Had good weather for a marathon in Burlington Vermont. I drove up late the night before, not my preferred way of getting ready for a race. There were about
3,500 runners of all shapes and sizes, some doing a half, others relays. Best costume was the Banana guy. Course had lots of turns and some decent hills.
The route took you though the center of town a few times, on a bike path along the lake, and through many surrounding neighborhoods. I saw one Shoreline Shark
runner, but no HEATsters.
My goal was to break 3 hours even though I had not trained enough to do so. I went out faster than I should have, with sub 7 miles. I began to slow toward the end of the half, coming in around 1:31. I then picked it up, even on a steep climb at mile 16 that took you through the center of town, with huge crowd support. I knew I had to better the pace and was hoping for a second wind that would sustain me. Around mile 18, however, my legs began to break down. I had not been this far on my training runs. The sun was strong even though the air temp was cool. There was a steep hill at mile 21 that I was looking forward to gliding down. Instead, I felt like a bag of bones with no connective tissue to absorb the pounding. My 7 minute pace dropped to close to 8 (and felt like 10 minute pace). I was barely hanging on. Miles 21-24 were long and brutal. Lots of runners were passing me, but most were doing relays. Hitting the 25 mile mark, I picked it up knowing the end was near but was hurting. I finished in 3:10.
At the finish, I could barely walk. I had my wits about me, but my legs and upper body began to spasm. I walked around with some friends, got a massage, but one muscle after another would go into a spasm while on the massage table. Walking was the best way to keep the legs from cramping. I went to the food tent and walked around the race finish area, then headed to the parking lot and got an early start on my long ride home. The race organization was good. Lots of water/gaterage stations, but only two stations were there was gu. And at those stations, there was only gu, which made no sense because you want to be able to wash that stuff down. The spread at the end of the race was weak compared to what is offered at most tri's I have gone to, at least as far as the free food for the runners is concerned. (There were a lot of vendors selling pizza, beer etc.) Yesterday and today, I can barely walk down stairs. Took an ice bath. I've biked and swam this a.m., but the legs are beat up and tender.
I enjoyed most of this marathon, up to the 18 mile mark. Next time (this was my first marathon since 1986) I need to have more depth in my training. But who has the time?
Jamie
My goal was to break 3 hours even though I had not trained enough to do so. I went out faster than I should have, with sub 7 miles. I began to slow toward the end of the half, coming in around 1:31. I then picked it up, even on a steep climb at mile 16 that took you through the center of town, with huge crowd support. I knew I had to better the pace and was hoping for a second wind that would sustain me. Around mile 18, however, my legs began to break down. I had not been this far on my training runs. The sun was strong even though the air temp was cool. There was a steep hill at mile 21 that I was looking forward to gliding down. Instead, I felt like a bag of bones with no connective tissue to absorb the pounding. My 7 minute pace dropped to close to 8 (and felt like 10 minute pace). I was barely hanging on. Miles 21-24 were long and brutal. Lots of runners were passing me, but most were doing relays. Hitting the 25 mile mark, I picked it up knowing the end was near but was hurting. I finished in 3:10.
At the finish, I could barely walk. I had my wits about me, but my legs and upper body began to spasm. I walked around with some friends, got a massage, but one muscle after another would go into a spasm while on the massage table. Walking was the best way to keep the legs from cramping. I went to the food tent and walked around the race finish area, then headed to the parking lot and got an early start on my long ride home. The race organization was good. Lots of water/gaterage stations, but only two stations were there was gu. And at those stations, there was only gu, which made no sense because you want to be able to wash that stuff down. The spread at the end of the race was weak compared to what is offered at most tri's I have gone to, at least as far as the free food for the runners is concerned. (There were a lot of vendors selling pizza, beer etc.) Yesterday and today, I can barely walk down stairs. Took an ice bath. I've biked and swam this a.m., but the legs are beat up and tender.
I enjoyed most of this marathon, up to the 18 mile mark. Next time (this was my first marathon since 1986) I need to have more depth in my training. But who has the time?
Jamie
