Running my first marathon was the most amazing and brutal experiences of my life! I loved it and hated it and cannot wait to do it again!
A few weeks ago, my brother and I did the Nashville Half and Full Marathon and it was incredible! I did the full 26.2 miles, and my brother did his first half marathon ( 13.1 miles). We both had a great time and learn some things along the way!
Training
I'm a long distance runner, so every run of mine is a long run. After I decided to do the full, I started lengthening my runs even more.
Week Day Runs -Ranged between 12 and 14 miles with a few push-ups, planks and squats as well as stretching after each run.
Weekend Runs- I started at 18 miles and the weekend before the race I did 22 miles. I only stretched after these runs and really paid attention to my claves and hamstrings.
Rest Days- I had one rest day a week. On this day I lounged around and did no exercise whatsoever.
Training After Thoughts
Looking back, there are some things I wished I had done differently in my training.
1) Train More Hills
2) Do more longer run. Maybe add in a few more 20 and 22 milers before race day
3) Stretch More
4) Run in better, more supportive shoes
The Night Before
The day before the race, I ran 13 miles and stretched really well. I also tried to drink a ton of water and carb up really well.
My carb-up meal of choice was tacos, and that worked for me. Before my half marathon in the spring I used the classic pasta dish to carb up. Both worked well and are delicious!
Before I went to bed, I laid out my running outfit, shoes, bib number, running watch, ear buds, and running belt. In my belt I had chap-stick, gum, and my I.D.
I had a hard time sleeping that night, mostly because of nerves and excitement!
Race Day
I woke up early and got ready to go. It was a lovely 30 degrees F outside, so I wore a jacket over my running leggings, long sleeve t-shirt and running sweat shirt.
I had some coffee and a banana about 1.5 hours before the race. We made sure to get to the race early enough to use the bathrooms and get warmed up and stretched.
I was nervous, excited and freezing!!!!
The race started at 7 a.m. The half-ers and fullers started at the same time. There were pacers for both races. I feel in alongside my brother and the 2 hour half marathon pacer.
Our pace for the first 12 miles was between 8'30 and 8'45, which was really fast for me! I felt great! My brother and the rest of the halfers left around mile 12.7. After that, I was on my own. The race really thinned out after that.
I managed to stay ahead of the 4 hour full marathon pacer up until mile 22. Then it really hit me. I hadn't taken any walk breaks up until then and my legs were done. I had officially hit the wall.
I pushed on till mile 23 and stopped at the first water station and walked for a few minutes. After that, I took walk breaks every mile until I was close to the finish line. I crossed the finish line running, smiling and dying inside.
My official time was 4:04:54, which was WAY faster than I had planned. I had planned on a 4:30 time or around there. I was very pleased.
I did not fuel or eat anything during the run, aside from a few sips of water and Gator-Ade.
My brother finished the half at 1:55:05 which is sub-2 hours and pretty amazing for his first race!
The After Math
As soon as I stopped running, my legs turned to jelly. I was sore already! I realized around mile 16 or so that my shoes we no good, so my feet hurt like crazy. It was painful to even stand on them!
The medal for the marathon was HUGE and amazing! The finish line was crowded and they had a few refreshment options. Honestly though, I wasn't hungry. Just thirsty and tired!
I went home, showered, at tacos and went to bed. After an hour nap, I felt so much better! My feet weren't so sore, but my legs were!
I took the next day off as a rest day. I was even more sore then! The next day, it was a Monday, I did run again, but it was slow and kind of painful. I do think it aid in my fast recovery though. After three days I wasn't sore at all and back up to my usual running speed and mileage.
I am beyond happy that I decided to do this! Running a marathon is amazing, and I recommend it to anyone.....just train a bit before :)
I want to do another marathon and/or half marathon hopefully in the spring. I have caught the race-bug and I can't wait to get another race under my belt!
I hope my race recap as been helpful, inspiring or entertaining to you! Hopefully you will be running your first race, or adding another one to your stash before too long!
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Happy Running,
Hannah
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