Recovery

I have read a lot about how important it is to get the proper food into your system after a hard workout. However, knowing what to do and putting it into practice are two totally different things, especially when it comes to food. I have experimented with several things before and after my workouts.

For a long time I did not eat anything before a workout and it seemed to go well. As I began running further, I felt like I needed more fuel. I started eating a breakfast bar and progressed to a small bowl of cereal. Leading up to the marathon that is what I did and I started to think that it was making my stomach hurt . Since the marathon, I have stopped eating before my runs again and it is going well.

What to eat after the run has been the much more difficult thing to figure out. Since I run in the morning, I have to stretch, shower, and then get to work. This makes it difficult to get a good meal in. For awhile, I was having a bowl of cereal while I checked my e-mail at work first thing. The problem with that is that it was typically about an hour and a half after the run. I know my body needs to be replenished sooner than that. The other problem with the cereal was a lack of protein. I did not feel that my muscles were getting the protein they needed to recover.

I just started trying something new. I have done it four times now and it seems to be working well. I got some protein and am making shakes. The great thing about a shake is you can eat it anywhere. So it works perfectly in the car on the way to work. It is also easier to get a big shake down than a big meal. The problem with it is the lack of carbs and calories. So to off set that I am adding what I can...milk instead of water, a banana, and some chocolate syrup. I try to stay away from sugars like syrup, but I can’t think of another way to add a bunch of carbs and calories. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Today’s run was a new record for me, 8 mile repeats. Each of these was done with 1:30 recovery. At some point, I plan to start cutting back my recovery time until I get it down to 1:00. I would also like to get up to 10 to 12 repeats. I have done that workout each week for the last 3 and I only did it twice leading up to the last marathon.

Today’s Run:
8 Mile repeats with 1:30 recovery, average pace 6:31
6:35
6:33
6:25
6:29
6:30
6:31
6:34
6:31

Winning the Battle

This morning I entered into an epic battle and came out glorious. The long weekend lent itself nicely to laziness. Saturday and Sunday I slept in until around 6:20, and both days I managed to catch a short nap. Monday was my day off from running and I slept in until about 7:15. This morning, however the alarm was set for 5:30 again. After a day off, I knew it was very important to quickly get back into my routine, no room for backsliding.
I awoke on my own in what I thought was the middle of the night. A look over to the alarm clock filled me with immediate disgust as I saw it read 5:20. Immediately I began to search for excuses. Internal battles are interesting and trying to find excuses for myself is much the same except I know the full truth. There is nothing to embellish or hide. I can’t tell myself that I didn’t really sleep that well or that I don’t really want to run, I know the truth.
I decided not to get up yet, but to instead get what enjoyment I could out of the last 10 minutes of sleep or lying in bed. At 5:30, the alarm went off. I got up to turn it off and on my way kept thinking about hitting the snooze. I thought maybe I had it coming since I woke up 10 minutes too early, perhaps I deserved an extra 10 minutes of sleep. Well, that was just foolish so I turned it off.
Walking in a half daze I sat in the chair in our room, not ready to accept the fact that I was going to transition from a comfortable sleep to a hot and tiring run. I just sat there actually trying to come up with an excuse. Maybe my heel was hurting, I thought to myself. I began to press on my heel with my thumb. I am ashamed to say that I was actually hoping it would hurt some so I could write the day off as a needed recovery day. Nothing, not even a hint of pain radiated from the vigorous rubbing of my thumb. After a few minutes of sitting there, the lazy me, the me that has been feeling pretty defeated lately, hung his head in shame. The me that has ambitions and dreams beyond sleep had won and was ready to run.

Todays Run:
7 miles easy
56:00

Recap

Yesterday I ran a 1/2 marathon. Not a race, just on my own. I was happy with my time of 1:42:00. That is not my fastest, but it is only a few minutes off. My best was actually during a 14 mile run so I don't know how fast it would have been without that last .9 miles, but probably about 1:38:00. Anyway that was the best distance run I have had in a while so I was pretty happy with it.

All day yesterday the back of my right heel was bothering me but I did not think much of it since I had run 13 miles earlier in the day. This morning I set out for a really easy run and ended up with 5.5 miles. It was easy but my heel was bothering me again. It has been kind of off and on today so I have decided to take tomorrow off. I really don't want to but I also don't want to end up with some silly injury. (The back of my heel. Any ideas what it could be anyone?)

Last week I finished with 52.2 miles. I am really happy with that and was hoping to run around 55 this week. However, since I am taking tomorrow off that will make it pretty hard to accomplish. I guess we will just see. I certainly don't want to push it too hard.

Overall my spirits are still up and I am really enjoying every bit of it. After 9 straight days I need a day off. I just hope it is enough time for my heel to get back to normal so I can push it hard the rest of the week.

Early is the key

The last week and a half of training has been phenomenal. My motivation has been up, I have gotten a lot of miles in and they have been good miles. The key to this recent success has been my wake up time and refusal to use the snooze. I woke up the last 4 days at 5:30, and did the same 3 days last week. I am not going to lie, it has been really difficult. However, I did not give myself a choice. The thoughts about going back to bed entered my mind, but they were not entertained. Thoughts how nice it would be to sleep entered my head but then I would think about how disappointed I would be to cave after only a few days.
The exhaustion was tough to handle for about the first week. I think my body was just not use to getting up that early. The last two days have been much better, and I am hoping that trend will continue. I think that getting up at the same time everyday is imperative. My hope is that my body will adjust to that time and I will naturally start to feel awake that early. The other huge advantage is that my workouts are not rushed. Getting up that early gives me plenty of time to get my workout in, stretch, shower, and get to work. I did 9 easy miles the other day and had time to spare. I used to base my wake-up time on my workout. Then I would snooze and have to shorten my workout to accommodate. Well, we see where that got me last time. My biggest struggle over the last three years or so with my running has been consistency. I think I am finally on to something that is going to change all of that.

Today's Run
4 Miles Fartlek
2 x 9 sec hill spints (more on that later)
1 Mile Cooldown

Yesterday's Run
7.3 Miles Easy (oops)
7:33 Pace

Car Smacking

When I think of an endurance athlete, the word punk definitely does not come to mind. Well, I like to think of myself as an endurance athlete, but I guess I have a little inner punk as well.

At some point in my running history, I became frustrated with oblivious and/or self absorbed motorists and decided to fight back. I don't remember plotting it out, it just kind of happened. A car got close enough to me that I thought I could touch it and so I did. This evolved into what is now known by me as car smacking. I have never been the recipient of a car smacking, but I can assure you it is startling. Just imagine driving along passing a pedestrian, whom you may or may not have seen and then you hear a loud thud.

So the secret is out, if a car gets close enough to me, I let them know by applying a generous amount of force from my hand to their vehicle. At first I always assumed this just ticked people off or made them realize how close they really were. However, I had an encounter that changed my perspective.

Out for a run one morning on a curvy road in the dark, an SUV was coming towards me. It was obvious they had no idea I was there and they were headed right for me. This time instead of smacking the SUV, I jumped into the air and shoved off the side of the car to avoid getting hit. Without missing a step, I landed and kept going. When I looked over my shoulder, I noticed the SUV was stopped and a man was getting out. I was pretty frustrated and assumed he wanted to fight me or something. I looped around and headed back towards him to give him a piece of my mind. To my surprise he was terrified and asked if I was alright. I said yes and threw in a ”watch where you are going”. Somehow it had not occurred to me that I was making people may think they hit me.

So I guess that is the mean streak in me. I am not proud of it so I try to rationalize my behavior. Perhaps scaring them makes them more aware in the future and keeps them from hitting someone else. An elderly person or a child who may not be as aware of what is going on. I also think about how it is their laziness or rudeness, and my safety, I have a lot more to lose.

I have never talked to or heard about another runner who participates in this sort of practice. I can’t imagine that I am alone. If you have a similar story, please share.


Today's Run:
6 mile repeats with 1:30 recovery between each
6:39
6:36
6:30
6:23
6:23
6:11

At Last

The easy run made a return to my training this morning. The last truly easy day I had was Friday the 1st, two and a half weeks ago. That run was 7.3 miles at a 8:15 pace. Today’s run was even easier then that and longer. Perhaps the most exciting part was the pace; 7:46. I started out easy and kept it that way even though I felt like I could easily speed up. The last ½ mile was a breeze. I just could not help wonder where today was a couple of weeks ago during the marathon. I was already starting to hurt at that point in the marathon and I was running about 20 seconds a mile slower. I think it has a lot to do with the consistency I have had over the last week and a half.
It was a lot of fun to have an easy run, no pain, just a little over an hour of running enjoyment.

New Workout

Today's workout was something new for me from the Run Faster book. It was a progression run. The book uses these runs in a lot of different ways, but the premise is always the same. Start slow and build, or shift to a different speed. For instance he might have you run a long run, 14 miles easy and then 3 at marathon goal pace. Today I started with 4.5 miles at 8 min pace. I was really excited to be able to maintain that slower pace for that long and it felt really good. It was fun to just take it easy and enjoy the run for a while. Then I switched gears and ran the last 2.8 miles in 19:15 or a 6:52 pace. It is amazing how much easier it is for me to run at a pace like that if I start out slow. I think it was actually easier for me to run that last 2.8 miles then it would have been if I had just run that 2.8 miles by itself.

Anyway, I am a fan of the progression run after today. I think it allows you to get the miles in and run at a fast pace without completely draining yourself. I also think it teaches you to pick up the pace when you are fatigued. I will continue to use that workout and try some of the different ways it is suggested in the book. More attempts at consistency and variance to come.

2 a Day

Well, before dinner I could not resist going out for a hard mile. I am still chasing that infamous sub 5:00 mile. Well, tonight was not the night, but I did run my fastest mile in over 10 years so I will take it.

1 Mile 5:19

The usual

Well, just like usual I went out too fast. I looked down at my watch at 4.5 miles hoping to see 8 min pace or slower, which would have been 36:00, instead it read 34:50. So I could not help but speed up a little more. I ended up stopping at 7 miles with an average pace of 7:35. I then ran a 1.5 mile cool down. I guess since I can't seem to slow it down I just need to get into better shape so I can maintain that pace. The wind was down today but I did get to run in some poring rain, which was fun.

30 MPH

Probably my least favorite thing to run in is strong wind. I would rather run when it is -5 degrees then when it is really windy. You just can't seem to get into a rhythm when it is windy. It is like you are doing interval work the entire time. Yesterday morning I ran in wind gust up to 30 mph. It was perhaps the strongest winds I have ever run in. It was also poring down rain so that made it pretty interesting. I ran for about 4.5 miles non stop and then ran 2 minutes on and 1 minute off until my entire workout was 1 hour. I think I covered a little over 7 miles and ran about 6.25. Overall considering the conditions I was pretty happy with the workout. Today was another scheduled day off, my last day of recovery from the marathon. Tomorrow is a short long run, probably around 10 miles. Unless I am feeling really good.

5 mile repeats

Today I set out for 5 mile repeats with 1.5 minute rest. I started out with a 6:23, and then ran a 6:07. I started the third one and only made it about .25 miles then stopped. Instead of getting discouraged I just took about an 8 minute break and then ran a 6:14. Then I took a 2.5 minute rest and ran 6:11, then I took about 5 minutes and ran 5:52. So it was not exactly what I set out to run, but I also was not planning on averaging 6:10 per mile. All in all I was happy with the run.

Mile repeats is probably my favorite training day to be done with. I know it does a lot for me and I always feel a sense of accomplishment. I must say that I dread it when it is coming and don't aways enjoy it much during, but it is worth the return.


Mile Repeats
6:23
6:07
6:14
6:11
5:52

It's just in me

I remember the first time I ran with my dad, though I am not sure how old I was, I am guessing around 10. We had planned in advance to get up early and run down the street as far as we could go. We made it about a quarter of a mile until we both collapsed. I am not sure if we just went out too fast or if we were both that out of shape.
As a high schooler my dad was a great miler. His best performance came at the end of a medley relay, his split 4:28. Yeah fast. He also ran 10 miles in an hour as a high schooler. After high school he went to Purdue where he was on the cross country team. Unfortunately he got mono was not able to run the first season. He put on some weight and did not come back to the team.
Before our first morning running together I don't remember him running on any kind of regular basis, but that morning starting what would be years of early morning runs. I could not keep up an quite frankly did not want to get out of bed so he was soon doing the runs by himself. He was not out there to break any records. He never ran in a single race and I don't think he ever ran much over 3 miles. He just used it as time to think, pray, and stay in shape. Eventually he stopped running because of a bad knee. He should have had surgery years ago but is stubborn so he has had to result to other kinds of exercise.
My dad has always been a big supporter of my running. He and my mom were at all of my high school meets, track and cross country. He listens to my excitement about running and offers advice. However, he does not share the same excitement for the sport that I do. Even he, a runner, has trouble comprehending why I would put myself through some of the things I put myself through to keep my dream alive. I guess he started a spark in me and it has grown into a fire.

No Choice In The Matter

Tomorrow is a prescribed day off. I am making myself take tomorrow off in an effort to fully recover from the marathon. I am feeling pretty good and I ran 13 miles in the last 2 days. However, I want to be sure I am fully rested for what is to come. I plan to have one more of these days on Friday, but we will see how it goes.

I am sure that a lot of people out there think it is crazy and not smart to run everyday. However, I have learned from experience that taking a day off can, way too easily, lead to more days off. The reason for this is simple, you give yourself a choice. I am sure if you talk to anyone who has a serious streak going they will tell you they have no choice but to run. To break their streak would be crazy, it would take something out of their control. However for someone who runs 5 days a week it is really not that big of a deal to run 4, or so you tell yourself. I would like to take the happy medium, but, I am afraid it would lead to more days off. So after this second week of recovering I don’t have too many planned days off. I will just have to make sure that I have easy days that simulate a day off.

I have got to get myself into the habit of running regularly, and eliminate the struggle I put myself through in the morning to get up and out there. Once I do that I will be able to focus more on the runs themselves . Wednesday and Thursday I will be up at 5:30, no snooze.

You Snooze You Lose

Today was the first day of my 23 week training for my next marathon, a.k.a, redemption. I decided to institute a few rules so that I stay on track. One of those rules is not using the snooze button. On a typical running morning, I will snooze an average of 3 times. Not only does it cut into my run, it just doesn't make any sense. It does not get any easier to get up, as a matter of fact I think it gets harder with each snooze. Plus on multiple occasions, I have snoozed 20 minutes or so and then told myself I did not have enough time left for a workout. So all in all, it will cause me to be far more consistent and get a lot more out of my runs if I give it up. Not to mention I will score some major bonus points with my wife. She has often times just got back to sleep after being up with our son in the middle of the night when the snoozing starts and wakes her up all over again, and again, and again. You get the drift.

This morning the alarm went off at 6:00am and I got right out of bed, it was such a good feeling. I was hoping to get in some decent miles today and set out for an easy run of 7 to 8.5 miles. Like usual, I started out too fast. Though my legs feel back to normal I think that each stride is still taking more effort. After 4.42 miles I was spent and started walking. My pace to that point was 7:37. Not too bad, but way too slow to tire after only 4.42 miles. Determined to get more out of my work out,(another one of my new rules) I walked for a little while and then set out to do 3 800 meter splits with 2 minutes rest. I was able to accomplish those and it felt good, 3:07, 3:01, 2:59. I will be up again tomorrow morning and will bask in the accomplishment of not succumbing to the snooze.

Also you can click on my workouts to the left and it will show you more detail about the daily workout.

Back out there

Today was my first day back since the marathon. I just went out to run a little and see how it felt. It went better then I had expected. I ran 3 miles in 22:15, or about 7:25 pace. I then walked a little and then ran another 1/2 mile at about the same pace. My legs hurt a little during the 1/2 mile at the end, but overall it went well. However, my legs have felt really tired all day today so they are obviously not back. I will be taking tomorrow off and then will be back for Sunday.

I want to thank all of you who have commented on my posts, it is very encouraging. I think about my blogging friends when I am running and it gives me that extra push I need. I am trying to do better with my running and blogging and all the comments and viewings of my blog really help in both areas.

Lindsay asked me in a comment if I follow any type of training plan. Well, yes and no. Probably around last October I got a book at the library titled Run Faster by Brad Hudson. I read most of it and then had to return it. For Christmas my wife purchased the book for me. I adopted a few of the things he suggested but was not consistent with them. I think it is full of some really good stuff and this time plan to follow it much more closely. I hope to share some of the things he suggests on the blog as I do them.



In case you are wondering Brad Hudson is a current day coach and he trains some of the nations best distance runners. Most notably Dathan Ritzenhein who placed 10th in the 2008 Olympic Marathon.

Things To Note

While I was walking parts of the marathon I realized I was really out of my element. If I ever have to stop during a workout I call it a day and end the workout. I might have to walk a ways to get home but I rarely start running again. I just chalk it up to a bad day and tell myself I will make up the miles in another workout. Well, that certainly did not prepare me for what I encountered in the later parts of the marathon. When I stop running my body is used to a stretch and a shower. This go around I am going to change things. Of course I have no intentions of ever walking during a marathon again but I will be prepared if it does happen. Now if I am not having a good workout I will stop but I will start again. Of course more interval work will help with this as well. Not only will these things teach my body to keep going when its tired, they will also cause me to get more out of my workouts.

New to the blog is my training history. You can now see my last few runs, as well as my week and month totals. All compliments of Runner's World where I log my workouts. Hopefully having those there will hold me more accountable.

My legs are still hurting, but are really starting to make their way back to normal. The plan is to run tomorrow morning for the first time since the marathon. There is really no distance on the agenda, just whatever feels good. I can't wait to get back out for another long run. Depending on how I feel I might put up double digit miles on Sunday, which will be the beginning of my 23 week plan. I am anxious.

23 weeks ago

This is a look at the 23 weeks leading up to the marathon. The red boxes are the days I ran, black indicates days off, and yellow is weekly totals. The 2 weeks of no running occurred when I thought something was wrong with my foot. The light colored red boxes indicate runs on a treadmill. Out to the right of the weekly totals are the days I ran that week. At the bottom you can see some of the records for this training period.

I only averaged 29.23 miles a week. Despite having some really good weeks, my average was pretty low. I just could not seem to stay consistent. Perhaps the worst part of the entire thing for me was how early I peaked. I did my best running 6 weeks to two months before the marathon. I am not really sure why I fizzled like I did, but I think it was nerves. On March 28th I ran 14 miles at a pace of 7:30 and it felt amazing. I still had 5 weeks to train and should have been able to easily turn a run like that into a 3:30 marathon. That is, if I would have continued to train at the same intensity. The three weeks leading up to the marathon I only averaged 21.53 miles. I took the tapering thing way to seriously.

Perhaps the hardest stat for me to swallow is that I averaged 4.087 days a week of running. This was mainly because I would get up turn off my alarm and go back to sleep. I only had 3 weeks when I ran 6 days and 1 when I ran all 7.

My record for the most miles in 4 days I still think is impressive. In 4 days I managed to run 42 miles. Unfortunately I did that in early December and never even came close to that again.

Lastly, not only did I run too little but the running I did was not well rounded. The vast majority of my runs were easy or tempo runs. I did very little hill work, fartlicks, or intervals.

Needless to say I can change a lot that will prepare me much more for my next marathon. After this week of mostly rest I will have 23 weeks to train for the next one. I will be looking at my plans side by side and my hope is that I blow this one away.

I hope to improve in 3 main areas.
1. Run more miles
2. Run more days a week
3. Mix up the running more and get the most out of my runs

If I am able to maintain consistency in doing all of these things I know I will blow away my time from this past Sunday. To hold myself more accountable this time I will be displaying my training program some along the way.

Lessons from the race

I have had some time to think about the marathon and I still can't believe how much differently it went than I expected. Partially I think I had unreal expectations based on my training, which I promise to share more about soon. Next I think it had a lot to do with doubt, nerves, and race day strategy.

I have already shared that I think I went out too fast. I think if I would have slowed the pace down and stuck with the 3:40 pacer I could have held out for several more miles before walking. I now know that the longer you can hold out before walking the better. Of course I hope to never walk in a marathon again. If I would have known how hard it was going to be to start running again, I think I could have kept going for a couple more miles. Instead I convinced myself that walking was going to rejuvenate me and get me going again. It just messed with my head and made it that much harder to keep going.

I know that the demoralizing effect of walking had a lot to do with my time. When you start to realize you are not going to come close to your goal, what's another 5 minutes, if it means you can be more comfortable. If I would have been close to my goal, then of course I would have dug deep and found the will to keep going. That is the importance of setting obtainable goals.

My legs hurt more then I could have ever imagined. Which really surprises me since they did not really bother me after my 20 mile run, in which I ran the entire time. It has been almost 60 hours since the finish and I can still barely make it up and down the stairs. I think most of that has to do with my training. However, I think the lack of sleep and lack of food before the race also contributed. Before the next marathon I will eat more then a bowl of cheerios 2 hours before the start. Milk, raisins and all I probably got about 300 calories. I think a little more fuel would have really helped.

Those are just a few of the things I learned from this marathon. I will share more as they come to me. I love being a student of this sport and am amazed at how much I continue to learn.

I am debating between 3 marathons for the fall. Indianapolis, Louisville, and Columbus. I will probably register soon. I am much more excited about the 2nd then I was the 1st.

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Race Report

The marathon chewed me up and spit me out. Let me just start by saying that I have a new respect for the distance of the marathon, the hills of Cincinnati, and the training it requires to do well.

How it started...

Yesterday my wife and I went down to the city for the expo. We had a great time and I got my shirt, bib, timing chip, and various other things. While we were there I talked to the pacers. The 3:30 pacer was not there, but I learned his name was Roger. I planned to try to catch up with him at the starting line and find out what his strategy was.

Tiffany and I got home around 7:30 and I spent awhile getting everything ready. At around 10:00 we went to bed. I tossed and turned and ended up only getting 2 hours of sleep. Last night was one of the hardest parts of the entire marathon. There were times when I thought I would not be getting any sleep at all. I was so stressed out that I was going to be running a marathon after staying up all night.

At 4:30 Tiffany woke me up telling me my alarm had gone off, I was so confused because I had dreams that I slept through the marathon and thought that was reality.

By 5:00 my dad and I were on the road down to Cincinnati.

By 6:05 I was at the starting line. That is when I caught up with Roger. I asked what he hoped to run the first few miles at and he said right on pace. I decided at that point to start out with the 3:40 pacer. So I tucked in next to him and waited for the gun to go off. At this point my nerves were down and I was ready to run. The gun went off and I was going.

Now for as close as I can get to the mile by mile report...

Mile 1 8:37 -Just off pace for 3:40, it was really difficult to navigate through the crowd.
Mile 2 7:49 - I already decided to leave the 3:40 pacer. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!!!
Mile 3 7:53 - Feeling good, but knowing I was running too fast too early.
Mile 4 8:02 - I had finally slowed back down to goal pace, but in reality I had gone up and over a large bridge so it was still too fast.
Mile 5 7:45 - Just getting caught up in the atmosphere. I had no business running this fast.
Mile 6 8:05 - Started going up some serious hills. I was passing a lot of people and the adrenaline was flowing.
Mile 7 8:39 - Up a huge hill. Finally running smarter though.
Mile 8 8:17 - Still going up hill, but running at a more manageable pace.
Mile 9 8:07 - Getting back to goal pace.
Mile 10 8:11 - Really starting to feel it.
Mile 11 7:33 - Not being smart again. I was just behind the 3:30 pacer for a while around mile 6 and I was trying to reel him back in.
Mile 12 8:29 - I was paying for the 7:33.
Mile 13 9:00 - Starting to unravel.
Mile 14 8:44 - Holding onto hope for a 3:40 and realizing 3:30 was now done.
Mile 15 9:06 - Still out in front of the 3:40 pacer and doing my best to keep it that way.
Mile 16 12:51 - I walked!! I still can't believe that I had to walk. The reality is that I walked a bunch the rest of the way. When I started walking, I thought it would just be for a couple of minutes and I would start running strong again. That was not what happened. The rest of the race is pretty embarrassing and very demoralizing, but here it is...
Mile 17 8:37 - I ran the entire mile but it really hurt.
Mile 18 12:40 - There was a decent amount of walking. Since I had not planned on walking I really had no strategy for walking and probably walked more then I needed to.
Mile 19 11:23 - A little less walking, but walking none the less.
Mile 20 9:18 - I actually ran an entire mile again.
Mile 21 12:00 - Emotionally it was really starting to get to me as I realized that the rest of the race was going to be like this.
Mile 22 12:32 - More walking.
Mile 23 13:33 - I started out this mile running for 4 minutes. When I stopped, I could barely walk. I was actually concerned that I might not finish for a minute. But I hobbled for a couple of minutes and it slowly started coming back.
Mile 24 14:41 - Much more walking then running.
Mile 25 11:52 - Was able to pull it back together a little knowing the end was near.
Mile 26.2 12:22 - Which equates to a 10:18 pace. Of course I pulled it together to run the last half and cross the finish line.

Total 4:16:18 46 minutes behind goal

There was a time during the collapse that I was so disappointed that I started thinking I might never run again. I have since regained my composure and I have chalked my poor time up to a few things. Lack of weekly mileage, which I will share more of in a future post (It was actually just my legs that kept me from doing well, I seemed to be in great cardio shape, and despite the side stitches I had over the last week of training, I did not have any during the marathon.). Lack of sleep. Starting out way too fast on a course that climbs 500 feet from miles 5-8. Not getting enough calories in before the run.

I am already ready to do another one and can't wait to get back out and running again. I will be running a fall marathon. I will break 3:30 easily next time. After this week, which I plan to take pretty easy, I will have 24 weeks to train. This time I will show some respect.

I want to say thank you to Tiffany, my wife, who has put up with a lot of early alarm clocks, a lot of long Saturday runs, and a lot of talk about running. She has been amazingly supportive and she makes chasing this dream possible.