Running My First Marathon

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patfan64 said:
So I finished but nowhere near where I wanted.

I got to the race at 6:30. 90 minutes to get my bearings and stretch. I was involved in a study by Quinnipiac University so I got to the QU tent at 7:00. Bloodwork and a bagel (I had a small coffee in the car during the hour ride)

My plan was to run 12 minute miles up to mile 13 and assess my situation. I started behind the 5 hour pacesetter. I don't recall passing him but I did. Early. Ran 11 minute miles for 16 miles. Felt pretty good. Water or gatorade at every station. Clif blocks every 45 minutes.

I decided to take a bite out of a protein bar that I had never eaten while running (big mistake). Within 15 minutes my stomach cramped up and I needed to find the nearest porta potty. Pretty sure the coffee and protein bar were awful ideas.

Without going into too much detail, I had to use two consecutive porta potties and my stomach was a mess for about 5 miles. At mile 22, they had candy (which I refused) and flat soda (which sounded like a good idea).

Spent miles 23 and 24 with the hiccups. I never have the hiccups. Never.

Finally in the middle of mile 25 I mustered the energy to pick up the pace.

I finished at 5:42.

Really disappointed but now I know what to expect and how to better prepare for next time. I wasn't sure if there would be a next time but I have no choice. I will break 5 hours next time.

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.
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I agree with your assessment that the protein bar is probably what did you in. In hindsight, it's easy to say that sticking with what was working (water and Clif Bloks) was the right thing to do. I used to run with a guy that did ultra marathons. He said every long run was a chemistry experiment - you put stuff in your body and then you get to live out the subsequent chemical reaction.

But despite the physical discomfort, you finished the race, and that's really great. You had to have had some tremendous will-power to fight through the difficulties and get back out there. Congratulations.
 
patfan64 said:
So I finished but nowhere near where I wanted.

I got to the race at 6:30. 90 minutes to get my bearings and stretch. I was involved in a study by Quinnipiac University so I got to the QU tent at 7:00. Bloodwork and a bagel (I had a small coffee in the car during the hour ride)

My plan was to run 12 minute miles up to mile 13 and assess my situation. I started behind the 5 hour pacesetter. I don't recall passing him but I did. Early. Ran 11 minute miles for 16 miles. Felt pretty good. Water or gatorade at every station. Clif blocks every 45 minutes.

I decided to take a bite out of a protein bar that I had never eaten while running (big mistake). Within 15 minutes my stomach cramped up and I needed to find the nearest porta potty. Pretty sure the coffee and protein bar were awful ideas.

Without going into too much detail, I had to use two consecutive porta potties and my stomach was a mess for about 5 miles. At mile 22, they had candy (which I refused) and flat soda (which sounded like a good idea).

Spent miles 23 and 24 with the hiccups. I never have the hiccups. Never.

Finally in the middle of mile 25 I mustered the energy to pick up the pace.

I finished at 5:42.

Really disappointed but now I know what to expect and how to better prepare for next time. I wasn't sure if there would be a next time but I have no choice. I will break 5 hours next time.

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.
Click to expand...

Congratulations! Sorry for the trouble along the way.
 
patfan64 said:
So I finished but nowhere near where I wanted.

I got to the race at 6:30. 90 minutes to get my bearings and stretch. I was involved in a study by Quinnipiac University so I got to the QU tent at 7:00. Bloodwork and a bagel (I had a small coffee in the car during the hour ride)

My plan was to run 12 minute miles up to mile 13 and assess my situation. I started behind the 5 hour pacesetter. I don't recall passing him but I did. Early. Ran 11 minute miles for 16 miles. Felt pretty good. Water or gatorade at every station. Clif blocks every 45 minutes.

I decided to take a bite out of a protein bar that I had never eaten while running (big mistake). Within 15 minutes my stomach cramped up and I needed to find the nearest porta potty. Pretty sure the coffee and protein bar were awful ideas.

Without going into too much detail, I had to use two consecutive porta potties and my stomach was a mess for about 5 miles. At mile 22, they had candy (which I refused) and flat soda (which sounded like a good idea).

Spent miles 23 and 24 with the hiccups. I never have the hiccups. Never.

Finally in the middle of mile 25 I mustered the energy to pick up the pace.

I finished at 5:42.

Really disappointed but now I know what to expect and how to better prepare for next time. I wasn't sure if there would be a next time but I have no choice. I will break 5 hours next time.

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.
Click to expand...
that sucks you got the busy butt going however YOU DID IT!!! take pride in the fact you set your mind to it and accomplished the goal and if you ever do it again you will have a much better knowledge of how to run the race.

Hell all I can say if CONGRATS!!! great work!!!
 
mikiemo83 said:
Hell all I can say if CONGRATS!!! great work!!!
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Ditto Mikie. AWESOME PF64, just awesome! Been om my Bucket list since the
dawn of time. I see little reason to believe it ever gets scratched out. Envy, you, proud of you. Congrats.

Cheers, :toast:
 
Congrats! You didn't reach your time goal, but you finished and you learned things. The first marathon is the hardest cuz of all the unknowns, the biggest being "can I actually run 26.2 miles?". Now you know you can so the next one will be easier to train and plan for. You learned one of the biggest rules of running a marathon: Don't do anything different on race day! Best wishes to you and your wife!
(Not sure what training plan you used, but my favorite is the Hanson Brother's Less is More Plan. Many plans have you running up to 21-23 miles in the month before the race. In less is more plan most you ever run in one day is 16 miles. I can send link if you want.)

BostonTim said:
Ditto Mikie. AWESOME PF64, just awesome! Been on my Bucket list since the dawn of time. I see little reason to believe it ever gets scratched out.

Cheers, :toast:
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It's never too late, Tim. Some marathons give you up to 8 hours to finish, which is doable with a fast steady walk!
 
bishbash said:
Congrats! You didn't reach your time goal, but you finished and you learned things. The first marathon is the hardest cuz of all the unknowns, the biggest being "can I actually run 26.2 miles?". Now you know you can so the next one will be easier to train and plan for. You learned one of the biggest rules of running a marathon: Don't do anything different on race day! Best wishes to you and your wife!
(Not sure what training plan you used, but my favorite is the Hanson Brother's Less is More Plan. Many plans have you running up to 21-23 miles in the month before the race. In less is more plan most you ever run in one day is 16 miles. I can send link if you want.)



It's never too late, Tim. Some marathons give you up to 8 hours to finish, which is doable with a fast steady walk!
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how about a sloww, intermitant crawl?


Cheers
 
bishbash said:
Best wishes! (What works for me)
-Drink a glass or 2 of water an hour or so pre-race. At aid stations alternate between water and Gatorade. Consume a gel pack or shotblock once an hour with water.
-Start further back than you anticipate running. It's way better mentally to pass people than to be passed. (In small 1/2 marathons I often start dead last, with chip timing it doesn't matter how much later you start after the gun.)
-My favorite recovery drink after a race is chocolate milk, others like Gatorade, etc..
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What about those pub crawl race thingies? :toast:
 
Big/Sky/Fly said:
What about those pub crawl race thingies? :toast:
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Bar trek, a 6.2 miles stumble to 26 bars on Dot Ave, 15 minutes per bar to drink your drink. the object is to be 1st in, last out and gain a few minutes per drink. It raised money for a Catholic Church.


years ago two friends did Boston, one trained and did ok 4:30ish, the other guy almost quit but the girls from one of the colleges convinced him to continue and a group of them walked/jogged the rest of the marathon with him. So he was finished real late but he met a chick, I call that a successful marathon.
 
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