Posts Tagged ‘chicago marathon’

Marathon – Hot, Tough, Over

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

So – I ran my first Marathon on Sunday! I now have an answer to the question of whether my body can actually do 26.2 miles. Yes, it can, albeit painfully.

It got hot as hell on Sunday, the race warnings turned red due to the heat and I think it was in the low-mid 80′s. Not exactly perfect running weather. I took it very easy at the beginning, hitting the halfway point a little slower than I wanted, but feeling great. In fact, I felt great up until about mile 23. I distinctly remember thinking about how quickly it was going by, how much I was enjoying the run, etc …. then came my total breakdown. At mile 23 or so, the knees started to really hurt, my hamstring started to cramp, and I generally hit the wall in a huge way. It was a combination of walking, jogging, shuffling, and just generally doing everything I could to keep making forward progress. The mantra of “easy, light, free” from Born To Run turned into cursing myself for being so close to the end, and not being able to finish in good form.

The other thing going through my head was to make sure I didn’t complicate any injuries before Ironman Nov 14. Somewhere in my head, I was thinking that the last 3 miles really weren’t worth risking the ironman over. There was another part of me saying “you’ve come 23, finish out the last 3.” Thankfully – that part won out and I did finish.

My time was about 30min more than I wanted, but an informal poll of non-elite runners has convinced me that the time was actually pretty good for the conditions. Everyone with whom I have spoken seems pretty dissatisfied with their times. My solace is in the fact that this was really just a glorified training run for me – the culmination of my season is still a month away for better or for worse.

I did learn a few things. Mercifully, and inexplicably, my shin splints and IT band problems did not become acute while pushing my body. I hadn’t run anything more than 13 mi in a couple months due to injury and illness, yet my body held up quite well under the strain. I have no idea why – but certainly won’t look the gift horse in the mouth. I’m much more confident going into the Ironman – I know the goal is possible, and am now looking forward to it.

Thanks to everyone for the support. A few friends came out to cheer me on – and that meant the world to me. I got lots of texts and emails from all over everywhere which were also very much appreciated.

Now, for the Ironman. 140.6 or bust!

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Fear of Failure

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Many of you know, I’ve been following Eric Larsen’s climb of Everest pretty much daily. His latest post is fascinating:

There are the things that are scary that you can see and touch: crevasse, steep incline, or dangerous ice. There are also the things that you can’t see like an impending avalanche or wind. Then, there are the things that are substantially less tangible like failure. I can’t see it or touch it, but it is always looming close.

I know the feeling. This training season, I have been sick twice, and dealt with shin splints, IT band issues, and achilles problems. I have lost blocks of weeks at a time because my body simply wouldn’t cooperate at times. Very frustrating, and it leaves me feeling very unprepared.

The marathon is coming up this Sunday, and I’m legitimately concerned. I’m confident that I could will my body to run 26.2 miles, I’m just not sure I can do it without aggravating all of these nagging injuries – I certainly don’t want to risk the Ironman in a few weeks. So, we’ll see how it goes. I’ve always been a big believer that if you’re never failing, you simply aren’t setting lofty enough goals. I certainly set stretch goals for myself this year, and am anxious to prove once again that I can achieve them.

Check in Sunday for an update on how it all goes.

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