Notes
Wausau Marathon
Marla came to cheer me on. We had fun but I was disappointed in my race.
About 73 degrees and 90% humidity at the start. Rain was forecast but the sun came out by the end.
I was concerned about the conditions but I had trained hard with the goal of breaking 3:00, so I decided to hold that pace as long as I could despite the heat. It felt easy at first, I was having to intentionally slow down. After 7 miles, though, it felt like a switch had been thrown - my breathing was too labored, HR felt too fast, and legs started to drag. I was carrying a handheld and drinking at least every mile with an electrolyte mixture, but by late in the race I was really thirsty and having a hard time getting enough. My legs cramped late in the race, forcing lots of walking. Cramps started on my left left thigh, eventually spreading to both legs and my right foot. I ate two gels late in the race; probably should've had more. Quads are sore the next day.
I really thought this was the best trained I'd ever been for a shot at sub-3. I did many runs of 10 miles and longer at 6:40 pace or better, and had two 20 milers at 7:00 pace or better. Felt healthy and tapered coming into the race.
I'm not giving up on my sub-3 goal, but the next try has got to be in cooler weather. I think I also need to make sure I'm getting long runs with at least modest hills; I did lots of very flat pace running this time, and Wausau wasn't as flat as I remembered.