It’s been so long since I last posted, I almost abandoned this blog. I didn’t stop training, or miss the Columbus Marathon, but I did get bogged down in general stuff (blah, blah, blah…. all en excuse to keep me from writing) and just did not want to write. But, post-race by several weeks, I’m back and ready to continue on.
The Columbus Marathon started out cold. Cold. The corrals had portable heaters stationed generously around the fringes, which was a blessing for me up until my last bathroom trip, when I lost a coveted spot. Once I moved into the corral (corral B), I could feel my muscles starting to tense up in the chill. I tried to keep relaxed, but I worried a bit about how cold my feet were feeling.
In fact, I couldn’t feel them for the first several miles, and the cushioning in my shoes was very stiff until about mile 5. I started the race with the 3:45 pace group, but got boxed in at the start and had to maneuver and surge several times to get back with the pacer. By the 3rd mile, I was back in the pack and feeling very good. The miles were ticking off, my breathing was great, my legs felt good, the pace felt comfortable, the pacer kept us at even 8:35 splits, and mentally I was stoked. I envisioned the finish and couldn’t wait to get there, thank my pacer, and be a Boston Qualifier.
That kept up right up through the 13 mile mark. Then, oh my, my wheels fell off. My legs bogged down. I Spilled water all over instead of getting it in me. My Shot Blocs were frozen and gummed up my mouth. It was back to the same old thing from my last two tries, although this time, my mental game was fine. It truly was my body. Although, thankfully, leg cramping was very minimal this time.
I finished the race in 4:14:32, which is a pr for me by 4.5 minutes or so, and I am happy about that. It was no BQ, to be sure, but I was strangely not discouraged. My husband asked me something to the effect of what went wrong, and I said I’d have to think on it.
So I’ve been thinking. And I think that frankly I have never put in enough miles. Not that I haven’t done long enough long runs, because, mercy me, they have been long! Just that I haven’t had enough overall time on my running legs. I simply don’t see a BQ for me from running a top mileage week of 40 something miles. I need more time running long runs on tired legs, which deep down I knew, but didn’t want to admit because that is an even bigger time commitment than marathon training already is.
What to do? Well, I had been kicking around the Hansons’ Marathon training plan for a while. I printed out their training plan from their website, read several of the articles that have appeared in Runners’ World, consulted with some folks who have used it, and I went ahead and got their book. It calls for just what I already knew I needed, and I have heard good reports from others in my facebook running club (Coach Jenny’s Challenge Group), I have a (hilly) half marathon coming up in May, and I will implement their beginner’s plan for that race to test the waters and see how it goes. I am excited to give it a try, and especially to push myself a little harder. I was so encouraged by the first half of Columbus and how great I felt, that I will not give up on the BQ bid. Meanwhile, I’m getting ready for winter training (even with the unusually warm fall we’re having in Ohio), and looking forward to plotting out my half- and full-marathon training plans for the year to come.
Now, if I could only get the crazy idea of running the Mohican 50 miler out of my head…
no time to run... 