Utah Valley Marathon Run Down
I finished the Utah Valley Marathon in 4:19:47, which shaves 2 minutes and 52 seconds off my personal record. So why am I disappointed? Because I wasn't able to meet my goal of 4 hours. My strategy was to start out with the 4 hour pacer and run with this group until mile 16. There were three hills up to this point, so I had decided that after these I would reevaluate how I felt and then either stick with the 4 hour group or speed up for the last 10 miles of gradual downhill. Right from the start I felt off. I had been sick for the 2 weeks prior to the marathon, so I am sure that was a contributing factor. However, I decided to stick it out and stay with the 4 hour group. I thought that maybe I just needed to warm up and it usually takes me about three miles to get into a rhythm. The first hill was at mile 8 and fell about 100 yards behind the pacer during the climb. I decided that I wasn't going to worry too much about it because she was pacing a little bit faster than a 9:09 min/mile pace. But as time went on, and as I came to the next two hills, she got farther and farther ahead of me. According to my Garmin watch, at the half marathon start, my time was 2:01:19. I figured that I could still make a 4:05 finish, since the hardest part of the marathon was behind me. I was still slowing considerably, and after mile 19 I was averaging a 9:24 minute mile (4:06 finish).
By mile twenty, I hit the wall like I had never hit it before. I could barely put one foot in front of the other. I had a cramp in my calf and both of my hips were throbbing. I was also in a mental fog. It wasn't until after the race, that I realized that I was dehydrated. It took me several hours to figure this out. When Mike and I sat down to eat lunch, the waitress gave me the menu and as I looked at it, I realized that I could barely read the words and what I could read didn't make sense. As Mike and I talked about it I realized that I usually have to urinate midway through my runs, but I wasn't able to go until several hours after the marathon. Last night I read on Facebook the race organizer's apology for the lack of porta potties. I had to chuckle a little because I hadn't even noticed.
I ended up walking the majority of the last 6.2 miles. I cried when the 4:10 and 4:15 pacers passed me. If I would have had a phone with me, I would have called Mike to come get me after mile 20 and it took me 12:10 to finish that one mile. I averaged an 11:37 min/mile pace for those last 6.2 miles. Now, as I reevaluate everything, I am so glad that I didn't quit the race. I am actually just relieved that I was able to finish without needing medical attention. And although I am glad that I was still able to PR, I am still disappointed in the choices that I made that affected my performance. I should have taken more time at the aid stations. I should have trained with Gatorade, so that I would have been prepared to drink it throughout the race. I should have drank both water and Gatorade at each aid station. I should have started hydrating better before the race. I was up at 3 am and I should have started to drink water and Gatorade at that time, but I was tired and I didn't feel like drinking then. I did take two 6 oz bottle of BCAA with me. I drank those with gels every 2 miles and that helped me not to have any GI issues until after the race. I guess that is something that I have figured out.
Summer Training Plans
It's 24 hours after the marathon, and at this point I am usually planning out the training for my next marathon. Not this time though. I am signed up for the Pocatello Marathon in September, but I am planning on changing it to the half marathon. I don't think that I am ready to train for another marathon at this point. I think that one marathon a year is more than enough. I still want to drive my pace down to the sub 9 min/mile zone or lower. I have been reading Brian Mackenzie's book
Power, Speed, Endurance, which is a crossfit approach to endurance events and I want to start focusing on his method for awhile. Check it out at
http://www.crossfitendurance.com/. I'm excited to focus on power and speed.
There are so many other things that I want to do, in conjunction with running. I definitely don't want to spend the summer running any more long runs. I have two great bikes: a road and mountain bike, but I haven't even gotten on either one yet this summer. I have already mentioned several times how much I love Monica's Tabata and Kettlebell classes (they are comparable to the crossfit classes I have attended) and I want to be able to go to them whenever I want. Just writing about these things that I enjoy, I am getting excited. I just have to get past this next week. Hal Higdon refers to the week after a marathon as week zero. I plan on doing pilates, walking, stretching, and using my foam roller. I also need to get some sleep. I might get on my bike next week, but according to Hal, I shouldn't do anything new. Since I haven't biked for over 9 months, I think that this activity would qualify as "new." I might try going back to Kettlebell class on Friday, if I can walk properly by then. I was walking in front of an old lady with a cane and hunched back yesterday, and Mike said that she was moving better than I was.
And Finally-Time to get back to CLEAN EATING
I also am going to get back to eating clean 90% of the time. This past month I was probably eating clean
75-80%. I ate out about two times a week and I ate treats nearly every day. Although I have splurged more, I kept the meals that I made myself totally clean. I think that this really helped me to keep my weight maintained. I still want to lose 5% body fat. Now that I'm not training for a marathon, I can focus on building muscle and losing fat. I have been debating if I should go back to the Stripped Diet Plan, but I think that I am going to start with Cooler 2 for the summer and see where that gets me. If I'm not where I want to be after the Pocatello Half Marathon, then I will reassess what I am doing at that point.
No comments:
Post a Comment