Completed 1st Marathon: Cape Cod Marathon (long!)
Derek Fong
Well, as i've promised a number of wonderful people who have helped me
along the way with a variety of tips/comments and sharing of
experiences, i'm posting a summary of my 1st marathon experience.
First...My training:
The *bare minimum* plan which i will definitely improve upon if i do
another marathon. i had been running regularly (with a few 1 month
hiatuses thrown in between due to misc injuries) for about 2 years.
Up to the marathon training, which commenced after the Falmouth Road
Race on August 17th, my longest prior run was 8-9 miles. I had done a
couple 10-11 milers last summer but had some shin problems (bad shoes)
and had cut back to mostly 6-7 mile weekend runs. i ran every other
day, and had weekday runs of 4-5 miles. anyway, i did the massive ramp
up the week after the Falmouth Road Race of a 13 mile run. it was
sort of "ultimatum" attempt at training for the marathon. if i could
complete it, i would have a chance at training for the Cape Cod
Marathon...if not, i wouldn't but would then just try to maybe build
up a little more gradually and try a half marathon or something. in
any case, each long run would be a new milestone and
accomplishment...and if i could somehow make it up to 18+ miles, then
the marathon might be worth a try.
anyway, i digress. i completed the 13 mile run and it wasn't too
hard...i felt a little tired the last mile or so, but i was cruising
9:40s most of the way...from then on i tried to alternate weekends
with a long run and one half as long. on weekdays, i would maintain my
2 or 3 4-5 milers (i sort of was combining a bunch of marathon plans i
had seen). i did a 15.5 miler and then "breakdown..." the following
weekend on a 8 miler i developed an aching knee/quad. per the advice
of some experienced runners in the department, i took a week off from
running (in spite of the injury feeling fine after only 2 days). the
next weekend i resumed training with an 8 miler...and mid week, i
decided to test my luck and did an 18 mile run. (trying to catch up
with my original plan)...it went fine although i found i was more
tired at mile 15 than i had been at the end of the 15.5 mi long run.
10 days later (3 weeks before the marathon), i did a 20.5 miler...felt
really pretty good...i got fatigued the last mile or so...i shouldn't
have stopped to get a water bottle at the end. i finished the main
training with an 11 miler the following weekend which felt very easy
and actually finished it with a couple sub 9 minute miles. a few hours
after that run, i started to feel these aches and twinges in my L
ankle. these never really completely healed prior to marathon day,
but fortunately, in the end, the ankle didn't give me problems during
the race.
THE MARATHON:
Weather: 50 oF, sun for the first couple hours and then cooled and was
overcast the rest of the way. Worst part: the course is designed that
the hills are sheltered from the wind on Sippiwissett and there is
tail wind for the first 5 miles and last 4 along the shore. HOWEVER,
the winds were opposite to the prevailing winds on race day; Hence,
head winds at the start and head winds at the end which were brutal
when one is tired and getting cold.
Goals: (1) Finishing
(2) not destroying my body and injuring myself...i was hoping my nag-
ging ankle aches and twinges wouldn't stop me from running the race,
but also planned that if it bothered me in any significant way before
mile 20, i would be smart enough to drop out.
(3) Start slow enough so that i can negative split the course (ie,
second 13.1 faster than the first in spite of the second half having
a 9 mile hill section)
(4) Time-wise: I thought a *very realistic* goal was to average 10 minute
miles and finish in 4:22; All conversion formulas say that my recent
5k and 10k times indicate a 3:50-ish finish. But, since this was
my first marathon and i felt,in a lot of ways, i was "undertrained,"
(ie, i didn't do any pacework, speedwork, hillwork, etc) i
just wanted to finish and finish feeling decent (is that possible?)
I had done my long run (including the 20.5 mile one)
doing 9:50-10:00 /mi (parts faster) on hilly terrain,
so, i thought 10 min/mi would be very comfortable and easy.
Anyway, what happened?
(1) I met only goals (1) and (2) which is fine by me. I abandoned all
time gaols at mile 14 (see below) I can't tell you how tempting it was
to stop at mile 18 (Right at our house were there would be a couch,
ice, shower, food, etc). i ended up finishing in 4:38 (10:38 /mi)
which is slower than i would have liked, but i am very proud that i
actually kept going and got to the finish line.
(2) Details: except for the winds, everything early on went according
to plan...lined up at the very back of the starting line and did the
first three miles averaging almost 11/mi to make sure my shins were
loosened up not going to give me problems (if i start off hard, i have
problems on the outside of my shins)...my housemate Steve and I (we
were hoping to run together for as long as possible) were almost in
the back of the entire pack at this point, but that was ok, we got to
joke around and laugh with a few other runners, etc.
after the water break at 2.5 mi, we got into a faster pace...my shins
were still a little tight, but responded well to dropping to a
10:05-10:10 /mi pace, and by mile 6, we were both feeling a bit looser
and mentally refreshed. As each mile passed, we slowly overtook
people. My ankle felt "creaky" at times, but didn't really
materialize beyond just an occasional "this ankle doesn't feel quite
right." From miles 6-10, we settled into a very comfortable 9:45-9:50
pace and i felt smooth, running was effortless, and everything was
great.
Somewhere along mile 11 or so, troubles started lurking, without any
warning, a tightness shot up my left calf (ie, a developing cramp).
it didn't end up cramping, but felt very tight...subconsciously, i
suppose, we eased up in miles 11 and 12 to a 10:10 pace...also
possibly due to a few hills. Steve meanwhile couldn't get rid of a
tight feeling in his knees. By the halfway point (which we hit at
around 2:14), both my calves were feeling tight. At this point, Steve
and I were pretty pessimistic. I think we were very unprepared
emotionally for having problems this early on in the race. Our 18 and
20.5 mile runs had gone much more smoothly. I really didn't feel any
significant problems (ie, a slowdown) in these runs until the final
mile or so (17 and 19 for those runs). i had thought that if
problems/fatigue cropped up, they would have occurred around mile 20
or more (since we had trained on hills). no way was i prepared to
have "issues" before the hills began at mile 15. (and don't end until
mile 24!)
my friend Chris jogged along side us for a mile and half from mile 14
and it was nice to get distracted from all the difficulties, we had
fallen off very quickly to a 10:40 pace and from that point on, i
decided to not look at my watch. i hit splits every mile with the
thoughts that it would be good to look at them afterwards, but not
during the remainder of the race since they would just depress me.
mile 16, the first hill mile, i started having an ache in my left quad
(high on the thigh) for certain downhill stretches and started having
the dark cloud of doom hanging over my head...as it turns out, this
was the slowest mile of the race (11:30 including a water stop)...from
then on, i was glad i had run the hilly portion of the course many
times, and *at least* knew the nuances of each and every hill. mile
18 was the hardest...there is this steady incline for about 1/3 of a
mile and then the course passes my house. at this point, i really
thought of quitting. but somehow, i mustered the courage to grab the
"Gu" (carbo gel) from our housemate Liz; and Steve and I trudged
along...while early on it was refreshing to continually pass people,
it lost any "pick me up" as i saw these very tired faces and forms and
wondered "why in the world are we doing this?" steve started fading
(not that i wasn't hobbling along too) just before mile 20 where there
is the steepest and longest hill near the golf course. he told me to
go on ... not that i was going much faster, just that my hobble was
just a little quicker than his. The tight calves maintained their
condition after the big hill although they got a slight break
(although then my L quad got the worse end) on the 1/2 mile downslope
towards mile 21. There, my friend Sandra handed me another Gu packet
which gave me a mild pick-me up and i continued on.
Then, rationale thought was lost for a moment as i passed into the
Woods Hole village...i had somehow forgotten that there was a hill in
going from Woods Hole Rd to Church St....seeing that climb was
disheartening...but i trudged on only to laugh along with another
runner i caught up to. his wife was biking alongside asking questions:
"are you ok?...no...want some water?...no. want some food? no....can
i do anything?...how about a new pair of legs." i said, "hey if i
promise to pay you back, can i have a pair too?"
After passing him, it was a lonely trek for about 2 miles. i was
missing having steve or someone around to chat with and distract me
from my tight legs which by now were feeling weary. coupled to that
was the feeling of dehydration (tingling hands) which was becoming
prominent (started several miles back)...at mile 23, Sandra passed me
another Gu and i saw my friend Sheri cheering me on. she said:
"looking good. good job." my thoughts: "thanks." <mind
rationalizes...what a liar! i look horrible! =) > at mile 24, i
passed a wave of friends including a three members of the student
relay team (Jay, Dan and Francois) which had finished in just over 3
hours. They were kind enough to jog with me for the final 2 miles
(finally flat roads again!). what a big boost...someone to talk to
and distract me from my battered legs and the brutal head wind which
was becoming very prominent as the course lost all shelter along the
beach.
i passed mile 25 and turned onto Walker St heading to the finish. at
that point i finally realized that i would make it. since mile 14, i
had worried about my legs cramping and now thought...at worst, i would
collapse (imagine both legs cramping simulataneously), stretch them
out, and hopefully walk to the finish. but..no cramping, and i
actually manage to pick up the pace (just a little) and have some sort
of kick build up as i crossed mile 26 and headed to the finish line
for the final 0.2 miles. a lot of friends were there cheering me on,
and it was gratifying to feel that medal put over my head.
steve crossed the line six minutes later and that was another
gratifying moment. we both had overcome a huge amount of adversity and
completed our first marathons!
this marathon was one of the toughest things i've ever done in my
life...harder than any of those 100+ mile bike rides and certainly
harder than all the short duration swimming races i did over the
years.
and in spite of the pain, it was worth it. and i think, i'd do it
again. and if i do another marathon, i think i'll know how to improve
over the training experiences of this time. and hopefully, next time
will be a bit less "painful."
I am pleased with the effort despite the slow time. I can only think
that the cramping/tightening in the calves can be chalked up as "a bad
day." But somehow, i still finished in spite of the circumstances.
After math:
i flipped through the splits on my watch this morning and actually was
surprised: in spite of the slowdown at mile 14-15, i managed to
maintain a steady pace (albeit at near 11 min/mi) from that point
on. so, i take a little consolation that my slow, ambling pace: i
didn't really hit the infamous "Wall."
the ankle seems ok in spite of the pounding...my legs
though are quite stiff (several different locations!) My calves are
doing well and i can only imagine that i had to alter my stride the
last 12 miles of the race and taxed some other muscles in
compensation. walking up and downstairs is an exercise in pain
management. Sitting down for long periods of time also is a bit rough
as i stiffen up.
Hopefully, i'll be able to do a nice comfortable walk by the week's
end. I'm planning on taking a full two weeks (maybe more) off from
running to let my body recover...hopefully, this ankle thing will
completely heal.
anyway, thanks for all the help, encouragement and advice.
best wishes,
Derek
DEREK FONG email: the...@fog.whoi.edu
MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography http://gusty.whoi.edu/thewho.html
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"Shall we the people never come home? For after all we've been, are
the dreams to come after" -Dar Williams
Mike Tennent
the...@fog.whoi.edu (Derek Fong) wrote:
>Well, as i've promised a number of wonderful people who have helped me
>along the way with a variety of tips/comments and sharing of
>experiences, i'm posting a summary of my 1st marathon experience.
>
Congratulations, Derek. Thanks for the great report.
Ya done good.
Mike "TriBop" Tennent
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Nathan7264
Congratulations on completing your first marathon. Very inspiring report of
your experience. I'm still looking forward to my first marathon.
-Nathan