Marathon week has arrived! NYC is already dressed in orange for the occasion!
This morning Bo, Rebecca, and I celebrated the season by participating in the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 5 miler. This race is a great race due to the energy and spirit. It is a perfect way to kick off marathon week. This year there was an added bonus of costumes since it’s Halloween! 
The race sold out this year which meant the park was packed this morning!
Due to the crowds, they started ordering us into the corrals earlier than normal. We didn’t mind because our time in the corral was spent catching up, seeing other friends, stretching, and snapping pictures.
We were all smiles before the race. We’d already aligned that we would spend the race catching up since I didn’t want to push my pace one week before the marathon and Bo’s calf is still giving him issues.
A few minutes after the national anthem we crossed the start, ready for a great race. The fall leaves welcomed us with open arms!
Today’s course was one of my favorites as it was a reverse loop around the park. This means we were able to run DOWN Cat Hill instead of conquering the gradual incline.
Bo, Rebecca, and I had an absolute blast during the race. We talked about work, school, the upcoming marathon, training, and Bo’s injury. The great conversation and beautiful Fall weather kept us occupied until my short breathing gave me a reason to check my Garmin. I couldn’t believe my eyes, our pace for mile 2 was 9:10! Our splits were putting me on pace to set a new PR. My fastest pace in a NYRR race, longer than 3 miles, before today was 9:51.
We did our best to slow down after mile 2 but the three of us were all feeling way too great! Our breathing was definitely short and the sweat was dripping but our legs wanted to sprint. Bo volunteered to pace us and did his best to keep us around a 9:30. He had to tell us multiple times not to pass him if we wanted to keep a slower pace. We were running so quickly at the end that I barely noticed Jessica along the sidelines.
Five miles later a new PR had been set and we were still all smiles!
Poland Springs Marathon Kickoff 5 miler
Final Net Time: 48:12
Avg Pace: 9:38
Mile 1: 10:05
Mile 2: 9:10
Mile 3: 9:32
Mile 4: 9:33
Mile 5: 9:17
We gulped some water, stretched our legs, and then enjoyed an easy 3 mile jog home which rounded out my last long run of marathon training!
I can’t wait for next Sunday’s marathon!
If you are interested, I’m looking for readers interested in contributing week of and day of marathon tips. If you’ve run a marathon then I want readers to learn from your experience. Please email them to healthyhappierbear at gmail dot com this week! I’ll feature them this week!
Have a great Sunday!
