My last post was about how I completely botched my marathon execution at the Cowtown...and this post is to educate you on what I did wrong (and for me to listen to my own teachings).
I've done it in just about every marathon or ultramarathon I've entered, which is to go out too fast, leaving nothing in the tank for the second half of the race. All 6.2 miles of the second half, because lets face it, if you've ran a marathon, you know what I'm talking about. And if you haven't, listen up, this advice will save you life someday...okay maybe not, but it will make your race a little more enjoyable I promise! DO NOT RUN ANY FASTER PER MILE THAN YOUR GOAL PACE FOR THE FIRST 5 MILES!!!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!! So for example, my goal pace for Cowtown was 9:09/mi, so I should've stayed in the 9:15/mi range for the first 5 miles. If that sounds stupid, trust me, it's not. I can back that up with stats from two runs where I started out slowly and eventually sped up in the end, resulting in a negative split for 20 and 22 miles. Comparing those runs to the marathon where I started off fast and ended slow, it proves that the 'leave some gas in the tank' theory holds water, and you should abide by it at all costs. Those two runs before Cowtown were at an average pace of 8:58/mi, and I was getting stronger as I went, with plenty of gas in the tank to finish had the marathon been on those days. Each day, I started those runs at over 9 mins per mile, not dipping into the 8's until about halfway through. So I know what went wrong, I just need to listen to my own advice...which is to start slow and finish fast (or strong, because sometimes fast just doesn't happen in the second half of a marathon).
So after my disappointing Cowtown Marathon, I couldn't stand not knowing if it was just my mistake that yielded a bad time, or if I'm just not a person who is ever gonna run under 4 hours, so I looked up some upcoming marathons for redemption. I knew I would need to recover so I would need at least 2 months between marathons, but I didn't want to wait too long for fear of it getting too hot, and there it was, the Eugene Marathon! Flat, fast, scenic, and perfect marathon weather is what reviews say about this now 10 year old race in Tracktown, USA. I had looked up this race before and added it to my bucket list of marathons, as I've always wanted to visit Eugene. Every runner knows about Hayward Field, and the lore of Steve Prefontaine and Nike, so what better way to finish a marathon than right there on the track!! I'm so excited I could explode! So I am currently resting, actively, and letting my body recover from a total meltdown, which will take some time, but I think come May 1, I will be ready to give it another shot. I have at least one planned run of 20 miles between now and then, and have decided to slow my training runs down a bit, in order to try and build a little more endurance. I've got some track and hill days planned twice a week, with a few recovery runs and a long run on the weekends. Today was my first day back in the gym in a while, so I hope to gain a little strength back as well, while working on my core, which is seriously lacking at the moment. I feel good knowing that I'll be running in a very motivating setting like Eugene for my attempt at a sub 4 hour marathon, and if it doesn't happen for me this time, then I know I'm just not ready for it, which is completely fine by me. It won't be, however, for the reason of bad strategy or not running a smart race. I'm going to stick to my plan of starting slowly and gradually increasing my pace as the race goes on, hopefully feeling good after the 20 mile mark and continuing on to a strong finish. I can't wait to try! Race report to come in May :)
I've done it in just about every marathon or ultramarathon I've entered, which is to go out too fast, leaving nothing in the tank for the second half of the race. All 6.2 miles of the second half, because lets face it, if you've ran a marathon, you know what I'm talking about. And if you haven't, listen up, this advice will save you life someday...okay maybe not, but it will make your race a little more enjoyable I promise! DO NOT RUN ANY FASTER PER MILE THAN YOUR GOAL PACE FOR THE FIRST 5 MILES!!!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!! So for example, my goal pace for Cowtown was 9:09/mi, so I should've stayed in the 9:15/mi range for the first 5 miles. If that sounds stupid, trust me, it's not. I can back that up with stats from two runs where I started out slowly and eventually sped up in the end, resulting in a negative split for 20 and 22 miles. Comparing those runs to the marathon where I started off fast and ended slow, it proves that the 'leave some gas in the tank' theory holds water, and you should abide by it at all costs. Those two runs before Cowtown were at an average pace of 8:58/mi, and I was getting stronger as I went, with plenty of gas in the tank to finish had the marathon been on those days. Each day, I started those runs at over 9 mins per mile, not dipping into the 8's until about halfway through. So I know what went wrong, I just need to listen to my own advice...which is to start slow and finish fast (or strong, because sometimes fast just doesn't happen in the second half of a marathon).
So after my disappointing Cowtown Marathon, I couldn't stand not knowing if it was just my mistake that yielded a bad time, or if I'm just not a person who is ever gonna run under 4 hours, so I looked up some upcoming marathons for redemption. I knew I would need to recover so I would need at least 2 months between marathons, but I didn't want to wait too long for fear of it getting too hot, and there it was, the Eugene Marathon! Flat, fast, scenic, and perfect marathon weather is what reviews say about this now 10 year old race in Tracktown, USA. I had looked up this race before and added it to my bucket list of marathons, as I've always wanted to visit Eugene. Every runner knows about Hayward Field, and the lore of Steve Prefontaine and Nike, so what better way to finish a marathon than right there on the track!! I'm so excited I could explode! So I am currently resting, actively, and letting my body recover from a total meltdown, which will take some time, but I think come May 1, I will be ready to give it another shot. I have at least one planned run of 20 miles between now and then, and have decided to slow my training runs down a bit, in order to try and build a little more endurance. I've got some track and hill days planned twice a week, with a few recovery runs and a long run on the weekends. Today was my first day back in the gym in a while, so I hope to gain a little strength back as well, while working on my core, which is seriously lacking at the moment. I feel good knowing that I'll be running in a very motivating setting like Eugene for my attempt at a sub 4 hour marathon, and if it doesn't happen for me this time, then I know I'm just not ready for it, which is completely fine by me. It won't be, however, for the reason of bad strategy or not running a smart race. I'm going to stick to my plan of starting slowly and gradually increasing my pace as the race goes on, hopefully feeling good after the 20 mile mark and continuing on to a strong finish. I can't wait to try! Race report to come in May :)
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