So, this is my 2nd marathon, first was last October in Chicago (3:47 chip time).
When I picked up my bib I was in corral A, people were pretty intense, I was really there to run and not have fun. I just joined the PGH marathon to prepare for the NYC marathon this Nov because they have almost the same elevation profile and lots of hills, I think my total elevation gain was around 400m when the marathon ended.
I went to the front of the pacers at 3:40 so I still think I'm sub 3:40 which is my A goal. The only problem is why did the 3:40 pacers bank time, I'm not that kind of person. 😭 so I just relaxed by 12k it was too late when I realized I was already too fast, it wasn't good.
So I chilled first and called my family on Facetime to meet me at mile 9. I saw them etc. They were surprised because they said I was relaxed and laughing, so I thought let's push to sub 3:35. I peed after that, then around mile 16. As long as the sub 3:35 pacers weren't too far from me, just in sight. But that's how it is in this corral, so many people were cramping, it's really hilly and then everyone seemed to want to PR, then you see the female influencers who were so fast that you thought they didn't have it in this marathon.
There are dreaded hills in Pittsburgh from mile 11-13 with mile 12-13 being a really steep hill, 100ft of elevation. I finished there, my training in the hills was pretty good maybe because that's where I run for my long runs. But then I got to mile 20, I was hyped, because this is where the race starts. When mile 23 came, it was a net downhill, where you should speed up. But I felt like my right quads were going to lock up, not due to nutrition I'm sure but for sure I was fried because I had a lot of time on my feet the Saturday before because we were still participating in other events of the marathon weekend. So, instead of it fully cramping, I slowed down just to make it through this downhill. Eventually it worked out in my favor.
Anyway, I finished, they said I ran the marathon in 3:34, according to Strava, but that's not true, I was actually 3:35 per chip time. I didn't stop my watch when I peed so most likely it didn't really count towards the running time when you stopped.
This is my 2nd marathon and planning to go sub 3:30 or hopefully sub 3:25 if possible.
For training: i just used chatgpt and prompted appropriately, i previously used Runna for Chicago, too aggressive and quite useless if he doesn't know your strengths and weaknesses
Shoes: i used my trusty nb elite sc v4, which has now retired since it's been 2 marathons. For training shoes, i was using mostly vomero+ for daily runs and long runs, i cycled 2 vom+s throughout the block so the foam is okay. Puma dne3 and vaporfly 3 for my speed workouts.
Mpw: last 3 months my avg was 60 mpw. Running daily even if I travel to work. Long runs are always on Saturdays, majority of daily runs are on the treadmill at 1% even though my MLR is around 11-12 miles on a wednesday. I have completed many series.
All in all, it was a fun experience to know where my fitness is for nyc marathon, this time I will show up to the pinoys too, last year I only met one person at brooks shake out (if you are here, dm me! Idol triathlete)