I’ve been a little quiet here but mostly because I’ve been focused on work and running while still finding time for family.
I was a runner in high school, started to get into shape and then got married and had kids fairly young. After health issues due to unhealthy lifestyle during the pandemic (Nurse in Healthcare Administration) I worked on losing weight and officially started running on July 3rd 2023. It was a 35 minute easy run and I had to stop and walk around 27 minutes. Since then I’ve focused on building consistency started at 3 days a week and now up to 5 days a week averaging 50 miles a week. As a 45 year old runner it’s been interesting to see my development. Ok, long intro done now onto the exciting part.
I ran the Jersey City Marathon this past Sunday and delivered a performance I’ve been dreaming of, finishing in 2:58:26 and breaking the 3-hour barrier with an average pace of 6:49 per mile. This race was defined by discipline and control early, followed by remarkable consistency through the middle miles. After opening in 7:01, I quickly settled into a steady rhythm and held the majority of the race between 6:40 and 6:50 per mile. By the halfway point in 1:29:35, I had executed exactly as planned. I felt calm, controlled, and slightly ahead of pace without overextending. Physiologically, the effort progressed exactly how I wanted, with heart rate building from the 150s early into the 170s later.
Amusingly, the defining moment came at mile 22, not because I was fading but because I briefly lost track of how to do math and more specifically my pacing relative to the 3-hour goal. I convinced myself I might fall short and made the decision to pick up the pace. What followed was not a desperate push, but a controlled acceleration into the low 6:30s over the final miles, including a 6:31 at mile 24 and a 6:17 pace to close. More importantly, I felt strong and capable, and I believe I could have held that effort for several more miles. Instead of fading, I ran a clear negative split and finished with strength, which shows that my original pacing strategy worked and may have even been slightly conservative.
I’m waiting for them to publish better pictures to share but I’ve put some images from my Strava on the pacing.
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