From the Internet.
Looking back at the last few months, I should have just chilled out a bit. I had some good volume and some good workouts but some subpar tune-up races, so I was super anxious to set myself up for an amazing day at Sugarloaf. DON’T PUT ALL YOUR DUMB EGGS IN ONE BASKET.
Sugarloaf race weekend is a delight. We had 16 people staying in 2 condos this year and it was just a really, really fun awesome time with a lot of my running best frands in the beautiful Maine wilderness <3
SUPER NERVOUS.
I wore my Tracksmith Hare A.C. singlet because I was going for that sweet PR bonus ($100 in store credit), Twilight splits, Headsweats cap because rain was imminent. Should have worn gloves but left them at home, womp womp. And of course VF4% which I now feel REALLY FUCKING STUPID for buying and wearing. Race started 10 minutes late because of some logistical issue with a few marathoners accidentally going to the 15k start 17 miles up the road.
Y’all can look at the cool splits chart below for the details, I’m just going to break it into chunks of miles with elapsed time for the writing part. Plan was to go out around 7:45-50 and crank it up after the hills from ~8-10, when the course turns downhill and stays there for a good 10-12 miles. Take three gels but carry four, hit all the water stops (approx. every 2 miles); I usually carry a small handheld but the weather was going to be perfect and I didn’t anticipate overheating or anything.
Miles 1-5 - 38:35 elapsed time
Mile 1 felt decent - cruised through in 7:35, just a touch faster than I wanted to be. Dialed it back after that and let a bunch of people pass me. My watch was almost immediately 0.1 mile off from the mile markers but lined back up again within a few miles (maybe just misplaced markers). My legs felt a bit stiff through the middle of these miles but that’s not unusual for me at the start of a marathon - worked itself out like magic by mile 5 just like last time. Honestly I think my race started falling apart here. I felt like I was running way too slowly to get close to my goal already (but, I mean, I wasn’t? I did PLAN to go out a bit slow) and had a weird heart flutter climbing up the mile 5 hill, which freaked me out a bit. I DON’T WANT TO DIE TODAY PLEASE. Took my first gel after that hill.
Miles 6-11 - 1:26:11
After my heart palpitation scare I didn’t want to push things. I was in a dark mood already and if I burned myself out on the hills I was going to have a real bad time. I still passed people on the hills but kept it easy (those are the first two >8:00 splits in the table). On to the long rolling downhill part of the course - my stomach juuuuust started to make itself known and on top of that, I have to pee?? Wtf this never happens to me!
Mile 12-17 - 2:11:19 elapsed time
Cruising down the hill not even glancing at my watch. This would have been a fine strategy if I weren’t in such a shitty mood because I hit the halfway point at what I assumed was well short of what I needed for <3:20 (was at 1:42+ or so?) but maybe I was closer than I thought given that this is very definitely a negative-split kind of course. I took some water with my second gel but then I skipped a couple of water stations because suddenly I knew I was going to have to stop to pee. The woods didn’t provide enough cover for my prissy self, half of them looked like they were part of someone’s yard anyway, so I kept looking for the next set of portopotties and hoping I wouldn’t have to wait until the 15k start area (spoiler alert: I did have to do that). The 15K course is just the last 9.3 miles of the marathon course so just before my watch hit 17 I rushed across the parking lot to the bank of portopotties at the start area, did my thing, and raced back out to cross the 15K mat, the only other timing mat on course besides the start and finish. Obv had to pee first so that it wouldn’t look like a massive slowdown in the results. I was sure I’d slow way the fuck down after this because holy shit there are so many miles left.
Miles 18-23 - 2:58:13 elapsed time
My stomach really started yelling at me here, but I was also HUNGRY so I had to attempt a gel. Caught up with a couple of women I’d passed before my pee stop and said I was having a hard time and was going to hang on with them for a bit. One woman dropped back pretty much immediately but I hung with the other for a mile or so and sipped on a gel, trying to get my stomach to settle. Got some water at the next stop and was just fucking toast after that. No more water, no more gels, just fucking get to the end. Or stop and have someone drive me to the end to officially DNF. I hadn’t decided yet. I thought briefly about walking but that was such a LONG way to walk. And due to some Very Bad Race Math™ I was positive that not only was a BQ out of the question, a PR might not even happen. Friend who was going for her first BQ caught up with me here - she was fucking KILLING IT and I told her to go on and make me proud! She tried to encourage me to go with her but I was just like, mentally done at that point. I did realize after that that I was very wrong about the BQ timing, but I was like “I DON’T EVEN WANT TO RUN BOSTON MARATHONS ARE DUMB” so it wasn’t a major motivator anymore. I was feeling exceptionally stupid for jogging my way around a marathon in Vaporflies and Tracksmith and was sure I was disappointing everyone in the entire world with my shitty day.
Around mile 20 I thought about puking but didn’t think it would help. I changed my mind by mile 23.
Mile 24-end - chip time 3:24:46
With my stomach now SCREAMING at me, figuring I was on pace for 3:27-28 with my continued Bad Race Math, I decided that I didn’t care enough about the difference in those times to try to hold in the vomit any longer. Shortly after mile 23 ticked off, I pulled over to the side and let ‘er rip. HOLY SHIT Y’ALL. Puke early and often. I was a new woman, though still in an absolutely foul mood and in no way interested in running hard at this point. Too close now to DNF though. And even if I hated marathons it would still be good to have the option to register for Boston. I was thrilled to see one of my friends who'd run the 15K up ahead once I resumed jogging. Gave him a fist bump or a high five or something and yelled about puking and went on my merry way. Well over 8:00 for the puke mile but 7:49.36 on my watch for mile 25 even though I was sure I was jogging way slower. Huh.
Picked it up a little after that knowing I was going to be FUCKING DONE with this bullshit - saw two of my other 15K friends near the finish and also told them that I puked and hate marathons yay. Some poor soul shit her pants at mile 26 and then kept running like a boss, so I had zero incentive to sprint. Do not want poop on me on top of my already shitty day, sorry. I did end up outkicking one woman who slowed up in the finish chute and she ended up being in my AG (not that it mattered, I didn’t run well enough for an award). Stopped my watch and saw that I was under 3:25, said “huh” and took my space blanket and walked over to find the rest of my friends. Changed into dry clothes with numb shivering hands and we made our way back to the condos for food and beer.
Net time 3:24:46
I hated almost every single step of that race except for the few where I ran into friends. Marathons are fucking dumb. I feel like I wasted perfect weather and good training. I feel EXCEPTIONALLY stupid for wasting money on Nike shoes when I would have been happier jogging in my familiar training shoes. I feel like a terrible person for being upset about an 8 minute PR and BQ-5:16. I had a wonderful time with friends on my favorite weekend of the whole year and I’ll be back for the 15k next year. Respect the marathon and don’t race like a sissy, I guess.
Re: physical issues I think menstrual cycle timing was partially to blame. I’m in the phase where shit’s just hard and that may have played into some sort of electrolyte imbalance that caused the need to pee/difficulty taking in calories without yakking. I’ll have to do some reading and experimenting on long runs going forward.
I did find it a bit comforting that my breathing was ez pz compared to most of the folks who I passed in the latter half of the race. I absolutely have a better race in me and I’ll go for it at Baystate in October if I’m feeling better about the whole thing in a few weeks. I’m just annoyed that I had shitty tune-ups and a string of bad 5Ks last year. I need some race mentality adjustments to get back to where I’m willing and able to enter the pain cave in general, and on top of that I think two years was just too long in between marathons to expect a miracle.
I'm confused. There's no significant drop off in your splits and the pace grouping is pretty tight. How far off your goal were you and how much worse could your time have been in your other shoes?
I could have run a pretty similar time in my normal trainers - I tend to average ~170 bpm for marathon heart rate and I was well below that, I didn't run full race effort between mental block and managing the cranky stomach. Just felt like a waste of the limited miles on those stupid expensive shoes.
Goal was kind of nebulous because it had been so long since I've raced a marathon. I thought 3:20 would be doable, maybe faster if I had a great day. I had perfect conditions to go for it but I just wasn't able to deliver.
I see it like LRB. From your splits I don't see what exactly went wrong. Of course I get how you felt, kinda, and bad math can screw up your mind and your mood, but overall, I see a good marathon!
I did not fall for the Vaporfly trap. Kept all that money in my pocket
Former Bad Ass
Yeah, I also see it as Cy and LRB. You paced well! Also, the lower HR at that effort could've been the VF4% since they make the same pace feel a bit easier. Overall, a great new PR and it leaves you hungry for more.
Damaris
I see it like LRB. From your splits I don't see what exactly went wrong. Of course I get how you felt, kinda, and bad math can screw up your mind and your mood, but overall, I see a good marathon! I did not fall for the Vaporfly trap. Kept all that money in my pocket
Is it a trap? If the hype is true, then any time you run without them would've been 4% faster with them. Therefore, a time run without them would've been 4% faster with them, no? Or is my peanut sized, bird brain totally screwing this up.
Yes, you are totally right. The hype is true based on my experience running with it and people that I know (in addition to the elites that have reviewed them). We call them magic shoes for a reason. They don't perform miracles but they help.
I simply do not believe in the 4%. I have nothing to back my claim. To me, light makes speed. They're light weight shoes, which is great, but I'd get the same weight shoes for half the price and race in those.
If I'm right, then it can be a trap.
But I've been wrong before, or so they say
I kinda see it like the others. Your pacing looked good and you didn't really bonk at all either. Just wasn't able to lower the pace like you wanted. Based on your tune up races I don't think 3:24 is bad..? Not sure if you were going all out in them, but based on the 10K and recent HM a 3:24 is right in the ballpark of what I would expect. You did have great volume though this training cycle it looks like. For not racing a marathon in two years I think you did pretty well.
I simply do not believe in the 4%. I have nothing to back my claim. To me, light makes speed. They're light weight shoes, which is great, but I'd get the same weight shoes for half the price and race in those. If I'm right, then it can be a trap.
I just looked up the price of the 4%. Holy crap.
I simply do not believe in the 4%. I have nothing to back my claim. To me, light makes speed. They're light weight shoes, which is great, but I'd get the same weight shoes for half the price and race in those. If I'm right, then it can be a trap. But I've been wrong before, or so they say
I can dig it. 👍
To Damaris' point though; she could have run that time in her other shoes, but had she worn her other shoes, she wouldn't have run that time.
I mean, I've been pacing long runs all spring. This just felt like another pacing job. No surging to catch people, no pouring it all out at the end. Just a supported long run. That's what I'm frustrated about. There was no real increase in effort to hold pace at the end. Nothing about it was aerobically hard.
The tune-ups both went poorly as far as races go. I need to re-evaluate whether/how I incorporate tune up races into my training going forward, I just seem to panic and run them more like long workouts.
I can dig it. 👍 To Damaris' point though; she could have run that time in her other shoes, but had she worn her other shoes, she wouldn't have run that time.
Right? It's like Inception!
No, not 4% faster.
Quote from article on Runner's World. --
"The University of Colorado Boulder scientists who originally verified that the Vaporflys work as promised followed up with a study looking at how the components of the shoes —namely the carbon fiber plate and special ZoomX midsole foam—actually save runners 4 percent energy."
Or many say you are 4% more efficient. which means pretty much nothing regarding speed or pace. If anything, I would interpret it as you don't get tired as quickly and could theoretically hold a given pace for longer than without the shoes.
Are we there, yet?
I see it this way, too. The marathon also plays tricks with your mind, especially when all you want to do is get it over with.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.