plant and run

10 Marathon Lessons | March 9, 2010

So my marathon was Sunday. Great experience. I need to sit down and journal the experience. For now, I have 10 marathon lessons that I learned…

1. Repect the marathon. There is a huge difference between 20 miles and 26.2 miles. The typical marathon training schedule peaks at 20 miles, and that led me to conclude that there is something magical about hitting 20 and you’d reach this stage of auto-pilot for the final 10k. False. Respect the distance. 26.2 is a bear up until the finish line.
2. The marathon experience is unparalleled by any other race experience. Now, I can’t at all claim to be a road race expert, but I have run a variety of events. I’ve run muddy offroad races and packed 10ks. But, the marathon experience is unlike anything you’ll experience in a road race…the perks…the medals…the pacers…it’s worth running a marathon (or a half) just for that reason.
3. Walking is permitted in marathoning. I’ve always been a bit of a running purist, believing that when it comes to road races, walking is quitting. I’ll admit, I walked during my marathon. I walked a good bit over the final leg of my race…and my time was a respectable 4:14. When it comes to a marathon, it doesn’t matter if you crawl across the finish line, it is an accomplishment and something to be proud of. Now, I’m not getting carried away, I refuse to walk next time.
4. You’ll see Jesus around mile 16. At least in the Little Rock marathon. In Boston, it’s probably about three fourths of the way up Heartbreak Hill.
5. You need to do everything in your power to stay calm and relaxed the first couple of miles. My 10k split was 48:20. My half-marathon split was about 1:47. That means that I ran 8 minute miles for the first half of my marathon. That was way too fast. The sad thing is that I knew I was running too fast and I didn’t care. It got caught up in the moment…the crowd…the band…the adrenaline. I paid the price when I bonked around mile 19.
6. Plan beforehand how you’ll handle food on the course. Everyone tells you to figure out chews and gels and sports drinks, but what do you do with the orange slices and bananas that start appearing at the hydration stops on the back-half of the race? I wasn’t expecting this, and when the cramps came, I found myself wishing I had scarfed down the first banana I saw.
7. The mental battle is as much about how much you have left to run as it is how you’re currently feeling. It’s interesting, when I finally lost the mental battle and starting walking, it wasn’t because I absolutely couldn’t run any further. It was because I was afraid of how much I had left. grrr.
8. Wear your name. One fun thing about a marathon is that many allow you to personalize your running bib. So my first name was printed right above my race number. Spectators catch on quickly and get a kick out of yelling your name as you run by. That, my friend, will put a smile on your face precisely when you need it.
9. Know the course. Participation in the Little Rock Marathon training group enabled me to run a lot of the marathon course during my training. That was way more helpful than I thought it would be. From now on, I will do what I can to have prior experience running a race course beforehand.
10. Don’t taper too much. My training got thrown off a bit when a pretty bad coughing fit hit me about a month ago…right in the midst of my peak training. This caused me to miss some key runs. As the race day approached, I was scared to overtrain. I definitely felt the negative effects on race day of not having run a major long run in four weeks. That was a mistake. Here is a great article addressing how to taper well.

My lessons are learned. I’ll be ready for the 2011 Mardi Gras Marathon!