run another marathon

Short version-NCR Trail Marathon this morning in 4:28.

Long version-There is no room for inflated egos in the marathon world. Your training can be fantastic and you can still fall apart on race day, but the important thing is that you finish if at all possible. Once you give up one time I imagine it’s much easier not to finish the next time.

I ran the first 1/2 pretty much on pace for a 4 hour marathon. I hit 10 miles in 1:32 and went through halfway in 2:01ish. Then the wheels started to fall off. Actually, they were falling off a while before that, but until things really got bad I was in denial. After about mile 16 I accepted the inevitable. I felt queasy, my hips were tightening up, and pretty much everything hurt. It was a combination of being sick the past two weeks, driving 17 hours roundtrip to Rhode Island a few days ago, and setting too ambitious of a marathon goal. 4 hours sounded good on paper, but I just didn’t have the training going into marathon season to back it up.

The great thing was, I still had a good time. I walked 5 minutes a mile and ran when I could. It was a beautiful day. My mom, my coach, and two of my friends (one with her husband and a baby on the way) came out to cheer me on. I finished under 4:30. I ran through the finish line. When all is said and done, I still ran 26.2 miles, which is something more than 99% of the population will never do. Given that I wanted to drop out of the race about a dozen times, that’s an accomplishment.

I’m switching my focus to 5ks for awhile to work on my speed. I’ll miss 20 mile long runs, though, I have to admit. I think they’re more fun than the marathon.

NCR Trail Marathon is tomorrow. As is typical of a marathon taper, I feel exhausted, stiff from an easy hike yesterday, and vaguely sick, none of which are good the day before a marathon. Hopefully all of the above will become non-issues once the gun goes off at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

I haven’t run as much as I would have liked the past two weeks because I’ve been sick and that makes me nervous that I won’t be prepared, but nonsense. I may not have done nearly the mileage volume that I did last year before my 4:14, but I did far more quality. Like instead of 45-50 mile weeks with a long run as really the only quality workout, I’ve done 35-40 but with three quality workouts-speedwork, long run, and easy speedwork the day after the long run. My long runs have been at a much more steady pace, I’ll be taking gels/sport beans every 4-5 miles, and the weather tomorrow is going to be perfect. We’re talking sunny, breezy, dry, high of 60*. Fantastic weather for 26.2 9 minute miles.

I’m going to stop this nervous rambling and go back to collapsing on the couch and superhydrating now. Race report tomorrow.

I’ve been sick all this week. Like not able to run more than 3 miles without getting wiped out kind of sick. Thank goodness this didn’t happen the week of the marathon though, I’m nervous enough anyway that I’m not going to be ready.

I think it’s time to read back over my running log and realize how prepared I am after all. If I could speed up at the end of a 20 mile run I can do anything. Including run a 4 hour marathon.

10 miles this morning with the NCR Trail Snails. I had a running partner almost the whole way which was great for the company, but now I remember why I like running by myself for my long runs. I always go out too fast trying to keep up with running partners then lose steam at the end. Not the best idea if you’re in taper mode and running a 5k the next day.

Oh well.

We adjorned to Bagel Works afterwards where I got 2 blueberry bagels and more good conversation. Beautiful day for a long run.

I ran 21 miles yesterday on the NCR Trail. I’ve had better runs. I was just really sleepy for some reason. For the first few miles it felt like I was lugging rocks up a mountain even though I was really just carrying my fuel pack (water and gels) on the pancake-flat trail. Then my left foot decided to rebel. See, I snapped something in my left big toe last fall when I tripped over my purse. I stubbornly ran a 4:14 marathon 2 weeks after that, and it hadn’t given me problems until 2 weeks ago with my 20. Yesterday it kept cramping up unless I wiggled it around every few minutes, and I had to stop at mile 12 and stretch it out.

All things considered, I’ve been very lucky with my marathon training. I ramped up very quickly and other than sore muscles I haven’t had any problems. And hopefully by the time I’m done tapering/icing/popping anti-inflammatories this won’t a problem either.

So here’s to 3 1/2 hour runs, blueberry pancakes and Milky Way tarts. And here’s to still having enough energy afterwards to spend two hours at my brother’s last marching band competition of the season.

20 miles this morning starting at 8:30 at mile 0 on the NCR Trail.

Gels at miles 4, 8, 12, 16. Gel at 16 was caffeinated, hence I ran 9:16, 9:18, 9:06 for the last 3 miles for a final run time of 3:19:41/9:59 pace. I have never, so far as I can remember, run that far that fast without being in a race. I never felt tired, and I actually could have run farther. Definitely bodes well for race day.

Celebrated afterwards with blueberry pancakes and orange juice at Bagel Works and coconut custard from Snickerdoodles where my sister works.

Marathon is 11/25. Goal is under 4 hours/9:09 pace. 5k next weekend, 21 miles the weekend after that, then taper…just 5 weeks to go!

That was what they must call the “runner’s high.” I haven’t felt that before, at least not that intensely. It was like I was in some kind of trance. From about miles 5-11 anyway. Then I kinda came back down to earth when my body figured out I’d been running for 2 hours. Then at mile 15 I took a gel with some Gatorade and caught a second/third/fourth wind. I ran 10:30 average pace for the run but 10:00 and 9:00 for the last 2 miles. In the last mile I ran past two women about my age and one of them said something to the tune of “Look at her go, that’s impressive.” Nice little ego boost there.

Then I stretched and went to Bagel Works to chill out, read, and eat a honey granola bagel. I went to Snickerdoodles for the requisite enormous post-long-run pastry, a 4 inch tall Milky Way Tart with chocolate mousse and chocolate shavings and carmel in a chocolate tart. I just didn’t want that run to end.

I credit that to gels at miles 5, 10, and 15 and having a good attitude going into the run. I don’t know how people listen to music while they run. They miss out on so much, like birds and the running river, the idiosyncrasies of fellow runners, and mental toughness.

The only thing I would have done differently today was water instead of Gatorade with the gels because all that sugar made my stomach kinda touchy.

1 mile warmup
6×800 in 3:47, 3:41, 3:43, 3:47, 3:49, 3:47
400 walk recovery in between repeats
1 mile cooldown

goal was 4:00 on the repeats and I beat that by a lot even though I didn’t feel all that great and I ran a half-marathon Sunday, all of which definitely bodes well for the marathon

Some days you have it, some days you just don’t. Ran the first 5.5 miles at an easy pace (10-10:30), then was supposed to pick it up to marathon pace (9:10) for the rest of the race. Well, that didn’t happen. Ran 5 miles at 9-9:20 pace, then just lost it and jogged it in for a finish around 2:10. Not a bad race by any measure, but not my best effort either.

I did get to meet and talk with a bunch of other marathoners-in-training, which is always fun. Long runs/races are boring when you just do them by yourself. Turns out the woman I was running with ran her first marathon last spring in DC in 4:40, ran the Annapolis 10 Miler at the end of August (great race), and is training towards/tapering for Baltimore in 2 weeks. Great fun.

Next up: 6×800 in 4:00 or less with 400 recovery in 2 days.

17 miles this morning. It was not pleasant. I’m glad that it’s over.

I was stiff from last night’s pace run, I was tired enough that even my caffinated PowerGel didn’t help, I didn’t have anyone to run with…whine whine whine. I’m just glad I got that out of the way before race day.