Sunday, October 14, 2007

MDI marathon

What an absolutely gorgeous marathon course and a perfect weather day to boot! We had temperatures between 42-52F (6-12C) with mostly overcast and light-medium winds from 10-15mph.
We were honored to have Maine native and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit-Samuelson speak at the pasta supper. She gave a great talk and had some good advice that we all took to heart.

I just have time to post a few pics and comments for now with more analysis later. The 3 Blind Moose and the Mountain Goat all started with different criteria for success. Jamie was the 1st across the line in a strong 3:21.

And here are the 3 Blind Moose all together at the 11.5 mile mark.
Andrew looking good around 17 miles. Andrew finished next in a 3:2x (24-28 something not sure)
Here's Jamie around the 17 mile mark just steaming along.
Our new friend Katie, a friend of Jamie's had a great race and got her BQ too!

Here is the end of my sprint finish with the girl who pushed me really hard over the last mile just behind. I hadn't been passed since mile 11 or so and wasn't going to get 'chicked' at the very end of the race! I finished in 3:34:16 with a 7 minute -ve split. Oh the joys of starting slow and easy but it was still a long way to the final finish line.

More analysis later, but right now I have a filet mignon steak waiting for me somewhere in Bar Harbor, gotta go!

11 comments:

UMaine Cooperative Extension said...

Great job Mike! It was fun running with you guys for the first 12. What a wonderful weekend.

Unknown said...

Congrats on the negative split and not getting chicked at the finish.

Jamie Anderson said...

Holy cow, I didn't realize you had that large of a negative split! Nice going! Not easy to do on that course.

Had a blast this weekend, thanks for being part of it. See you again hopefully sometime soon. In the meantime, recover well!

Andrew said...

Mike,

That photo of you being chased by a pretty girl is classic. It could be your personal logo.

Great to run a marathon with you again!

Steph said...

Congrats Dad! Looks like you had fun :) I was thinking of you when I was waiting for the PEI marathoners to cross University Ave so I could get to school! Talk to you soon.
Steph

Thomas said...

Great job on getting the photos up so quickly, and well done on the race with that massive negative split, especially on a course like that.

Michael Jay Dotson said...

Very strong and impressive 2nd half but those photo's are going to give people the wrong idea - that running a marathon can actually be fun!

2 marathons in less than a month. Wow.

Grellan said...

That is a very impressive negative split Mike. Doesn't it just feel great to go out easy and have all that gas left in the tank when you need it most - make for a most enjoyable race and prevents getting "chicked" or "chapped" when you least want it.

A. Power said...

Looks like it was a great race day! Hope you had lots of fun too! See you in November ;)

Phil said...

Very impressive Mike. You're still the fastest guy my age that I know. Every time I doubt my ability to improve, I need only think of your consistent performance.

Loved the pictures. Especially the juxtaposition of the kid sticking out her tongue while you were sprinting towards the finish.

Dawn - Pink Chick Tris said...

Nice photos and nice job on the race. Boy have I got a lot of work to do if I even hope to be within "butt photo distance" for the PEI race next year.