Well, today was it. After months of training, I completed my first marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon. It was great to finished, but I have mixed feelings on the way things turned out.
I got up bright and early and made short trek in the dark to the start line. I went to the bathroom twice while waiting around and I actually had to go again at the start. I drank too much before the race.
The corral start was nice, although a little confusing. When I walked to the starting line, they were supposed to be starting the green wave (one in front of me). I wasn't going to stand around at the line and wait, so I just started. The first mile was frustrating. I ran it in 9 minutes because there was no room to go around anyone.
It thinned out a little in the second mile and I was able to fly by people in spots. Shortly after mile 3, I had to use the bathroom. That cost me about a minute. It was already hot that early on and I took of my gloves. I was wearing short sleeves and shorts. Some people were in long sleeves and more. The temperature was actually perfect.
South Street was nice, there were a lot of people. Chestnut Street was much of the same, especially near the river. After the slow start, I hit a pretty consistent 8 minute per mile pace. My plan was to run comfortably through at least the first half, if not more. I did just that and cranked out 8 minute mile after 8 minute mile.
I ran by Drexel, but didn't notice anyone. Our names were on our bibs. That kind of sucked because I didn't know when friends were yelling if they did yell. I only noticed my parents throughout the run.
Thirty-fourth Street is a long gradual uphill. It was the start of the most hilly part. I knew that was uphill, but I didn't anticipate how hilly the portion of Fairmount Park past the zoo was. That section killed my legs. My hamstring soreness came back and my IT band starting bothering me.
We got onto West River Drive and I got back into rhythm. It was nice being on familiar ground. I couldn't believe there were a lot of people on Kelly Drive already at that point. I felt fairly strong as we got to the Art Museum and halfway point.
I took it easy over Lemon Hill. The sore legs continued on Kelly Drive. I was happy that they leader hadn't come by on the way back yet. He passed by and had a big lead. It must be nice to be an elite runner and finish that early.
When we got to Ridge Avenue, there was a ramp. I decided to walk uphill to be smart. It was after mile 18 and the first time I walked. After that came Manayunk. That was great because there were huge crowds. It was loud and tough to hold back.
I was slipping a little, but didn't feel too bad until shortly after the 20 mile mark. That was my longest training run and it showed. My legs started to get very sore. I had to take a 3 minute walk break to try to recover. I walked again before Falls Bridge.
From about mile 15 on, I was saying to myself, "race starts at Falls Bridge." I did okay for a little while. At mile 22, I got a second wind and made a nice surge. I began passing people left and right. I was being cheered for and thought this was the part where I'd pick it up.
It wasn't meant to be though. My legs were just too sore and also began cramping up. They never actually fully cramped. I always stopped and walked before that. The final two miles were brutal. I had to walk a lot of it.
I within the final mile, but still couldn't run much. Once I was at the final hill, I decided to walk up it so that I could finish. People were yelling at me to start running because they thought I just quit. I didn't have a choice. Walking was the only way I'd finish.
After the hill, I decided to run again for the final quarter mile or so. I even tried to use my usual strong kick. Whenever I picked up my stride, I nearly cramped. I was even limping as I crossed the finish line.
It was good to finish and I was happy that I correctly followed my easy early strategy. My longest run was 20 miles and my second longest was only 16.5 miles. I just didn't have enough really long runs. I wasn't trained well enough for the whole distance. I thought that I could just battle through the final 6+ miles.
The cramps were the most frustrating thing. I drank quite a bit before the race and almost all the water stations. I took Gatorade nearly every time. I was still dehydrated at the end though. I only drank about half of each cup. I guess next time, I'll drink the whole thing and take more time. Perhaps I'll grab a second cup.
I ate four GU Energy Gels throughout the race. I felt like I had a lot of energy. I didn't ever work very hard in the race. I never truely got to race. I just ran. My legs didn't have it.
I did some things right and some wrong. That's part of learning in your first marathon. Once my legs were losing it, I already began thinking about my next marathon and how great it'll be when I'm better trained.
Some people never imagined that they'd be able to run 26.2 miles, so it is impressed when they finish. I always knew that if I was in decent shape, I could do it. Now, I'm going to focus on qualifying for Boston. I figured that I'd do that in spring, but it might take until next fall to do so.
I'll rest up for the next week or so. After that, it's time to get into the spring training program. I start my new job on Tuesday, so it's not much of a rest. I'll be on my feet all day too, so that'll be interesting. One of the employees qualified for Boston. I'll have to get some advice from her and maybe run with her as well.
3:48:12 (8:42 pace)
51:39 (10K)
1:48:52 (half)
2:34:29 (30K)
Overall place: 2407/7464
Gender: 1825/4357
Age: 351/749
No comments:
Post a Comment