Denver Marathon by the Mile

I've been holding off writing this one as I wasn't sure how to sum it up really. The Denver Rock n Roll Marathon was far and away one of the simpler races I have run. There were no carpools to catch outside a Starbucks at 4am nor ferry's to reach my starting line. It was through a town I knew best (out of the 4 I have run). It was all in all fairly easy, as marathons go. None the less, it has become tradition to recapture the run as well as possible, by the mile, to give insight on how it felt to run it. I know I read a friend's account to become less scared for my first. So here it is, my perspective to run 26.2 miles in the Mile High City.

Miles 1 - 4:

Mile 11 

After an adventure getting to the starting line in Civic Park. It felt good, and warmer, to get moving at last. The first few miles were beautiful, running through downtown just as the sun came up. It surprised me though to see how few people were out a the start of the race. I kept reminding myself to pass no one and to keep a steady pace. With the exception of one port-a-potty stop, that was achieved.

Miles 5 - 11:

This was when the real pace started to settle in. The first pangs of a chronic blister on my left instep began. Slight aches and training pains surfaced. All the while we we were serpenting  through City Park. While beautiful, it was somewhat disappointing to look over and see several paths of runners going back and forth. I am a loop fan myself, not so much an out and back so I would have preferred of stretch further into the city. That's me though. This stretch was capped by my first support team visit at mile 11. It was great to see them and truly bolstered my spirits.

Miles 12 - 21

Mile 14

This began with the departure of the half marathoners. The field was diminished greatly as it seemed 7 out of 10 runners pealed off to complete the 13.1 course. Without much for support on the streets, it became a quieter run very quickly. Another long out and back turn on 7th and the rest was a run to the southern turn around point. My family again boosted me up at mile 14. They were incredible. The runners were also beginning to support each other as we passed through Washington Park. For the first time in any marathon, I actually felt hungry. A few Honey Stinger chews helped there. It definitely felt good to turn north for the final stretch.

Miles 22 - 25

An easy straight stretch towards downtown. There was but one remaining jag to extend the distance and that wasn't too bad. I was hoping to beat my 4hr goal, but it was shaping up to be missed by a small margin. None the less I resisted the constant urge to walk during these miles as I knew it would be close to 4hrs if I didn't. My family once again rejuvenated me at mile 25. Honestly, I was starting to hurt by then.

Miles 25 - 26.2:

It seems a cruel joke that so often marathons end with hills. Denver, having been surprisingly flat most of the course, offered an incredible hill at 25.5 that all but stopped the few runners I was around. I opted to pump my arms like I was on fire and hope my legs could keep up. I succeeded in not walking, but damn near broke down when I got to the top of the hill and turned left only to descend as quickly the next block. Going down hill hurt worse by far. I was able to coast in to the finish line with a good stride, but no extra juice.

My final time, as I have posted, was 4:05:57. It was a new PR and I greatly thank my family and wife for all the support!