My First Marathon in Review

Well, it's been a week and a day since the marathon. I've a had a lot of time to look back and think about things like what I did right, what I did wrong, what I'd do differently. So here's an honest look back at my first marathon experience. 

What went right? 

I felt really good the morning of the marathon. In fact, when I walked up to that starting line, I felt born again. I hadn't felt that level of excitement at a race in forever! I felt very relaxed and excited to take on the challenge. The morning of the race, even though I didn't feel like I needed the bathroom, I stood in line just in case. Lucky I did too, because by the time I got up there, I had that old familiar feeling. That, plus the next coupe of aid stations with porta-potties had lines as well. 

All during training, I practiced fueling with trail mix, raisins, protein bars, etc. I had a good feeling for how often and how much I could tolerate. I pretty much knew what worked, and what didn't work with the snacks I had available to me at home. Rather than carbo-load the night before, I started on the Wednesday before the Saturday Marathon. I upped my carbs at every meal over several days rather than the night before. The morning of, I ate nothing. I treated the marathon like I did my long runs. I started in a fasted state. I would have had to have been up at 5 to eat anything and have it digested in time that I wouldn't feel sloshy or full. I never run well with food in me. 

When the gun went off, I stuck to pace - or what felt like my pace - and didn't get caught up in the excitement and go sprinting off like I used to do in 5Ks. My pacing was pretty spot on up until mile 20 and then started to slow down but I had a good idea I would finish in time. 

I took Gatorade and all the water stations. In the later miles, 20 and up, I'd also take a water a couple of times. Starting around mile 1 or 2 I had a half box of raisins I brought with me. I had the other half around mile 3. At mile 6 I started taking gummy bear packets and having those at each station. The aid stations were ever 3 miles or so which was perfect for the timing I'd worked out in training. 

At mile 23.66 (I looked at my Fitbit) I had to walk. My legs just stopped when I came to a hill. I didn't let it get me down. I did what I did in training. Gave myself 50 steps with my right foot, and then I started running again. However, after running again, it wasn't long before I had to walk again. So I just ran-walked the last 2.5 miles give or take and didn't let it get me down. I knew where I was and that I'd finish by the cutoff. 

After the marathon, I walked to the car rather than have my wife come get me, took a really long, really hot shower, and before bed, I massage-rolled my legs with one of those massage rollers that looks like a weird bumpy rolling pin. For dinner that night, I will add that I ate a lot of pasta to replenish my glycogen stores. I honestly believe that helped me a lot with recovery. 

In the days that followed, I walked a little over a mile on Sunday, a mile on Tuesday, and a little over 2 miles on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I was traveling for work but I did get a short 15 minute or so walk in Thursday night. All in all, the day after the marathon, I was able to walk, go up and go down stairs, just like a normal person. 

What went wrong? 

Due to it being a major election year, and a Hurricane, I actually missed over 2 consecutive months of training and had to practically start over. All of October and all of November plus the first week of December was shot! I lost a lot of progress. Sure, I had a few runs in there, but it was not at all what I needed. 

But in all honesty, I can't think of much that I did wrong on race day. I felt like I was really smart. I did get a tight stomach around mile 19. I had way more Gatorade than I was use to and my stomach felt like it had enough. But I was so worried about hitting the wall and needing electrolytes, that I kept drinking. Having never run over 18.21 miles, and therefore not fueling or drinking after mile 15, I was in unchartered territory at miles 19, 23 and 25.5.

What could I have done better?

First off, I would have tried gels during training. They seem so much easier to carry than boxes of raisins. It may have helped my legs feel fresher for the last 2.5 miles and perhaps I could have run farther before having to walk. 

I think I would have ignored traditional advice and gone for a 20 mile long run. Knowing how slow I would be, I think that extra half-hour on my feet, while not helping too much due to diminishing returns physically, would have helped me tremendously mentally. I also wish my 2 non-long runs during training weeks were farther. I typically just did 2-3 miles and went up to 4 or 5 in the last couple of weeks. I think some higher mileage other than my long runs would have served me well. 

I should have run more hills. While I did have long uphill runs in my training, I didn't do hill workouts per se. I knew the course would be hilly. Heck, it's Asheville. But I so focused on the river arts part since there were so many out and backs, that I failed to realize just how many hills there would be in the downtown and Montford areas. 

At mile 23, I saw my wife and daughter and I said "I'm in so much pain". I was feeling rough, but I shouldn't have made that comment. Tired was a much better word. I really believe that speaking that out loud was a sort of incantation that then made me feel worse that I was really feeling at the time. I think that messed me up mentally and took my head out of the game - so to speak - just long enough that I had to stop and walk at mile 23.66 when I saw a long gradual uphill. While I did run-walk from 23.66 to the finish, I think I could have run more had I not let those thoughts in. 

Important Notes and Things I Need to Remember

The week before I signed up, I could barely run 6 miles. My pace for 5.77 miles was 14:59 and had to be able to average 14:53 for 26.2 miles!!! I had roughly 8 months to train, two of which were lost due to work and a hurricane. 

I was struggling with Plantar Fasciitis prior to signing up and the only shoes that helped me were barefoot-style shoes. I trained and ran the marathon in Vibram Five-Finger shoes. All pain-free!

My wife and daughter where there and it was so helpful to see and feel their support. They saw me at mile 12.5, 19, 20, 23, 25.8 and the finish. 

Originally, this was my "one and done" marathon. But if I'm being honest, Sunday night, I was looking at what other marathons were coming up later this year. LOL

I'm sure there's more I'll think of. Things I did right, wrong or wish I'd done. I may come back and edit this, but I'll make a note of it.