11,300 runners from around the country ran in the [marathon, half-marathon and 5k]. The Marathon brought in more than $1 million. All the money will go to benefit children's medical research. (article)"Official" results aren't posted yet, but I had been training for a 9 minutes mile which would put me in at about 3:55:00. Weather was great as were the fans, and I was ahead of schedule until about mile 19. I didn't hit the proverbial "wall" as some folks like to call it. At least to me it wasn't a wall that was insurmountable, but my stride started to shorten and my muscles started to tighten up - not really cramp, but certainly tighten. I was drinking sufficient fluid and had plenty of Hammer Gel, but by mile 23, when my beautiful wife and little Isaac were chasing after me to cheer me on, I had started to alter walking and jogging.
I noticed that my 9 minute pace was faltering considerably but felt I had enough cushion to get me into the finish line under 4 hours. At mile 25, I had about 11 minutes (I was at 3:49:00 or thereabouts) and I knew that it was going to be tight. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken into account the "point 2" in the 26.2 equation and as I entered into the AutoZone stadium I gave everything I had left for 200 meters, experiencing a terrible quad cramp on the home stretch to the finish line, but damned if I didn't fight through it. It wasn't enough: I came it at 4:00:16 according to the times that were posted in the stadium later.
16 seconds - arrghh! That is less than a second per mile. Did I really NEED that pit stop at mile 14? YES! What else could I have done to break 4 hours?
- Dropped an extra pound or two of weight (according to one website, each 1 pound reduction = 2 seconds / mile savings; so being one pound lighter would have made me 52 seconds faster); I never did get close to the 165 pound target I had set for myself!
- Exceeded the 20 mile mark in training - just to know what 24 miles feels like!
- Paced better - did I go out too quickly, just to fade at the end?
- Been more diligent about training on non-running days (bike, weights, swimming)
- Raced (and trained somewhat) in a lighter pair of shoes
- Completed more hill training
- Train (some) with a partner - the inspiration and "kick" that my friend Jeremy provide prior to his injury was really immense. He was willing to train at my pace and got me into my shoes on some weekend mornings that I otherwise could have easily found myself sleeping late
- Stick to the program - I only missed a few workouts, and was willing to modify if my body was telling me that it needed more rest (like with the last few speed sessions, where my shins were starting to hurt); I also modified my goal time from 8:45 to 9:00 when I realized my heart rate was peaking too soon
- Don't try to make up missed workouts - I was pretty good about this, although it was difficult psychologically
- Get sufficient rest
- Get a massage - THANK YOU JESSICA! My wife had hands of gold after some of my long workouts.
- Have a good support group - THANK YOU JESSICA (again) - your support throughout this endeavor was amazing! Also, Jeremy and folks at work, like Evelyn really helped keep me focused. As I was running, I had to think of the words of encouragement from my sister-in-law's sister, Shin, who is fighting cancer and really touches me every time I read her blog. She reminds me to be thankful for the things I have - and I am!
1 comment:
16 seconds!! You're too hard on yourself. If you subtract the neccessary "pit stop" which I think we'll allow, you finished in under 4 hours!! It's not your fault nature calls! Massage, Mr. Marathoner?
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