But then you don't get to experience it!

 

I have rarely encountered anything in training which approaches the misery of the last miles of a marathon. Granted, it is distinctly possible I have been doing it wrong. This will be the toughest training cycle I have put myself through so far, so we'll see.

It hits me between Miles 20 and 21 and it's just a horrible sufferfest from there to the finish.  My calves get sliced with knives.  My quads are beaten with baseball bats on every step.  Aerobically, I feel like I am now running a 5K but there are six fucking miles left.  Walking is an incredible struggle for about 48 hours after a marathon I really race on the edge.  The only thing putting yourself through a tougher training cycle means is that you'll run faster.  The suffering never changes.

OK I'm scared.

OK I'm scared.

lol

It's like riding a roller coaster; for all the misery you endure it's over before you know it.

 

It's like riding a roller coaster *

for all the misery you endure it's over before you know it. **

* that only goes downhill, and more steeply near the end

** it actually seems interminable; you are thinking of a 5k

Lmao!

Nothing like facing the unknown. Scary but exciting!

You guys are making me rethink training for a marathon next year.

Here's the thing I have experienced about a marathon.

I have trained for and raced three marathons.  In every race, I suffered mightily from around mile 20 to the finish.  It was horrible.  5K's kind of hurt but this was real and true pain rather than, "oh crap I'm running hard and this hurts" kind of hurt.  Heck, you can get that kind of hurt in a 400.  (Actually, a 400 is a really, really painful race).  After every one of those races, I could barely walk for a couple of days thereafter and it took me well over a month to fully recover.  Marshall, 2010 (3:11), Wrightsville Beach, 2012 (3:08), and Marshall, 2013 (2:59).

I ran one marathon on essentially no training and I didn't race it.  Shoot, I was drinking in a bar the night before.  I stopped at every mile marker and took pictures.  I drank beer on a couple of occasions when it was offered.  That was Boston, 2013 (3:23).  I was a bit stiff and sore the day after Boston but not too bad.  Within 10 days, I was back doing hard speed work.  Compare that to Marshall, 2013.  After that race, I tried to do what should have been a really easy speed session roughly 2 1/2 weeks after the race.  I had to bail before I finished but I was fading badly before I quit.  I don't think I hit a single speed rep at the speed I was looking for.

So, the question is, "how hard to you plan to run it?"

Just by way of reference, my easy run pace is around 7:45.  That 2:59 is a 6:51 pace while the 7:23 is right at a 7:45 pace.  In other words, racing 50 seconds per mile faster than my easy pace vs. running 26.2 miles at my easy pace.  The former is a killer.  The latter is just sort of an extra long long run.

How those last few miles feel all depends on what I did up to that point. I've had a few marathons where I felt miserable over the last few miles due to my own stupidity in running too fast earlier, but I've also had some where I felt strong and was passing dozens of runners and perhaps running some of my fastest miles of the race. Training is the same way. Sometimes I bit off more than I should have and didn't have the sense to override my stubbornness and stop - or didn't have a choice because I was still miles from home.

Reading the tread after I posted I see George already covered the subject.