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I agree. I had a goal to finish my first, but a target/reasonable expectation. If i missed it, it was ok just as ling as i finished. 4:30 was the target. 4:17 was the time and it sucked physically. 4:03 on my next attempt, but the goal was just to beat my prior time. I also felt much better the entire race and post race. After the fact i knew i had more in me, but no regrets.Yep, that's the conventional wisdom, and I definitely understand why (who wants to feel like a 'failure' after running a friggen' marathon, right?)
But - I find it easier to keep pushing if I have some sort of goal to work for. If 'just finish' is my only goal, I'm probably not mentally strong enough to keep running - 'I can walk, just finishing is fine'. Finishing was my 'A' goal, and a target time was my 'B' goal. Kept me pushing to the end.
I would say that your struggle in the last 10km was more down to you never having run that far before and your body not being used to that distance. In my first marathon I followed a training plan that saw me a max of 36km in training. I also died in the last 10km. The next marathon I decided to throw that plan out the window and do max around 50 to 55km. I found the latter stages of the marathon much much easier in my second and third marathons.Not cycling related, but I did the Fuji Marathon yesterday. My first marathon, and my first run over 30km.
The weather was pretty much perfect. A bit chilly at the start but warmed up nicely fairly quickly. The scenery was stunning.
The course itself is mostly flat...except for a big tabletop in the middle. I quickly realized that the lack of any major hills near where I live had failed to prepare me for a long uphill drag. Muscles I wasn't used to using started barking, and I was hobbled quite a bit the last 10k or so. Finished 30 minutes or so outside my target time, but well inside the cut-off time. While the last half was a bit of a struggle, the first half in particular was amazing, and the support from the locals was fantastic. Definitely planning on doing another marathon, although I think I'll target one with a slighly flatter course...
And numbers for the day:
42.2km and 518m of climbing
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Ah ok. I misinterpreted what you said. I thought you meant you hit the wall with 10km to go. Didn't realise you meant cramps from 23km. Bet that was fun .I was aiming to beat 5 hours, based on multiple half-marathon distance runs of 2:15-2:20. Ended up at 5:37. I wasn't really all that fatigued, all things considered; I kept waiting to 'hit the wall' that people talk about, and it never really came, other than the sudden tightness (cramps?) in my hamstrings at the 23km mark. I've done multiple long runs of 25km+ at faster pacing (and without proper hydration etc) in training with zero ill effects, so the legs starting to go at the 23km mark on a fully supported race at slower pacing was almost certainly due to the hill.
Friend of mine recommends parking garages as places to good spots to practice hill climbs LOL.
I'm not even sure if it was cramps - I've cramped before playing tennis (long match in terrible heat) and this wasn't quite that bad...but close. I actually felt slightly better towards the end, and the last two km were the second-fastest two km of the entire race. Bit of a bummer really, I had the stamina to go faster, just not the leg fitness. Definitely want to get back and do another one as 'revenge', so to speak.Ah ok. I misinterpreted what you said. I thought you meant you hit the wall with 10km to go. Didn't realise you meant cramps from 23km. Bet that was fun .
I know that wall very well indeed. I hit it just before 30km on my first marathon. Was awful. In hindsight I started off way too fast and paid for it at the end. Don't think I've ever run so slowly in all my life as the last few Km in that race. Pacing and getting your body accustomed to what it will be put through on race day are vital. I'm far from an expert marathon runner but by my third one (and last to date) the final two kilometres of the race were my fastest two and I felt great whilst running at that pace.
Any ideas what your next marathon will be?
@bloaker There is a pretty strong biking community around Bloomington and the trails in the Hoosier Nat. Forest have "Bloaker" written all over them. Well worth if if you get the chance.
On the subject of mountain bikes, I read they finished this recently. Totally mental but so cool to ride! Would anything even remotely compare to that in Japan?@stu_kawagoe - get a mountain bike, then no road is closed!
Talking of rides, I'm keen to do the Nichitsu ghost town route at some point but @leicaman mentioned that he'd heard the tunnel might be closed (landslide maybe) or something like that. Does anyone have any further updates on that route? I did notice that people had been up the climb segment on Strava as of 4th November.