Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Mission Accomplished.......well.....Mission Rebooted

Oh
Hi
Didn't know you were still here.  I figured you would have moved on by now. I have neglected this blog. The demands of family and work and trying to balance the two along with continuing to sneak in training runs (although there is no "goal" currently set) have left little in the way of free time. I started this blog to track my training and share some thoughts on what it would be like training for my first marathon. Well, my first marathon came and went. I finished over my goal of 4hrs (was just under 4:16)... I did meet my secondary goal of finishing and staying healthy through training and the race itself. I felt good during the race, although I feel I may have over-hydrated. (it was hard to down those last few glasses of water/Gatorade) I ran strong through 24 miles. At the water station for mile 24, I slowed to a walk and sipped my cup of water. That was a mistake. I was not in any "real" pain, but I was definitely fatigued. What had happened is by stopping I crushed the comfortable rhythm I had going. Trying to restart on tired legs proved too hard a feat. I walk/jogged the next mile and a half. Finally, I was able to get a semi comfortable pace going again, but by then I just wanted to be done. Running was no longer fun. The weather was no longer nice. The skyscrapers sucked. The shirt I was wearing sucked. The music I had pumping through my headphones was awful. I think this was my mental wall, and at 25.5 miles I was forcing my way through it on sheer will alone.
The way the course had been set up there was quick right turn followed by a quick left turn that led into the finishing chutes. Turning that last left and seeing the finish line quickly strengthened my resolve and gave me the confidence and boost I needed to find a rhythm and finish with a strong run.
It was great experience. I am now officially a marathon runner.
However.
I feel I could have done better. I feel like there was more in me that I couldn't/ didn't tap into at the time. This could be that I didn't meet my time goal. I had such a mental hurdle so late in the run. So I am rebooting the Mission. De-constructing the plan and starting over. There are other races that I want to run this fall, but my ultimate goal will be 2011 Cleveland Marathon. And, a finish under 4hrs.

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