Wow ! My first marathon. What an experience. I warn readers now. I have a lot to say and there may be much rambling on and stray thoughts thrown in from time to time. Also the theme for the event was "Pirates" The Outer Banks was a hideout for Blackbeard and other pirates back in their day.
Well, anyone who reads my blog regularly knows my training has not been geared towards running a marathon. But I am in the best shape I have been in since high school so if I was ever going to try one, now is the time. I felt comfortable with my daily mileage over the last few months. Even though I did have some slack periods due to injuries and laziness. But no long runs what so ever. I ran 15 miles once back in April. And ran 13 miles twice in August. So I had a lot of unknowns to face in running this far. I looked at it as a one shot deal. I would just run and run until I could not go no more. Then walk when necessary until I was finished. Leading up to the day of the race I tried not to think about the distance. Its one thing to think like that and another to actually believe. But it worked for me. I was in total denial of how far I would have to run. Only when I started looking at the race course did it start to sink in. So I stopped looking a the course. Even the morning of and standing in my corral I never thought, "oh no, I have to run how far?" My only plan was to not go under 8:00 pace and to refuel every chance I had. I do not like training/racing in the morning. So I tried my best to loosen up. Went for a slow 5 to 10 minute jog about 45 minutes before the start. I passed the time by "people watching." For those of you who live in areas with many runners this will seem silly. But the only runners I ever see are when I drive by a fitness center and see people on a treadmill. It is was overwhelming seeing so many other people who run. They all looked so fit. It was interesting to see how they stretched and performed other pre race rituals. The many types of shoes, clothes, and other running gear gave me ideas and insights on what I might try in the future. The weather at the start was a sunny 54f and it never got any higher than 65f for the day. Winds were about 5 to 7 mph and mostly at my back the entire race. And whenever you run in a beach area you need to always be aware of the wind forecast. Even though I used a porta-potty not long before the start, somewhere between the elite start and my start I had to go again. Oh well, I would find a place somewhere along the route. The gun went off and I religiously kept checking my pace making sure I was right at 8:00 pace or higher. My time goal was at best a 3hrs 30min and at worst 4hrs. So I started at 8:00 pace and tried to maintain it for as long as it felt easy. At 4 miles there were some porta-potties on the course. I tried one, but it was occupied. So I just kept going. At 6 or so I gave in and found a bush. It ended up being my slowest split of the race...except for the ones I walked near the end. At every water station I grabbed a cup of Gatorade, sometimes two. I walked so I could make sure I took in every drop of fluid. I took a Gu just before 6. Ate a bag of Sport Beans between 11 and 12. Another Gu at 16 and 21. Also around the 6 mile marker I noticed my watch was showing a little long. I tried to run good tangents. The roads in the first half of the race had many gentle curves. I watched a number of people just sticking to the edge of the road and running poor tangents. But since in the end my watch showed 26.44 maybe it was me who was running them badly. Now I am 99.9% sure from the 7 mile mark to the 23 mile mark I was not passed. I passed several during this time though. Definitley from the 10 - 23 no one went by me. Is this normal ? There were 1309 finishers. It gave me a pleasant distraction for a very long time over those miles thinking about it. I passed my family at the 8 mile mark. They were cheering very loud and waving their signs. And I have to mention the crowds. People were everywhere. Standing in their yards, yelling from their decks, and lining the roads. So many encouraging words. I know many of them must have very sore palms from all the clapping they were doing. It was very motivational to think of these people out there early on a Sunday morning to cheer on and encourage people they did not even know. From the 10 mile mark to the 13 mile mark it was offroad and in the woods. For the first 2.5 miles of that stretch it was on hard packed sand. Though you could see where it was already starting to loosen from the runners in front of me. The last half mile in the woods was on thick mulch and pine straw. But it was soft and a little relief from the asphalt roads. As I ran I guess I was a bit weird on how I looked at the mile markers. I took note of the number, but did not associate it with a distance. I totally ignored the fact of how far I had to run. I also rarely looked at my cumilative time. These two tactics helped me not get overwhelmed by the distance and time it took to complete a marathon. I do remember however seeing 18.97 miles on my watch and it hit me that I had never seen numbers like that before on my watch. Then I stopped thinking about it. Also I must have stopped paying attention to my pacing around the 4 mile mark and beyond. Because I consistently went under 8:00 pace...breaking one of my only rules for the race. Within sight of the 23 mile mark my right quad, just where it seems to connect to the knee, seized up. I had to either walk or fall down. I could not believe it. I was feeling so good just a moment before. I walked only a short bit and it the pain went away. This is the only real hill on the course. It is a tall bridge. I ran slowly up the hill and the legs were good. But midway down the other side it hurt again and I had to walk. Again short walk, then running again. A few minutes passed by and one of my calves locked up, then released instantly. This happened a couple of more times before the finish but never caused me to walk. My groin tightened at 24 and again I had to walk. But not far. Then I was running again. At 25.5 or so, the quad area seized again. So I walked some more. Its funny but after each short walk I could run again as I had earlier in the race until another cramp hit. I was really getting angry at this point. I was on a 7:50 pace, or close to it, up to 23. Then I watched that dwindle away over the last 3 miles. During those final miles and all the way to the finish I had good cardio, good energy, a good state of mind, and except for the intermittent cramping there was no pain in the legs. Finally crossed the line and was pleased. Almost reached what I figured would be my fastest possible time based on my training. I am certain I could do better in a marathon if I trained better. Not sure if or when I will try another one though. But overall it was an awesome experience. I still cannot believe I ran that far. And even if I had walked the final 3 miles I would have still been pleased on what I had done up to the 23 mile mark. And here's a special thanks to all of my family. Thank to my wife and kids for putting up with my running schedule. Thanks to my sister and her family for coming along and cheering like crazy. And thanks to my parents for renting the beach house we all enjoyed staying in and for there cheering as well. As far as how I feel a day later. Only my quads are sore. Especially after driving 3 hours home today. After the race they were not too bad. Even though my wife had to change my shoes and socks for me because I could not bend over. I am glad I could at least change my own underwear though. Still give a flight of stairs a dirty look before going down them too. | 
