Brian,

Congrats on finishing your first marathon!

Just like my  first marathon. You go in with a plan, and it just doesn't come out quite right. I hope you feel like you accomplished something, because you did. 26.2 miles, man. Rarified air in the human world. I feel very inspired by the way you came back from that injury to achieve this.

It'll take a few marathons before you start to get it right.

I can remember my HR being high before a few races back in the early years when I tried using a HRM during a few races. I do believe it was adrenaline. The excitement about the daunting task ahead. I remember mine being ten beats higher a few times. If it only happens on race day for you, it is more than likely the same thing.

How large was your meal? That could have added to the elevated HR. It doesn't look like you ran too much the two weeks before the race, though it is possible you were slightly over-trained before the race.

I will eat about 400-500 calories 3-4 hours before the race.

Again, congrats on a great achievement. How do you feel?

--jimmy

Twin Cities Marathon.

Temp: 43 to start, 50 at finish

Time: 4:27:07

Avg HR: 161

 

9:29 160

9:30 168

9:32 170

9:19 166

9:10 166

9:08 167

9:04 168

9:24 164

9:21 165

9:24 162

9:07 166

9:24 166

9:28 165

9:45 165

9:33 165

9:54 164

9:45 164

10:10 163

9:51 165

10:19 163

11:32 159

12:08 156

12:02 154

12:08 149

12:10 149

12:16 150

4:00 163 (.45 miles on Garmin)

 

Something wasn't right today.  My HR was 120 just standing in the coral.  At this point, I decided I would not display my HR during the race.  Miles one and two involved a lot of people dodging.  I took one of my shirts off just before the 2 mile point and realized about 50 yds later that my headphones were gone.  Had to run back to retrieve them.  Bottom line...I didn't feel good from the start.  I gagged on the course at least a couple dozen times.  This stopped after about mile 15.  I think I may have eaten too much this morning.  I got up at 4:00 AM to eat.  I figured 4 hours would be enough time to digest a large meal.  I guessed wrong.  The GUs and Mountain Berry Blast Powerade did not sit too well with my stomach, but I managed to suck down 4 GUs and about twelve 6 oz cups of the nasty Powerade.  After a few miles, I realized this was not going to be my day, so I figured I would back off for the rest of the race...especially the last 6.2.  No sense risking an injury by trying to run 4:20 rather than 4:27.  I took plenty of walk breaks in the last 6.2 which is mostly uphill.  The course is much more hilly than I thought.  The elevation chart does not tell the whole story. 

 

Frustrations aside, I'm still happy that I finished my first marathon.  There's nothing like the thrill of crossing the finish line.  I still feel a sense of accomplishment.  I also understand that my limited milage while training for this race isn't exactly the recipe for a fast time.    

 

The elevated HR today is something that concerns me.  I can accept a few beats due to adrenaline, but today 's situation was  bizarre.  two weeks ago, I did 12 miles of the same pace chart I was trying to follow today.  Here are the results of that run:

 

Temp: 63F, DP: 55F

Total time: 1:49:32

Avg Pace: 9:08

Avg HR: 154 (MAF+11)

Interval	1 Mi	9:31	9:31	9:31	135
Interval	1 Mi	9:31	19:02	9:31	142
Interval	1 Mi	9:25	28:27	9:25	146
Interval	1 Mi	9:21	37:48	9:21	149
Interval	1 Mi	9:10	46:58	9:10	153
Interval	1 Mi	9:03	56:01	9:03	155
Interval	1 Mi	8:59	1:05:00	8:59	157
Interval	1 Mi	8:56	1:13:56	8:56	155
Interval	1 Mi	8:53	1:22:49	8:53	161
Interval	1 Mi	8:53	1:31:42	8:53	165
Interval	1 Mi	8:53	1:40:35	8:53	167
Interval	1 Mi	8:52	1:49:27	8:52	168

 

As you can see, my HR was in some cases, 20-25 beats lower than today...and I comfortably hit all the splits during the run.  Additionally, it was 20 degrees warmer that day.  The marathon course is more hilly, but it shouldn't account for that big of a difference in HR.  Extreme elevated HRs has been an issue in all of the races I've run (all 4 of them).  This problem needs to be solved before I run any more races.

Brian, great race.There is no better feeling like a first race. Now your  PR will be LARGE!

jimmyb, HM was probably not a PR. It has been nearly 15 years since a run a 1/2 M. I have no clue has to my time. I guess I will make this my PR.

It was the FATS 40/50 in the SC Trail Ultra Running Series. The event took place on the Forks Area Trail System on the SC side of Augusta, in North Augusta. The trail system is maintained and used by Mountain Bikers for Mountain Biking and it was rather like a roller coaster.

I think I did very well - I finished in 7 hours and 27 minutes. While the time isn't particularly impressive the way I felt while running and the way my body reacted and handled it was the most positive experience. I did naturally get tired muscles while running on these trails - most of my training runs are not on trails that are as difficult. I think aerobically I did very well throughout the entire event. I didn't have any energy highs or lows - just even keeled. Breathing felt good. I ran/walked the entire course by feel. Before I started I had decided to do 15 min run 5 min walk - starting with the 5 min walk so I placed myself at the back of the pack so I could stick with the plan w/o feeling pressured by anybody. Soon I realized it wasn't going to be a good strategy because of the unrelenting undulation of the course. Instead I decided to let the body run when it felt easy and walk when the HR started to climb. I didn't use the Garmin to gauge this for me - I did it by feel. I think it worked very well for me as I was still running relatively well at the end of the 31 miles. I kept the 4 miles per hour overall pace throughout the entire course - although time spent at aid stations, bathroom breaks etc are also included in my overall time so the pace was not completely rock steady for the duration. 

_______

I felt very good during the race - completely alert and calm and the mood stayed positive. Very little negative self talk entered the mind. Easy to focus. I was confident that I had chosen a pace I could handle and that I would complete the race except for emergencies or bad surprises such as blisters or injuries that could occur and that I was not in control of. I don't have a single blister! 

______

My thoughts often went to how I had been able to get from where I was with my running back  in April to "all of a sudden" being able to run a 50K. Did I actually benefit more from the Maffetone base training I did back in the spring than I have been willing to give the method credit for? Or did I get here by systematically using Brad Hudson's Masters Marathon Training program? I think it is a combination. It's not either or, it is both.

______

Finally, I realize how much I can accomplish if I can stay injury free and train consistently. Being injury free is like being free.

 Thanks.  My meal consisted of two servings of oatmeal with milk and lots of honey, a whole grain bagel with honey, 16 oz of fruit juice, and a bowl of apple sauce.  Probably 3 times as many calories as you.  I was browsing through some books in Barnes and Noble.  One of the top running gurus (can't remember which one) said you shoud eat 2x your body weight in carbs if eating your meal 4 hours before the race.  I at a little less than that, but close.  So much for that.  As to how I feel?  Fine now.  Getting out of the car was a bit of a challenge though.

That's a lot of carbs before a race, 4 hours or not. You really only need to top off your liver stores, if that. Couple of pieces of ww french toast, almond butter, and a few eggs does the trick. Not much of an insulin spike. My first marathon, I did the same thing as you, but an hour before the race--muchos pancakes.

Wait until tomorrow when you try to walk down the stairs.

Something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-hCuYjvw2I

--Jimmy

Clay,

Terrific job on the half-marathon.  Congratulations.

HM prediction 1:55:30.  Garmin time1:54:35. Great weather. 60 F Overcast for the entire race. Stayed with planned HR of 157-162. Prediction charts called for AHR 168. I decided to be more conservative. Leg did not give me any problems. Need to stop at 9.5 miles for port-a-potty. Lost about :30. Great race management. Time clock at every mile marker.Time clock at half way mark .Did not think to check the time. Hopefully the race will show the split time. AHR -9 beats below 10 mile race  3 weeks ago. Pace of 8:45 today. 8:40 pace for ten miler. 13.1 not nearly has stressful as 10 miler. Weather was about 10 degrees cooler today.

Brian - well done. That firs marathon will always stick in memory lane. No feeling like it. Not sure what to make of the HR issue (could have been first marathon race day jitters) but that was lots of food prior to a race. I typically get a banana and a bagel and call it even. Again, excellent race.

Clay - spot on for the HM. Looks like your training and racing are progressing on a steady incline. Can't wait to see your marathon time.

Flower - congrats on the 50k and injury free and MAF go hand in hand in my book. Sshhhhh - don't tell though since that is the real secret and pretty soon everyone will be wanting to build an aerobic engine without breaking down. We will lose our competitive advantage.  

Excellent stuff. Hope to be able to bring some interesting race news from the Midwest in the next couple of months.

Thanks so much for all of your support guys!!!

 - I still have the "runner's high" this morning after having slept like a log all night. My body is extremely tired and just wants to relax. I've got to get ready for work though.

Outlaw - Terri Hayes does a wonderful job with this SC Ultra Trail Series - watch out for her program for next year, she is thinking about putting 6 events on in 2010. She would have been thrilled if you would have volunteered; she was missing volunteers and could have used more help. That's her big SIGH and she so deserves to get more help. She herself was working non-stop yesterday and still giving her full attention to the runners that came off the trail after finishing the race late in the day. She sat in the cold at her little table with a Coleman light and checked us all in as we arrived in the early morning - she had had no sleep. That being said, the volunteers that she did have did an outstanding job and everything worked very very well.

I am going to post my HR as the Garmin recorded it because I think it is amazing to see how even it was throughout. It will be in a separate post as RA does not want to post the long post?!