My First Half-Marathon

marathonic

I'd like to write a report on how I got on in the Rock n' Roll half marathon in the USA. Both me and a friend run the 1/2 marathon. I was hoping for a sub 2-hr time. All was going well until I stopped at a portaloo at mile 8. After that, I just could not get back into the rythm of things and walked quite a bit of the last section of the course. I ended up completing it in 2hr 12. However, alot of this might be due to the heat. It was very sunny and the temperature varied from mid to late 20's. A friend completed it in 1hr 40 but his legs were totally wrecked. He had difficulty walking for 2-3 days after whilst my legs were fine - obviously a little tired but no pain.

This was run on the 3rd September. We done nothing after it until Monday when I ran a measily 5.5 mile (my friend attempted it but the legs gave up after a mile). Am a little jet lagged at the moment after spending 24 hrs travelling yesterday but I think I'll run a 7-8 miler this evening and try a 15-17 miler on Friday. After that, I'll be in a position to decide whether I'll be fit for the Dublin Marathon. My friends plans are to get a massage from a sports therapist today and try a medium distance run to see where he stands. I reckon he may be fit for it if he runs at a slower pace.

Overall a dissappointment with the time but I'll blame the heat. And a big improvement from May when I started posting my times http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=51924011

Odysseus

Congrats on finishing your first one, don't worry about the time we all have bad days. Out of interest how hot was it?


Edit: sorry ignore my silly question, I just noted you anwered it in your post!

marathonic

Hey Odysseus, congrats on your completion of the lapland 100k. Sounds like something I might like to try after running a few marathons. What temperatures are you expecting for the Sahara marathon. According to http://www.marathonguide.com/features/Contributed/SaharaMarathon_Wortley.cfm the usual temperatures are around 24 celsius (mid 70's fahrenheit). However, on the day the author of this article ran the marathon the temperatures were higher than normal (around 32 celsius). Its sounds quite tough.

Maybe your next challenge could be the http://thoos.com/running/places/Barkley+Marathons+100+Mile+Run That sounds totally impossible - you'll even have to write an essay as to why you should be allowed to run it.. lol

Odysseus

thanks for the links, I'm not the best at sourcing info on the net, might be my age;) The articles look interesting so I have printed them out and will have a look at them later when I'm finished work. Are you going to give the Dublin half-marathon a try? Its merely my opinion, but if you can do a half-marathon and keep training you will do a full marathon. Best of luck with it.

In relation to the Sahara Marathon I'm trying to gather all the info I can at the moment, so that article is a great help. The web-site stated last month that the regisitration will start soon, I check it daily but nothing so far However, it looks like it would be a good one to go for. Lapland is a beautiful place to run and the people are amazing, I really recommend, I hope to have an article on their web-site soon. Really want to go again next year, but have to work it out with my girlfriend, it occurs on her birthday, so having missed it this year, I have to be careful;)

marathonic

Yeah I'm hoping to do the full Dublin marathon. I'm gonna have a go at a 14-15 miler after work today. That should give me an idea on whether or not I will be ready in time for the Dublin marathon. The only problem I'll have now is that I'll need water during my training runs. Previously, my longest training run was just under 10 miles and I would just drink a pint or two before leaving the house but on a 15 miler I'll need to bring some water with me or lay a couple of bottles through the course. I'll possibly need to think about leaving a mars bar or something halfway through it. Did you do anything like this when training for your first marathon or did you leave it till you got closer to 20 miles?

comer_97

you could try doing loops near your house so that at the end of a loop you can pick a drink up at the door.

Or you could by a camelbak which is a really small backpack that has water in it and a straw on the strap, or you can buy things for carry bottles of water around your waist. It takes a few runs to get used to that too.

Or you could bring a few Euro and stop in a shop when you get thirsty.

Odysseus

Personally I always carry my own water, I run with a type of bum bag[I hate that word ] The one I use holds a water bottle on each side, but has a large pocket that holds everything from my MP3 to mars bars or nuts. Some people prefer those carb gels if you feel you need energy during a long run. I find nuts or mars bars work for me. Cheers.

marathonic

just a small update on my progress. i tried a 15 miler on friday and completed it in 2hrs 10mins without stopping so i reckon i should be ready in time for the dublin marathon. i was completely out of energy after 12 miles and had one of those carb gels to take me the rest of the way. the legs were a bit tired after it (obviously) but no pain. i was on the beer on friday, saturday, sunday but am off it now until the marathon and should get my next run tomorrow (probably about 8 miles). i'll do a 17 miler this weekend before running the mooathon the week after http://www.mooathon.com which sounds good fun. i should get a 20-miler in after that before tapering. hopefully i should be able to run the dublin marathon in under 4 hours.

Odysseus

marathonic wrote:

just a small update on my progress. i tried a 15 miler on friday and completed it in 2hrs 10mins without stopping so i reckon i should be ready in time for the dublin marathon. i was completely out of energy after 12 miles and had one of those carb gels to take me the rest of the way. the legs were a bit tired after it (obviously) but no pain. i was on the beer on friday, saturday, sunday but am off it now until the marathon and should get my next run tomorrow (probably about 8 miles). i'll do a 17 miler this weekend before running the mooathon the week after http://www.mooathon.com which sounds good fun. i should get a 20-miler in after that before tapering. hopefully i should be able to run the dublin marathon in under 4 hours.

Nice one good stuff, it sounds like it shouldn't be a problem. Just checked out the mooathon, pity I did'nt know about it, it looks like a good laugh. I find you always get a few strange people at marathons, and I would say this will attract a few. There was a walker at the Longford marathon who completed the course with a large bag of coal on his back, I bet that hurt the next day:eek: