I had visions of crafting a witty clever blog about the marathon to post on my other blog...But I don't know if I can do that. As with any race, you think about the things that were "off"...that may have contributed to an off performance. Whereas in reality it may be as simple as the fact that 26.2 kicked my ass.
My last runs before the race were not good runs. I was tired. The day before the race? Tired. The morning of the race? Tired. Mind and body. And maybe just "thinking" that, was enough to throw me off. Sore throat. Stuffy nose. And reading that taking a NAISD before running might be a death sentence. I always took Excedrin before I ran. The caffeine boost and pain relief always helped me. But I decided the I didn't want to mess with the medical warnings that were part of the race packet...
I also know that not training with Russ and then attempting to run together didn't help matters. Russ has a completely different running style than me...he surges as needed to keep his overall pace. I am pretty good at being consistent with my pace. It all felt wrong. I also couldn't get into my zone. I never did. I was distracted by the runners surrounding me. I didn't enter a zone at any point in the race.
And it was warm. Not HOT. But it was very sunny. And by the end it was 78. Too hot for me to run 26.2....
I knew at around 5 or 6 miles my mind was very off as compared to other long runs.
I settled in a little bit shortly after that.
But at mile 9ish there was a 3/4mile climb. And it drained me. I gasped to Russ that I did NOT want to try to "make up" that time. Because that is how he was running---pushing us to a 9 minute mile to make up for the start time...way too fast for me when I had been hoping to keep a 9:45 pace (for a 4:15 finish). Another thing I realized is that while most of my long runs came in at a 9:45-9:50 pace (my 18 miler was a 9:30 pace)...all of my miles were between 9:50 and 10. I would often lower my overall pace just through speeding up for my last 2 miles. So those surges really may have affected me more than I thought. Or not. Again, who knows.
Either way, by 10 miles I was draining. To the point that around the time I turned to Russ and said "I have to walk"...Now I get that many people use walking as part of the training, but I never ever walk. I just don't. Because of fear of never starting again. So at that point it became clear that this race was NOT happening. We started running again but by 13.1, I needed to walk again. And I told Russ to move it along. I was done. Out. And I really didn't want or need anyone to be with me. I wasn't angry. Or frustrated. Disappointed? Sure. And mildly concerned with how the hell I was going to "end this". I walked. And then ran again. And realized that walk/running actually does make sense. I drilled it up Battery Street...the worst part of the course but the best part because it was the most incredible crowd support I ever experienced.
I continued a 2 mile run/quarter mile walk (which was too far to walk for the record) for a bit...and then at some point everything just started unraveling. The running became less, the walking more. It was hot. I was tired. But I knew I was going to finish that mother fucker. I thought of Greta. I thought of Kyle. I thought of the kids at school. I had to finish.
The crowd support throughout the race was so amazing. Without the spectators handing out water and ice pops (best treat EVER when running on a hot day)...I really don't know if I would finish.
By the end I was barely moving. Apparently there was one mile in there that I basically walked the whole mile (viewing the mile by mile break down on my garmin was amusing).
I finished. I didn't even f'ng care about the time. I just knew that my marathon experienced was OVER. And that was good enough.
For a moment.
Then I realized I HAD to do another one.
To see what I can do.
So that is what I am doing.
Starting training Monday for the Maine Full.
Goal: to PR of course...Sub 4:30 would make me ok. Sub 4:15 may be enough for me to never run another marathon again.
But probably not.
Maybe I am a marathoner?
Giving myself a full week off from exercise.
Can't wait until Monday...
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