results page for the 2017 7 Bridges Marathon.

Adjusted times for the 2017 7 Bridges Marathon are linked from: http://sevenbridgesmarathon.com/2017-marathon-adjusted-times/ On this page, click on the 7 Bridges Marathon Adjusted Times link and it will open the file with the adjusted times. Also linked from this page are the adjusted times from the half marathon course, which was apparently 0.6 miles under the specified distance.

My results information:
Chip Time 04:17:58.0
Gun Time 04:18:04.5
Overall Finish 88 / 356
Gender Finish 22 / 150
Age Group Finish 1 / 19
Average Pace 9:37/mile
Splits:
6.5 Mi 00:55:26.7 Place 84 / 363
12.65 Mi 01:53:14.4 Place 108 / 362
19 Mi 03:11:10.3 Place 92 / 333

My adjusted results information:
Bib 299
First PINA
Last PORCEDDU
Gun Time 04:18:04.509
Gun BQ Adj 04:11:12.318
Chip Time 04:17:58.096
Chip BQ Adj 04:11:06.076
Age 42
Div Marathon
Gender F
City Atlanta
State GA

Race Fuel Used:
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