My 1st marathon!! Here is the official race report. Pre-Race I made sure to taper all week and i also made sure to monitor what i was eating in the last few days before the race.given the GI issues of late, i made sure to monitor this part. 2 days out it was all wheat spaghetti all day as i carb-loaded, 1 day out it was white rice for lunch and white bread sandwich and just lean turkey for dinner. race day morning i woke up at 4:45 and had 2 pieces of no fructose white italian bread. Got downtown about 6:50 and found a parking garage to park in. It was pretty neat cuz the sky was just lightening and yet the city was so alive with all the people moving around. Went and used the restroom, repeated this once and also went for about a .5 mile run to stretch my legs. Did some static stretching then went to the line to get ready for the race. Didn't do another bathroom break, so my last one was about 45 minutes before the race, it worked out that that was a good move. weather was near perfect, high 40s and low 50s for much of the race, light winds and no rain, but not abundant sunshine either, very good running weather.
the Race: started off super easy. I wanted to be up near the front so my gun time matched my chip time, but i didnt wanna take off like i usually do, so i got out and moved way over on the road while i settled in a pace that felt very pedestrian but it was a pace i knew i had to maintain. Here were my splits on the tremendously easy feeling 1st half: 1- 7:04.2 2- 6:46.4 3- 6:56.5 4- 7:12.0 (27:59, right on 7 pace) 5- 6:57.1 6- 7:01.9 7- 6:55.0 8- 7:16.7 (56:09, 7:01 pace through the first 8 miles which included nearly all of the course's major hills) 9- 6:55.2 10 & 11- missed the mile marker cuz i was getting water from the aid station, 13:39, 6:50 avg pace 12- 6:48.9 13- 7:04.8 half-marathon- 13.1-- 1:31:26, 6:59 pace, felt very easy and relaxed 14- 7:06 15- 7:06 16- 7:08 (1:52:01, 7:00 pace)
this is where things started to go south
17- 8:10 (had to stop to adjust my shoes as all of a sudden they felt way to tight and my feet were on fire cuz it felt like my circulation was getting cut off) 18- 8:54, walk breaks have occured 19- 8:06, last mile where i deemed it reasonable to keep splits last 7.2- 1:08:06, 9:27 mile pace, these miles included many walk breaks as my feet were killing me (probably the new shoes) and my legs were just dead I DONT THINK THE EARLY PACE IS WHAT KILLED ME, instead it was the lack of training mileage. My longest run ever was 17 miles going into this race and on this training cycle i only hit 14. thus, it is no surprise i blew up at 17. That being said, the last 9 miles were a struggle and finishing took a lot of will power as it would have been a lot easier to stop, but i knew i had to push through. Took my final walk break just before turning onto the home stretch (about .4 on 3rd ave) i ran it in and crossed in 3:25:05. Not the best time in the world especially given my walk breaks, but it made me a marathoner. When i crossed that line, my life changed because i had done something that not many other people have done and i was proud of the accomplishment. POST RACE: I ate everything in sight. Right after the race i was incredibly hungry and so i chowed on pulled pork, a banana, pizza, and chocolate milk. Even as i write this report today, i am still hungry. I am also incredibly sore. my body feels like it has been put through the ringer and walking is a chore. hopefully some more rest will help that.
Some closing thoughts:
1. super happy to have finished my 1st marathon 2. too bad a marathon has to be two halfs..first half was perfectly paced 1:31:24, just at 6:59 pace, 2nd half was 1:55 with several necessary walk breaks 3. i was undertrained, and i knew that going in, so i was not at all surprised that the wall kicked my butt 4. that being said, i was very proud of myself to muscle through the last 10k, that was the hardest 6.2 miles ive ever experienced, but i dug deep, got tough and finished!! 5. I think i utilized good race strategy, i drank something at almost every aid station, mostly water, only a few gatorades, i gu'ed twice, once between 9 and 10 and once at about 18, i avoided stomach problems and it was only leg issues that cost me running the whole thing
6. did i mention i was super happy to have finished my 1st?
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