3:50:43 - Pittsburgh Marathon =============================
7 May 2015 - Pittsburgh
note: still draft
Some thoughts on why this matters to me, a scattering of quick hits, and some ideas on what to improve.
I’d talked to several friends about the marathon over the course of the spring. I still feel somewhat icky for doing so–it seems like a not-so-humble brag. At the same time, I’ve benefited from their collective support, encouragement, and advice. More than that, though, getting through this was something that I wanted to do for me.
I’ve always been overweight, ranging from slightly chubby to definitely fat. If we bifurcate the world I fall squarely into the “live-to-eat” camp. While I’ve improved, I still struggle with portion and impulse control. For many years this corresponded to a dislike of physical activity. While I participated in a number of sports I rarely enjoyed going out and running around. This has changed as I’ve lost weight and come to enjoy the chemical and stress release from exercise.
The other major reason it matters so much to me relates to successes and failures.
In one word: long. In two words: long and painful [1]. In three words: long, painful, and exhilarating.
Some things went well:
Other things went less well:
Yet other things were just fun:
Heard Girls’ Generation “Run Devil Run” a couple of days after; it would have been a good song leading up to the race.
I’m both satisfied and unsatisfied with the time. It was slower than targeted, as I had aimed for 3:40. On the other hand it was farther than I’ve ever run before (our longest training run was around 22 miles) and it was significantly warmer than our training runs. Due to drinking too much during the 22 mile run and unfamiliarity with the warmer weather I didn’t drink enough during the early to mid part of the marathon. While I picked up fluids a couple of times during the first half, I needed much more during the second. I also felt as though I stopped sweating (not the best sign) and picked up a couple of drenched rags on miles 23 and 24. My legs also started dying around mile 24 which contributed to the particularly slow final two miles.
I want to note all this because it’s so easy to forget, especially since I’ve done these distances so few times. The first time I tried to run 20 miles I hit the wall somewhere around 18.5 and completely collapsed. Knowing the way I reacted that time helped with the 22 mile run, but I wasn’t as successful translating the 22 mile run into marathon success. I’ve identified two reasons so far, (1) the course and conditions were easier, and (2) it felt far more successful, so I wasn’t as focused on learning from it.
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[1] Whatever, technically three words. It’s my blog, I decide which words count =). “In two adjectives” forfeits too much rhythm for the accurracy gain.