Eugene Marathon 2024 - First Race, Expectations Exceeded!
Race Information
- Name: Eugene Marathon
- Date: April 28, 2024
- Distance: 26.2 miles
- Location: Eugene, OR
- Website: https://www.eugenemarathon.com/marathon
- Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11285767793?utm_content=120116467
- Time: 3:06:24
Goals
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sub 4 | Yes |
| B | Sub 3:30 | Yes |
| C | 3:20 | Yes |
Splits
| Mile | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 7:48 |
| 2 | 7:31 |
| 3 | 7:25 |
| 4 | 7:28 |
| 5 | 7:23 |
| 6 | 7:05 |
| 7 | 7:09 |
| 8 | 7:06 |
| 9 | 7:14 |
| 10 | 6:59 |
| 11 | 7:13 |
| 12 | 7:08 |
| 13 | 6:38 |
| 14 | 6:54 |
| 15 | 6:43 |
| 16 | 6:44 |
| 17 | 6:35 |
| 18 | 6:28 |
| 19 | 6:33 |
| 20 | 6:31 |
| 21 | 6:48 |
| 22 | 6:37 |
| 23 | 6:54 |
| 24 | 7:10 |
| 25 | 7:28 |
| 26 | 7:37 |
Background
This was my first race and I've been running for about 5 months total now. I have always had pretty good endurance and am an in-shape 22 y/o male. Running a marathon has always been on my bucket list and due to having a competitive nature I wanted to give it my all if I was going to do it.
Training
Going into this race with absolutely zero experience of how to train for a marathon, I used a 12-week Marathon Handbook training plan meant for novices. This consisted of me peaking at about 35 miles split between 4 runs a week. I would consider myself a pretty natural runner, I did only a few speed work sessions during this training block and did most of my running a little bit faster than I should have. In the last month or so of this plan, I decided to add a lot more zone 2 easy runs into my weeks which I felt did me very well, especially in terms of recovery. I am very fortunate to have a few friends who are extremely talented runners. Having them come down to my level and help me out with training was extremely beneficial to both my results and motivation. On week 9 of the plan, I was only able to get two runs in due to being on vacation; I don't think this mattered very much but oh boy that first run back felt atrocious. Having a plan to stick to was very helpful, If I were to change anything about it I would have just started running easier earlier on in training. Side note- I decided I wanted to try and run a 3:20 about 8 weeks into this.
Pre-race
I was so psyched for this race! I started carb-loading about 2 days before and did a very large carb load the day before the race (~620g of carbs). I also focused on taking in a lot of electrolytes the day before. I stopped eating a few hours before bed and did the best I could to get a decent night's sleep despite all the nerves and excitement. On race day I had a simple breakfast of a bagel with PB, a banana, and a coffee a couple hours before the race was set to kick off. Luckily for me, I only had about a 5-minute walk to the start from where I was staying.
Race
I genuinely had no idea what to expect going into this. Everyone was telling me about race day adrenaline but I kind of thought it was being overhyped. I was wrong. Initially, the plan was to stick with the 3:20 pacer for the entirety of the race, if I felt bad I would fall back a bit, if I felt good I would pass him. Very early on (~mile 5) I decided that I could give more than 3:20 pace and started to pick it up a bit. Having trained on the same routes that the marathon was on, I had a really good feel of the terrain and knew exactly when I could pick it up and exactly when I needed to slow it down. The crowds and familiar faces I saw cheering had me feeling like I was flying. Despite going at a relatively quick pace for me it felt pretty low effort.
I was a little bit worried about my fueling strategy since I had only taken 2 gels before so I was banking on things going right in this department. To my benefit, fueling went perfectly. I decided to take gels at miles 4, 8, 13, 18, and 22. I drank the aid station provided nuun at every opportunity and had water one time. Lucky for me my stomach felt amazing during the race.
Going back to the race, this was probably the best I have ever felt on a run. at the halfway point, I was feeling unbelievably good and decided to let loose. I picked up the pace quite a bit and started dropping some negative splits. I caught up to the 3:10 pace group at mile 15 and went right past them. I was really worried that I was going to hit the wall quite hard but was prepared to grind through it and finish regardless. Somehow I ended up dropping my fastest splits at miles 18, 19, and 20.
The real race began at mile 23 for me. I definitely began to hit the wall but gave it my all to go as fast as I could without potentially serving myself a DNF. Sure enough, I couldn't hold the pace I was going for the last 3, but that didn't matter to me at the moment as I was ecstatic with how I was able to perform throughout the rest of the race. As I hit the track of the legendary Hayward Field I sprinted across the finish line so I could say I gave it every last ounce of effort I had in me.
Attaining a 3:06:24, shattering my goal by over 13 minutes was never something I could have expected going into this. I felt that the culmination of my training had come to fruition and am deeply satisfied with the result.
Post-race
I was greeted by close friends, scarfed down a maple bar, and laid out on the field for a while. All before enjoying a delicious and huge breakfast.
While I am extremely happy with my time, I can't help but wonder how much more I can give. This race has cemented in my mind that I want to keep running the marathon. I'm now setting a goal of a sub 3, ambitiously a 2:45 for the CIM in December this year.
Made with a new race report generator created by u/herumph.
Posted May 1, 2024, 7:55 AM UTC