Baltimore Marathon

I had a great time at the Baltimore Marathon. Last year I had run the race as one of four people in the relay. I had the second leg, which was mostly flat around the harbor. This year I got to see the sections that the others had done.

The course elevation is essentially a big "U": lots of downhill at the start, flat in the middle, then uphill at the end. The net elevation gain/loss should be zero because it starts/ends in pretty much the same place. But you'd never know it by looking at the course profile.

Starting line was crowded and had a fun atmosphere. People joking and chatting, not a lot of serious runner faces which was nice.

I started off very slow to get warmed up. Saw some fellow maniacs and chatted with them. After the first mile I was warmed up so I picked up the pace. I felt great! I kept up the pace and kept on going.

Almost half-way through, I came upto two gals with shirts that had check boxes on their backs, and labels: 5K (check), 10K (check), half marathon (check), marathon (unchecked). I commented that they will need to add a 50M checkbox next. They laughed and in turning I landed a little funny and it really hurt my knee. I nursed it along at a slower pace and it eventually settled down, but that was another reminder to focus on my run and not screw around being clever.

I was going fine until the mile 20 mark or so. The saying I've heard "anyone can do 20 miles, it's the next six that count" really came home to me then. I had been keeping up with the 4:45 Geico pace group and I lost them on these hills. I had an extra rice krispy bar in my pouch and decided this was the time it was needed. When the 5:00 pace group came up, I said "no way am I losing them" and I found some extra gas inside and kept with them up those last hills.

It was a welcome break to come to the final downhill stretch. I kept on picking 'em up and putting 'em down and I finished in 4:59:20.