I now know that I am not ready at all for this marathon. Yeah, I blazed (by my standard) the half. But 13.1 miles -- I now know with certainty -- is not really a very long run. After 18 miles my legs just want to stop working. I really don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll just do a half again. But that would really bite.
After 18 miles today, my legs acted pretty much the same as they did 2 weeks ago when I "just" did 20 miles. I walked most of the mile between 18 and 19. Then I "ran" 19 to 20. then walked most of 20 to 21. From 21 to 22 I actually felt just a little bitsy bit better, but still was just doing about an 11 minute pace.
I've got one hope. Everyone says race day is different. My experience with the half bore that out. If I'm careful pacing myself -- I went out too fast today -- perhaps I'll last a little better. Some of my early miles were sub-9 minutes. That's too fast, and I know it. I think I may set a pace alarm on my Forerunner so it will beep when I start going faster than about 9:15 or 9:20. At the start, I'm fresh and feel like I can go all day at that fast speed. I really know better, but it's hard to convince myself of that at the time. And on race day it'll be even worse, because I'll be out there with a bunch of people who really can maintain that fast pace for the entire marathon. It's surprisingly hard to run slowly when you're feeling good.
So on the day of the marathon I'll be really careful about pacing. And I'll walk fairly slowly and for a longer time through each of the water stops. And I'll have more electrolyte replacement. Hopefully maintaining a more consistent pace (not having to actually stop and wait at water fountains) and having the advantage of being in a group of people to run with will make a difference and I'll get through the marathon better than I've gotten through these long runs. Is that just wishful thinking?
I know one thing for sure. Any thought I had of a 4:10 marathon are out the window. I don't care what "they" say. After today I don't even know if 4:30 is realistic. And that was my fallback position. I'm going back to saying "sub 5 hour." That's not unreasonable. After all, I am 50 years old and just started running this April. Sub 5 is nothing to be ashamed of. The way my legs feel right now, I am back to thinking just finishing will be achievement enough. It's easy to get complacent when little 6 mile runs start feeling pretty easy. There's more than just a quantitative difference between 6 and 26.
Gotta go run some errands now. I'm going to get one of those handheld mixer/ice crushers. Just can't enjoy the after-run drink without chopped ice. That may sound odd, but it's just going to be $25 or $30, and it will more than be worth it.
Later....
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2 comments:
So ... just out of curiosity, no agenda in mind ... are you enjoying this?
(This = prepping for the marathon/running/doing so many miles and focusing on the time it takes?)
jb
Yes and no. Some of the running hurts, and particularly the ends of the long runs are no fun. But I generally like the way I feel these days, except for the stiffness and the hip. ;-) Once the marathon's finished I'll be able to relax more (not focus so much on time). That will be nice. I do plan to keep running, but will be able to get back to cycling more, too. I actually think not worrying about pace is what I need. The thing most marathoners have that I don't have is more history "building a base" of fitness. It actually takes years to train muscles to work the right way. A lot of running, like cycling, is muscle memory. Once you train your body to run distances you can do it more readily.
So maybe "enjoying" is too strong a word. But I'm glad I'm doing it. I feel good and I feel good about myself and I'm learning about limits (sorry if this sounds trite) and what I can and can't force myself to do. It's interesting and edifying and healthy (assuming I'm not permanently damaging my hip). I'm looking forward to spending some time just running with no goal, and then later doing preparation for another marathon. I think it will go better next time. (And there's always -- perhaps -- a triathlon to think about....)
I'm glad you happened upon the blog.
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