Flat track, ideal weather... but awkwardness + few mistakes = worst result!
Preparation was like in movies. I've been running for 3 month, 4 days a week with different phases, intervals and long runs. During this time I did more than 285mi including several half-marathons, 30+km runs and even one marathon. According to plan I had to finish this race in 3:09! Atlanta Thanksgiving Half-marathon result added some confidence (my time was 1:33:44).
Ok, day X. I feel good. After warm-up I was seriously determined to do it in more or less the same time specified in plan. Start at 9 am. It's time - GO GO GO!
- Hurting start. I didn't manage to run even 200 meters, occasionally stepped on the curb and twisted my leg... "Uaaaaaaaau"... This is how marathons finish before they actually have started, but seemed that this wasn't my case... I continued running. May be good warm-up saved me from injury...
- 15km - everything goes according to the plan. I was running like I had to run whole distance: good mood, right pace, left ear was listening nice music and right for everything around. Next 5k I could keep the same pace, but was fed up...
- Half-marathon - I hate solo marathons! I was feed up to the teeth! For the first time in my life I switched to walking. First consumed gel didn't help. Walking again and the next gel - worked. I was in mood again and continue running, slower, but running.
- 25km - first cramps. I started feeling cramps in my calf starting from 25th km. After Budapest experience I know - no drastic changes. Slowed down for 5 min, and continued in the same pace.
- 32km - I hate solo marathons even more! For some reason I felt absolutely unprepared psychologically, which is strange... It was not for the first time. Even the most boring marathon in local gym was more interesting than this one. I switched again to walking again, took the next gel and shouted a bit (I thought it might help)
- 34km - 37km - tendon. Cramps are not leaving me any more. Plus to them I started feeling light pain in my damaged tendon. My lag started turning right on it's own and I had to make additional effort to get it back - strange feeling...
- Surrender. The idea of tough cramps without having anybody nearby wasn't the most pleasant. I've heard before that to be ill in US is expensive pleasure, and there was no any reason to run till the end, health is more important! So I decided to stop running at all and walk only.
I walked a lot, and had some time to think. It is obvious that my fail is not because of tendon only. If you make right conclusions than fail turns into lesson, so these are my lessons learned:
- Nutrition! I knew that I have to eat each 10k. The best expression about nutrition I've ever heart was - "You have to eat once your attitude towards race started changing". For me this time is each 10k. And I had gels in my pocket. Noooo, why should I eat gels if I didn't do it in Atlanta... My self-confidence let me down... I believe it was the main reason of me being annoyed.
- Salt! Being pedestrian already, I observed that there is a salt on my forehead, literally.... I could try to salt fried eggs :) It means that there were lack of minerals and salt in my body and it might be one of the main reasons for cramps! I had to have with me something more than simple water and, damn, continuously drink it, not when it's too late...
I believe these lessons were learned. I'm not sure if I'll manage to restore before our next 60k run, which is in 3 weeks, but I'll definitely apply this experience for the next spring marathon!
By the way, I'm optimist, thus here are few positive things from today's marathon: the weather was amazing, my hart was beating like on average workout and it was the first marathon without blisters :).
And one unhappy photo to remember how it was.
No comments:
Post a Comment