day 177

today i ran my first marathon. i finished in 3:43. here is my list of things to do/not do for my next distance race (i am hoping for an endurance challenge of 50K next fall).

1 - actually fucking train for this shit. i am not the young buck i once was. i can not just get out and run anymore. the longest distance i had conquered prior to this race was 17.7 miles...and that was nearly two months before the race. i also hadn't ran one mile for the past two weeks. not smart.

2 - eat more. a rough estimate of the calories i burned today was 3100. that is more than i typically take in on a normal day. i had one piece of bread with almond butter and honey before the race. that isn't so bad since i didn't want to have a heavy stomach for a long run. but my dinner only consisted of two pieces of bread and a small plate of farro with chicken sausage and tomato sauce. i burned that up within the first 5 miles of the race.

3 - a little red wine with dinner, like a glass, probably isn't too bad. but half a bottle just before you go to sleep is not the best. i think i was feeling a slight red wine hangover around 2 a.m. DO NOT DRINK BEFORE I LONG RACE!

4 - bring more gu's or gel blocks or whatever it is that you need to fuel the body on the run. i had two gu's on hand for the run. i was expecting to take one ever 50-60 minutes. that probably would have been fine if i had only ran for 2.5 hours. but i was running for 3.75 hours. i could have killed two additional gu's in that time.

5 - although they may look like overkill, get a fuel belt. i carried a fuel bottle with me that had a pouch for my money (in case i decided to take a cab), chap stick, imodium and gu. several times during the run my hand began to cramp up from carrying the bottle. i would switch to the other hand, but it just felt odd to carry it in the opposite hand that i had been accustomed to. may sound like no big deal, but the smallest infractions on you comfort are huge when all your body wants to do is say "fuck off" and die. i also would have been able to carry more gu or fuel if i had a belt. i could have even carried a camera which would have been fun to have for just stupid little pics along the run.

6 - wear a sleeveless shirt or something that doesn't fit too close to the armpits. not only do the nips chafe, but so do your pits. not cool! oh, and lube the nips. i didn't start to bleed, but damn they were hurting when i threw some soap and hot water on them in the shower.

7 - no matter what, no matter how bad the leg cramp is or how loudly your body is screaming at you to stop, DON"T! i am not saying don't walk if you need to regain some energy. i am saying do not just stop moving. big mistake on my part when i stepped off tot he side of the road to down some gatorade and just let the muscles catch up. instead of re-energizing they seized up and created the worst cramps i have ever had. these cramps came back twice in the race and literally brought me to my knees in pain. so, next time keep walking and if you do start to cramp up, just keep walking and then maybe a slow jog.

8 - get a better mix tape for the run. i was bored with everything i had on my mix. couldn't find some music to really inspire and push me towards the end.

9 - tell people you are going to be running and ask that they support you at the finish line. there was only one person in town that knew i was going to be running this race. i didn't tell people ahead of time or request that anyone show up to help support me, so i am not complaining that friends weren't there. i did have one friend there that was supportive and gave me a big congrats.
but when i finished the race i saw friends/family cheering on their racer and then supporting them after they crossed the finish line. it was rather lonely when i crossed the finish line. i pretty much sat back and watched everyone else being greeted by friends and family. again, my own fault for not informing anyone that i was going to be doing this.

overall a pretty successful run. i placed 23 out of 82 in my age group (30-40), with a time of 3:42:23. i walked maybe a quarter mile of the race, including water stations. i had to stop running three times total, two due to severe muscle cramping in my thighs and once to pee. with the stops and the walking my time breaks down to an 8.5 minute mile, which is only a minute slower per mile than what i normally run. and if you take out the time i spent stopped or peeing, then i was actually averaging a faster pace while running/walking.

the funniest pert about the experience to me was my attitude change. i left that race questioning why the fuck i did it? why does anyone want to put their bodies through that sort of pain and beating? i honestly did not even want to think about running. never once did i say to myself, "next time". fuck that, i was in pain and i was not feeling great about what i had just done. even the fact that i had just completed a marathon was a big "so what" to me. i hurt too much. but today, sore as hell, barely able to make it up the stairs, i think i can shave off 15 minutes from my time for my next marathon.