First marathon – so I ignored the advice of this sub and…
Thought I’d provide an update on a previous post where three weeks ago I asked if a sub-3 marathon was possible. Basically I’d missed the best part of a training block due to illness, injury and a lack of motivation. I ran the marathon yesterday.
Previous post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Marathon_Training/comments/1cj34z9/marathon_in_3_weeks_sub_3_gone/
In summary, most responses said 12 weeks of training is for the last 6 miles of a marathon, and that missing such training would likely cause problems. The consensus was that I should take it easy/moderate my goal and take the lessons. I agreed I’d be sensible and play it safe, though one or two people did say it might be possible based on my other PBs.
Most of my training is detailed in the previous post, but summary below:
- 42M, running for three years, signed up for marathon in February at which point my training went to shit.
- Averaged 29.3 miles / 47.1km over last 12 weeks
- Peak week of 51 miles / 82km 3 weeks out
- Longest run of 21.7 miles / 35 km three weeks out (7:45mile / 4:41km pace)
- A couple of marathon-pace runs at half-marathon distance
I decided about two days before the marathon that I was just going to go for it – high-risk, high reward, with a goal pace of 6:48 miles / 4:12 km. I figured that if I’m going to get lessons, I’d rather do so from blowing up than toddling round, and I gambled that it was so below my (properly trained) potential that I'd still be able to do it despite mileage.
In short, I achieved my goal.
Very brief prep & race summary
Edinburgh marathon, raining start, route from city centre down towards then alongside the coast.
- Used four 60ml gels, one at the start then one every 7 miles.
- Got Saucony Endorphin Elites the week before, tested with a 50min training run.
- Ate pasta that night before.
I set off faster than intended despite deliberately throttling my pace, but the fact that the first 5 miles head down towards the coast made this a challenge. This section was great fun, though I did wonder if my pace meant that I'd be paying the piper later on.
I was expecting to crash and burn in the last 6 miles, and did slow down a little, but I was aware at that point that I’d banked enough time that my slightly slower pace would get me comfortably under 3 hours, so I didn’t fight it, and saved a kick for the last 0.5km or so. I found the last 4 miles especially gruelliing.
Lessons
- It was pouring of rain for the first hour, and I learned I should have running-specific underwear. I discovered this in the shower afterwards.
- I need to try harder to throttle my pace at the start, then I might have paced more evenly.
- I should consider maybe nutrition, as at two points, normally after drinking a bit of water, my guts felt dodgy, though it always passed.
- There’s good and bad patches that you can work through – it’s a real mental challenge
All-in-all, very happy with my performance. Feeling it today though.
Finally, splits for anyone who cares:
|| || |km's|min/km|Miles|min/mile| |1|4.05|1|6.34| |2|4.06|2|6.3| |3|3.57|3|6.37| |4|4.05|4|6.38| |5|4.07|5|6.26| |6|4.02|6|6.43| |7|4.08|7|6.47| |8|4.01|8|6.42| |9|4.10|9|6.41| |10|4.14|10|6.38| |11|4.10|11|6.45| |12|4.13|12|6.47| |13|4.08|13|6.43| |14|4.09|14|6.44| |15|4.08|15|6.48| |16|4.08|16|6.45| |17|4.11|17|6.52| |18|4.13|18|6.42| |19|4.12|19|6.48| |20|4.11|20|6.49| |21|4.11|21|6.46| |22|4.11|22|6.57| |23|4.12|23|6.56| |24|4.13|24|7.03| |25|4.11|25|7.04| |26|4.15|26|7.02| |27|4.15|0.2|6.44| |28|4.13||| |29|4.08||| |30|4.17||| |31|4.12||| |32|4.14||| |33|4.12||| |34|4.13||| |35|4.20||| |36|4.20||| |37|4.17||| |38|4.24||| |39|4.21||| |40|4.26||| |41|4.21||| |42|4.22||| |0.49|4.06|||
Posted May 27, 2024, 11:25 AM UTC