Post by bevj on May 2, 2010 19:10:25 GMT -5
Good job to all the local runners finish today's humid and wet Pittsburgh Marathon!
Anyway that being said, here is the tale of my less than enjoyable first marathon experience. My goal for this race was to run around a 3:30 and despite the humid conditions at race start I was still feeling confident that a time like that was still in reach. I was running with Rick through the first 5k. My miles were all between 7:45 and 8:03, (the 8:03 was mile 1). Rick and I got separated and he pulled ahead and I began to drop the pace back a little to around 8:21 to 8:30 per mile. I was still holding steady to that pace until about the 8 to 9 mile mark and I started to battle some side stitches for the next few miles and the pace started dropping to 9+ minutes per mile and then 10+ minutes per mile. I started to get these cramps out by the hill into Oakland, but when I got to the top, my right calf started cramping, so I kept stopping a few times between the 15-18 or so mile marks to stretch, which of course further slowed my pace. I ended up stopping and going with a lady I met during the race who was also having a bad race I ran/walked 12:30 to 13:50 miles with her to around the 20 when I felt a extreme sharp stab of pain in my cramping calf that stopped me in my tracks. I continued to walk and limp along with sharp pains in my calf for about a mile and the pains were becoming worse with every step. I'm not sure if my compensation of my limping is the culprit in this case but other parts of my body, mainly my back started to really hurt. By this point I was in so much pain that I was really tempted to stop and go to an aid station and tell them I couldn't finish. I tried to start a shuffling jog again but the pain in my calf wouldn't allow me anything more than limping along. I began to think about all the training runs we did together this past winter and all the hard work I put in to running my first 26.2 and I made the decision to keep walking until I finished or I couldn't go any farther. I started at this limping pace of about 18 minutes per mile with 10k to go and guessed that with almost 2+ hours until the cutoff that I should be able to make it to the finish in time to get a medal. I finally reached the 25 mile mark and couldn't stand it anymore and, better or worse, started a very painful limping jog. Each step I was letting out a loud grunting noise because of the discomfort. I finally reached the finish and got my medal and a bag of ice strapped to my leg.
All and all I reflect back on my first marathon experience knowing that not all races will be a good one, even the first marathon. I'm not discouraged and plan to run another marathon. Even though I won't be running Marine Corps this fall, I plan on training with all of the Striders that I ran with this winter and spring for a yet to be determined fall race. I want to thank all of the guys I ran with these past few months, because I know if it wasn't for all of your support, I probably wouldn't have even reached the starting line of a marathon this year. So my plans for now are to rest and heal up and look for a fall race. Everybody ran strong times this spring and i can't wait to see what happens this fall!
Joe Bever signing off...
Anyway that being said, here is the tale of my less than enjoyable first marathon experience. My goal for this race was to run around a 3:30 and despite the humid conditions at race start I was still feeling confident that a time like that was still in reach. I was running with Rick through the first 5k. My miles were all between 7:45 and 8:03, (the 8:03 was mile 1). Rick and I got separated and he pulled ahead and I began to drop the pace back a little to around 8:21 to 8:30 per mile. I was still holding steady to that pace until about the 8 to 9 mile mark and I started to battle some side stitches for the next few miles and the pace started dropping to 9+ minutes per mile and then 10+ minutes per mile. I started to get these cramps out by the hill into Oakland, but when I got to the top, my right calf started cramping, so I kept stopping a few times between the 15-18 or so mile marks to stretch, which of course further slowed my pace. I ended up stopping and going with a lady I met during the race who was also having a bad race I ran/walked 12:30 to 13:50 miles with her to around the 20 when I felt a extreme sharp stab of pain in my cramping calf that stopped me in my tracks. I continued to walk and limp along with sharp pains in my calf for about a mile and the pains were becoming worse with every step. I'm not sure if my compensation of my limping is the culprit in this case but other parts of my body, mainly my back started to really hurt. By this point I was in so much pain that I was really tempted to stop and go to an aid station and tell them I couldn't finish. I tried to start a shuffling jog again but the pain in my calf wouldn't allow me anything more than limping along. I began to think about all the training runs we did together this past winter and all the hard work I put in to running my first 26.2 and I made the decision to keep walking until I finished or I couldn't go any farther. I started at this limping pace of about 18 minutes per mile with 10k to go and guessed that with almost 2+ hours until the cutoff that I should be able to make it to the finish in time to get a medal. I finally reached the 25 mile mark and couldn't stand it anymore and, better or worse, started a very painful limping jog. Each step I was letting out a loud grunting noise because of the discomfort. I finally reached the finish and got my medal and a bag of ice strapped to my leg.
All and all I reflect back on my first marathon experience knowing that not all races will be a good one, even the first marathon. I'm not discouraged and plan to run another marathon. Even though I won't be running Marine Corps this fall, I plan on training with all of the Striders that I ran with this winter and spring for a yet to be determined fall race. I want to thank all of the guys I ran with these past few months, because I know if it wasn't for all of your support, I probably wouldn't have even reached the starting line of a marathon this year. So my plans for now are to rest and heal up and look for a fall race. Everybody ran strong times this spring and i can't wait to see what happens this fall!
Joe Bever signing off...