First hour:
Went out pretty calm and relaxed, just aiming to stay at 9:00/mile pace which I did. No issues, felt good. I got to the start a little late (I was peeing in a bush when they yelled out 2 minutes to the start) but it wasn't an issue. I had my headphones in for most of the race so I was pretty anti-social unfortunately, but the music gave me some nice grooves at points.
Second hour:
Got in a nice groove here. Went through the half marathon turn-around and I was on the new part of the course for me. Still held pace and just tried to relax. The gradual tightness in my legs started creeping in here, probably around mile 10, but it wasn't too big of a deal. I started taking gatorade at the aid stations once I had an hour under my belt, and pretty much grabbed one cup of water and one gatorade at each station from then on out.
Third hour: This was the new territory for me. I have never run over 2 hours, and I had never gone beyond 13.1 miles. Despite getting some knee and foot tightness, I honestly felt solid and just tried to prepare for what I thought would be a big wall before mile 20. Couple of rolling hills in this stretch that were a little tough, but I didn't have any issues with them and feel pretty good about my climbing ability. There were a couple reaaally long straight sections that were a little annoying since you could see a mile ahead, but nothing too bad. Started to get a lot hotter outside.
Fourth hour: I guess this is when you could say I hit a "wall," although it was more just a physical inability to speed up due to cramping. I was definitely hurting from mile 20 on, but nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. Took a Gu that I had just in case I needed it and grabbed a few macadamia's just trying to get some salt in me. In the future, I will definitely be bringing salt supplements with me.
Aside from cramping, mostly in my calves and groin, I felt pretty damn good. A friend hopped in and ran the last 3 miles with me so that definitely helped. There was a point where I was around 3 miles out from the finish and needed to close in about 20 minutes to get under 4 hours, but I didn't really have it in me with all the cramping, nor was I all that concerned with time at that point. It was nice getting to mile 20 and just knowing that the race was in the bag, that was a good feeling.
Overall the miles went by pretty fast. I stopped and drank at every aid station, which probably took significant time off, but the quick breaks kept me very consistent in my pace. Basically just taking it one aid station at a time, keeping a conservative and consistent pace and it was over before I knew it.
Final time - 4:09:53 (I'll have the official results later)
Definitely a slow time, but a finish here was my main goal. Took about a 5 minute ice bath afterwards. Probably should hit the gym and try to get some soreness out, but that's just not happening today. Few quick thoughts/lessons:
- Chaffing: Feet held up decently well with vaseline, but wow is my taint unhappy. I applied some vaseline before the race but for some reason I just get terrible chaffing down there. Nips and underarms got pretty bad too.
- Hydration/nutrition: I feel like I got away with some slack planning in this area, but any longer distance and it's going to take some planning. Need to bring some salty foods or some electrolyte tabs to keep those cramps at bay. Didn't really need any protein for this length, but might be worth looking into for a 50k/50 mile.
- Walk the aid stations - no point in spilling half the water I have.
Still hasn't really hit me that it's done. I was expecting an epic struggle but it was actually kind of fun just to see how your body reacts to things it hasn't done. Guess I gotta find a new race to train for!
More thoughts on upcoming changes/updates with my programming coming soon.
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