Month: May 2024

by Ray ingaglio

Date: May 5th 2024

Distance: 26.2

Official Time: 3:10:52

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11339183069

Training

I started my build up for this race the week of Thanksgiving, 2023. I built up coming off the Harrisburg Marathon with weeks of 20, 30, and 40 miles before I started adding 10% each week. I decided to run Jack Daniels 2Q program, as I liked the flexibility of the workouts, which fit in great with my family’s hectic schedule (we now have 2 girls under 2 years-old, and I just started nursing school while working 30 hours / week). At the end of January, I was experiencing some lower tibial pain. I decided to stop running entirely for a week after coming off my then highest volume week ever of 57 miles. This ended up being a great decision. I scaled back up pretty quickly and didn’t miss any other 2Q workouts, and the pain never flared up. I think running on the road/snow in trail shoes after a snowstorm caused it.

I averaged 50-60 miles for the majority of the block which was about 15-20 miles more per week than my Fall buildup.

I had two key workouts that really gave me confidence going into the race. The first was a repeat of a route that I did in my fall prep except I went from 20 miles at a 8:40 pace to 22 miles at a 7:39 pace, including a 6:45 last mile where I pushed because I felt like I had gas in the tank. The second was my last long run before tapering. This was a 19 miler that featured 1350 feet of vertical gain which is substantially more than the entirety of the Pittsburgh Marathon course. Average pace was 8:05, which was a bit slower than I wanted, but the elevation was brutal. At the time, I honestly thought to myself that I am an idiot and I should’ve picked a flatter route because this didn’t really give me confidence going into the taper.

Pre-Race

I said this in last year’s report for Pittsburgh, and it bears repeating: 10/10 organization and race experience. Plenty of bathrooms, quick and easy gear check, easy access to corrals, such a relaxed pre-race experience. The only stressful part of this morning was coordinating a photo with a group of other local runners for a pre-race picture. Ironically, I was the one who suggested the meeting area, and I was the only one who went to the wrong spot.

Race

Race strategy coming into the race was to run at a 7:15 pace and shoot for a final time of 3:10, with as close to even splits as possible.

Miles 1-11

One of my favorite things about the half and full in Pittsburgh is that they set off fireworks right after the gun start and after the start of each subsequent corral. My wife ran the half and this was a major selling point to her. I love how the excitement isn’t reserved for just the first corral. The first 11 miles vary between flat and rolling as you go up and down a few bridges. During this period I clocked miles between 7:07 and 7:15. For all of training and race day, I went with Tailwind powder for my nutrition. I absolutely LOVE it. I was concerned that carrying 2-750 ml soft flasks in my flip belt with 3 scoops (scoop has 25 carbs) would be annoying and cumbersome, but throughout training I found it wasn’t that annoying and I felt super well fueled and hydrated throughout my training runs. I took roughly 1/3 of the flasks every 3.5 miles.

Miles 12-14

The part that everyone talks about and fears in Pittsburgh is Birmingham Bridge and Forbes Ave. Last year I picked a hill nearby that simulated the Birmingham Bridge and strategically placed it at the end of my long runs. This year I went a step further and had hilly routes for 90% of both my easy runs and my 2Q workouts. This paid off BIG. Going into the race I told myself to not burn my candle out in this stretch and be ok with 8min or 8:15min miles. I ended up running 7:26, 7:31, and 7:16 for miles 12,13, and 14 which featured 41,102, and 43 feet of vertical gain. I did moderate the effort on the inclines, but I think this was a spot where the carb loading paid off from a power production standpoint. I also think my final key workout that I deemed “too hilly” paid off. I was feeling really good here. There was a small group of people midway up Forbes Avenue, and I turned to them, made a “eating-with-a-spoon” gesture, and said, “I eat hills for breakfast!”

Miles 15-19

This part of the course was a little bit quieter, but I enjoyed running through parts of the city that I hadn’t previously experienced. At about this time, I started to notice that there was a particular spectator who was showing up solo at various points of the race with a small sauté pan and wooden spoon to cheer people on. I didn’t see any bicycle, so I’m not sure how he was getting from point to point so quickly. My times for these miles ranged between 7:07 and 7:28.

Mile 20

Mile 20 features the highest point on the course–the last substantial incline–after which is a steady decline to the finish. It was around this point that I was starting to feel the effort become more difficult. I had music on the entire race, and I paused it for about 20 seconds. I had forgotten that someone I run with weekly was coincidentally going to be in Pittsburgh visiting a friend. Luckily my music was off because I heard him say my name and cheer me on and that gave me quite a boost when I needed it most. Clocked my slowest mile here (7:39). The “Pan Man” showed up 2 more times in this stretch.

Miles 21-26 (Race #2)

The mental boost from my buddy really helped me reset, and I realized that I actually felt pretty good for being 20+ miles into a marathon. At this point, the wall hits a lot of people, but I never ran into that issue. Shoutout yet again to Featherstone Nutrition on IG. I followed her carb loading calculator as always and I am now 3-for-3 on not bonking nor really hitting a wall in my marathons. The “Pan Man” made another appearance and I said to him, “ You are f****** everywhere!” His last appearance was around mile 25, and he seemed to be with a group of friends at this point, so this time I said, “Hot damn–it’s the man with the pan!” They thought it was funny; I thought it was funny; my wife when I told her did not think it was funny.

I was clocking miles at 7:15 or better at this point. I was slowly running people down, one-by-one, as I was surging at a time when others struggled. This was a mental boost for me, and I ground out my fastest mile at mile 24 (6:57), which had a major elevation drop of -175ft. Mile 25 took 7:21, and Mile 26 was 7:08.

The Finish 26-26.4

I unfortunately did not run a perfect course (who ever does lol) so my finish was .4 miles according to my watch. I clocked a 6:07 pace with a top pace of 5:16. The finishing stretch was super crowded as the half and full marathon course came back together. I had to weave a bit but finished strong and on my feet. I crossed the line with an official time of 3:10:52, which was almost exactly a 10 min PR from the nearly pancake-flat Harrisburg Marathon.

Post- Race

The finish line feeling is what I train for. The feeling of all the hard work paying off. All of the many early morning runs in the dark, the below freezing temperatures (including some in single digits) and lifting 3x a week with a heavy leg day weekly. I steadily climbed from 238^th place to 181^st by the finish, jumping 25 places in the last 10k. I was patient and executed my plan to perfection, all while having the most fun throughout the race that I’ve ever had.

I am constantly driven by me desire to find my true potential because I have already surpassed what I thought my potential was when I started my running journey less than two years ago in August of 2022. Next up for me is the Philly Marathon this November, where the goal is to BQ (sub 3 hrs). Realistically, this won’t actually qualify me a spot in Boston 2026 because of even faster cutoff times.

Pittsburgh has been an absolute joy to run in, so maybe in 2025 I’ll run it again and truly punch my ticket to Boston?