{"id":2217,"date":"2016-11-22T20:34:03","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T01:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/?p=2217"},"modified":"2016-11-22T20:34:03","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T01:34:03","slug":"road2hope-marathon-and-my-little-experiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/?p=2217","title":{"rendered":"Road2Hope Marathon and My Little Experiment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"img_5186\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Two and a half weeks ago I finished my last big race of the season, the Road2Hope Marathon. \u00a0It was very much a last-minute addition. \u00a0I mean everyone just throws in a marathon at the end of race season, right? \u00a0The fact is it had been in the back of my mind to do this November marathon\u00a0for a while. \u00a0I had run it last year and despite wind, GI issues and a cold enjoyed the experience – or at least as much as one can enjoy a\u00a0marathon. \u00a0I was hesitant to sign up early though, not knowing what my body would think of running a marathon 5 weeks after a 50k trail run.<\/p>\n

Once the trail run was done I tried a 20k run 6 days later and seemed none the worse for wear, so I made the decision to go for the marathon. \u00a0My hope was to beat last year’s time of 4:34, ideally by 4 minutes. \u00a0Worst case scenario (besides serious injury) would be I would fit one last long run for the year with the added bonus of aid stations, a shirt and a medal. \u00a0I like my long runs, but I also knew there was very little chance I was going to go out and do 42.2 km by myself one weekend just for the heck of it. \u00a0I need an organized race for that kind of insanity.<\/p>\n

I went into the race knowing I could finish the distance. \u00a0As long as I don’t get injured I can finish a marathon. \u00a0Three 50k’s this past year have demonstrated to me what my body can do. \u00a0The issue was pace. \u00a0I am a slow marathoner at the best of times. \u00a0After a season of training for trail 50k’s my pace had slowed down even more. \u00a0I was also used to a constantly changing run pace mixed with walking. \u00a0On the trails I simply do what the ground allows me. \u00a0I don’t aim for a steady pace. \u00a0A marathon is obviously quite different.<\/p>\n

The first change I made compared to past races was I decided to do 10 and 1’s. \u00a0I had only ever done it once before; last spring as a marathon pace bunny. \u00a0But given the lack of steady running I decided it made sense. \u00a0And indeed it did. \u00a0I fell into a nice pattern of running a bit ahead of the continuous 4:30 bunny, then falling a bit behind on my walk. \u00a0In fact, I ran the most steady marathon ever (except for during my bunny job!) until 37km. \u00a0I have to say it felt good to not be dying at 32k. \u00a0It felt particularly good to pass the porta potties that I had to stop at last year. \u00a0No stomach issues this time around! \u00a0I think I have finally nailed my taper week\/pre-race eating. \u00a0(Basically it is just eat the blandest, whitest food I can find).<\/p>\n

The fact is everything was just right for a great marathon. \u00a0The weather was near perfect, it was my first fall marathon without a cold and I didn’t need to stop! \u00a0But did it lead to a mind-blowing PB? \u00a0Nope, unless you consider 37 seconds over 42 km a dream PB. \u00a0The fact was at 37km I was done. \u00a0I kept going, but I was done. \u00a0It is possible I might have almost cried, bu tI am trying to forget that part. \u00a0At 35k I thought I was going to make my 4:30, by 38k I knew it was out of my grasp. \u00a0Final time was 4:33 something.<\/p>\n

I finished not really sure whether I should feel happy or disappointed. \u00a0Prior to the race I thought I would have a half decent PB or my body would say the hell with this and I would have one of my slowest times. \u00a0It actually hadn’t crossed my mind it would be more or less the same as last year, just a steadier version of it. \u00a0It certainly wasn’t a disaster of a run. \u00a0My body held on to a pretty steady pace – something I really hadn’t been training for – for longer than it had in the past. \u00a0Usually I start slowing down significantly after 30k. \u00a0And of course I did this\u00a0marathon 5 weeks after a 50k race, which was preceded by two other 50k races in June and August. \u00a0In fact, in 2016 I ran a 30k, a 32k, a marathon and three 50k’s prior to this marathon. \u00a0My 47-year-old body did that. \u00a0So was I disappointed in the final time? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0I\u00a0felt a little down for a few days in fact. \u00a0But am I impressed I did it. \u00a0Yes. \u00a0It would, quite frankly, be stupid of me not to feel proud.<\/p>\n

I also learned two important things from this marathon. \u00a0Firstly, I want to focus on 50k ultramarathons. \u00a0The attempt to run at a very specific pace for 42 km on asphalt is not where I find the most joy. \u00a0That doesn’t mean I that I don’t want to do marathons, it just means they will not be my focus. \u00a0More likely they will be training runs. \u00a0Dear Lord, did I just say marathons would be training runs??? \u00a0Who would have thought?<\/p>\n

And finally, the most important lesson. \u00a0Never, EVER forget your iPod in your bag check. \u00a0Especially if much of your plan revolves around listening to the new tunes you had your husband add to your playlist. \u00a0And in particular, don’t put it in a bag check at a very organized race where they immediately get your bag on a bus to head to the finish line. \u00a0You really have no hope of getting it back until you have run 42.2 km, all the while having to talk to yourself in your head the whole way. \u00a0I like spending 4 and a half hours with my music. \u00a0Four and a half hours with just me inside my head though…nope.<\/p>\n

Of course what does one do when the last marathon of the season is done? \u00a0Start Googling 2017 races of course. \u00a0As of right now, three official registrations are done. \u00a0The focus is definitely going to be on distance!<\/p>\n

\"Finally<\/a>

Finally finished and ready to relax with my friend Emma who finished her second half marathon!<\/p><\/div>\n

Follow me on Twitter @AverageRunnerK<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two and a half weeks ago I finished my last big race of the season, the Road2Hope Marathon. \u00a0It was very much a last-minute addition. \u00a0I mean everyone just throws in a marathon at the end of race season, right? \u00a0The fact is it had been in the back of my mind to do this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-running"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3amQ2-zL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2217"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2223,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217\/revisions\/2223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}