This past Saturday I ran the Hartford Marathon in 3:26:04.  Going into this race, I thought for the first time that I had a realistic shot at a BQ (3:15).   It just wasn’t going to be my day.

(tl;dr – raced a lot, training suffered)

Training started off kind of slow.  Figure for an 18 week training cycle, focused marathon training should start in early June for an early October marathon.  I spent June and July racing a lot, between multisport races and running-only races, and it was a continuous cycle of race and recover, trying to squeeze in quality workouts when I could.  After an Olympic distance triathlon in early August, it felt like all the racing caught up to me and I spent most of August trying to recover while ramping up the mileage again.  It’s hard to do both.  (I have no regrets...I had a blast doing those races.)  When we took a trip to Montreal in mid-August so DW could do her Ironman, my runs were slow, tired, and lethargic the entire week.  My 1:37 HM on September 13 also pointed to fatigue, but I chalked that up to a warm, humid day.  Once I got past that race and the fall weather hit, it felt like I finally started to get my running legs back.  My LR performance picked up and my quality workouts started to show some promise.  My runs and paces were all very similar to what I was doing headed into my April marathon, when I ran 3:16.  My confidence grew and I felt like 3:15 was in the picture.  For the 18 week cycle, I averaged 50 mpw, though the quality wasn’t really there until the final four weeks.

(tl;dr – fall off pace early, got tired, got slow, the end)

The race day weather was beautiful.  Sunny, breezy, 48 crisp degrees at the start.  Foliage is near peak season in Connecticut, so it was about as perfect a fall day as you can get.  Me and DW arrived 90 minutes early to secure good parking (she ran the HM in 2:11...good job, Wife!).  I lined up in the seeded corral right behind the elites.  That never gets old.  I saw a lot of friends in there and really enjoyed shaking hands and exchanging good lucks.  8:00 sharp and we were off.  My plan was to go out at a steady 7:20-7:25 pace and hold it there, hoping to have enough at the end to pick it up.  LOL

I felt ok early on…just ok though.  I was hitting my paces in the early miles, but it didn’t take long for the fatigue to begin.  I passed the 10K timing mat right on schedule (7:23 pace), but I was a little worried that it took more effort than I was hoping.  I was hopeful that my legs would wake up, but I pretty much knew at the 10K split that a BQ was not going to happen.  My pace started to slip around mile 8…way too early in the race for that to be happening.  I didn’t want to force the pace though and decided to just take what my legs gave me.  If there were less than 10 miles to go, I would have dug in.  With 16 miles to go though, I wanted to salvage a decent race.

I hit the 13.1 split at 7:32 pace, and one minute behind schedule.  I would need to run a 1:36 second half split to hit my BQ, and there was no way in hell that was happening.  I was getting tired already.  At this point I was just hoping to avoid a repeat of last May’s marathon, when I death marched the final 10K at a 10:00+ pace.  As fatigued continued to grow, the pace continued to slip.  I was just getting so damn tired.  My legs wouldn’t speed up.  The 17 mile split checked in at 7:37 pace, the 20 mile split at 7:42 pace.  The wheels weren’t coming off completely and I wasn’t hitting the wall.  I was just tired.  Part of me was happy though that I wasn't having a death march repeat.

Somewhere around mile 20 I noticed tightness in my right Achilles.  It was annoying me, but I ran through it.  I also started to feel a blister on my left foot, and that pain just grew worse.  After a couple of miles it felt like my damn foot was on fire.  It was ok on well paved asphalt, but it hurt like hell on rough sections.  Hartford has a lot of rough sections, so my foot hurt a lot.  I felt that right on through to the end.  It didn’t hurt my race time, but it just made things more painful.  I've never experienced blister pain like that before.  Ouchers.

During the final 8 miles, I found an effort that was sustainable.  I decided I’d be ok with breaking 3:30, and doing the math in my head I knew I’d have that if I could just avoid a complete bonk.  I was running in the 8:15-8:30 range, and in these final miles I just wanted to be done with this race.  5 miles, 4 miles, 3 miles all seemed like an eternity.  Falling a minute off pace isn’t good, but things could be a lot worse, as I have experienced in the past.  Amazingly I was actually passing people, some were walking, some were stopped and stretching, some were just running slower than me.  I'd offer a grunt of encouragement when I passed someone walking or stopped.  I was happy that I didn't have to do either.  I hit the 25 mile split at 7:52 pace.

As I ran through the city for the final half mile, as much as I just wanted to be done, I took the time to look around, enjoy the crowds, high five some kids, and smile.  I had friends scattered about the crowds and I heard a number of them call my name, so I smiled and waved when I spotted them.  As badly as I had missed my goal, I am still happy that I have the health to run marathons, and I was about the cross the final line of another one.

I clocked in 3:26:04, seconds behind two of my friends, which was kind of cool.  We high fived and congratulated each other in the finish chute.  7:52 avg pace, which is basically a 26.2 mile run at my LR pace.  Not a good marathon performance.  That being said, 3:26 still isn’t all that bad for having a bad day, and it ranks third for me behind a 3:16 and a 3:23.  One could do a lot worse than missing a goal by 11 minutes.  I’m disappointed that I didn’t run better, but I am happy to have finished marathon #7.  As I said to DW, the day I am upset about a 3:26 marathon is the day I have completely lost perspective.

Ranks:

OA 245 / 1901  (13%)

M40/44  36/165  (22%)

Masters  81/585  (14%)

In looking back on why I was 11 minutes off my goal, I probably needed another six weeks to train.  I basically had four weeks of decent marathon training.  That’s not enough.  I think I also just had a bad day.  I’m probably a little burned out on marathon training too.  I’ve done four straight cycles with minimal breaks in between, giving everything I have into each one.  I’ve averaged over 50 mpw since recovering from knee surgery in 2013.  My body could use a break from the pounding.  Up next is Ironman training, which means less running and more biking and swimming.  No LR’s over the cold winter, but I’ll be able to run shorter and harder.  I am looking forward that and seeing what I can do in a couple of early 2016 HM's.               

Here is the link to my log entry for maximum LOL's.

http://www.runningahead.com/logs/f9d0a30c6bbd4510baabdc79caca8ebe/workouts/9c3b78fa3e554614b01e440fe74a8aa7

Also, "thanks" for making me post this ffs.

First of all, congratulations. I think you have a great attitude after the race.

As the reasons, you also have to think as to how all those races affected you. It might have been a contributing factor.

anyway, strong job. Chin up!

Not the race you wanted but a race you ran well. Great job!

I'm too lazy to quote but I love the line that OOTB bolded - that's a great attitude to have and I hope I can accept it with the same grace when I have a race go poorly.

Congrats on finishing even though it wasn't what you hoped for, and I'm looking forward to seeing how you do with this whole IM thing - given what you said about all those marathon cycles with very little downtime between knee replacement and now, maybe the next cycle you do after that will benefit from the huge shakeup in routine.

Thanks, guys!  I am certainly not done with the marathons.  I figure I'll do another one in early 2017 at the latest. maybe even a late 2016 marathon if a coach gives me the green light (I am currently shopping for a tri coach).  And I can already think of 4-5 HM's I'll be doing next year.  The only thing I'll be sacrificing for the Ironman is a stand-alone marathon, but I am honestly happy about not having to train for one through one this winter.

 

I am looking forward to seeing how I do in multi-sport races next year leading into the Ironman.  When I get stronger on the bike, I'll be stronger on the run since the bike won't kill my legs as much, and I am already a good triathlon runner.

I cannot fathom running a marathon as part of an Ironman. Like, my brain won't even attempt to make sense of it!

Not that I know a damn thing about triathlons, but having run 7 marathons should count for something next August.

Good luck and yay, no more marathon training!

 

I cannot fathom running a marathon as part of an Ironman. Like, my brain won't even attempt to make sense of it!

 

Not that I know a damn thing about triathlons, but having run 7 marathons should count for something next August.

 

Good luck and yay, no more marathon training!

The Ironman marathon is just...different, and must be approached that way.  It doesn't feel like a regular marathon.  "They" say if you're properly trained in all three disciplines, your IM marathon should be within 20-30 minutes of your stand alone marathon time.  I've got a totally uneducated and ballpark guess that breaking 4:00 in the IM marathon is a reasonable goal for me, but of course I'll get a better feel for that as training progresses.  All three coaches I have spoken to have said I'll have a distinct advantage in the Ironman given my running background.

From what I have read, people who have done both say that marathon training, while not taking as much time out of your life, is a lot more tiring and painful.

I have heard that as well but because I have not trained for an Ironman, I am not really qualified to question it. Having said that I cannot see how training for three events is less tiring than training for one.  

I mean, while I complain, whine and cry about marathon training, that's just me complaining, whining and crying about marathon training. If it was truly the worst thing in the world, I wouldn't be doing it.

It'll be interesting see what your take on the whole stupid debate is after you have completed your event next summer.