finished my first
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dms4436
Posts: 10
Hey!
Thought I would let everyone know I finished my first marathon. I injured my knee, and didnt think I would make it. I skipped all my long runs 3 weeks out, and kept the short runs soft and slow to protect me knee. I have had runner's knee on both sides before (PT guy says weak core.... ) so I knew some taping and stretchs I could use for before the "big day". My longest long run was 24 mi at ~3:40 (trail run) and I completed it with 2 goos, so I felt pretty strong going into the marathon.
I ran the race with the 4 hr pace group to "slow me down" in the begginning, and was doing pretty well, till a long down hill at mile 22. My knee gave and I had to walk/hobble it in after that. Last four miles clocked in at 13, 13, 11, 12. :-\ SUPER down about that. I worked SO hard.... Never hit a wall, but never got to "push" either because I was afraid I wouldnt make it to the end.
I finished at 427, eh, I knew I could do better. SUPER bummed about my time... I am already planning my next marathon, and how to "train smarter" this time round. The knee is still a little sore walking down stairs, so I am going to wait till the irratation goes down before I get back into it. Stretching and sit ups here I come
I think my ego is the worst part. I really worked so hard, I knew I could do better.
Thought I would let everyone know I finished my first marathon. I injured my knee, and didnt think I would make it. I skipped all my long runs 3 weeks out, and kept the short runs soft and slow to protect me knee. I have had runner's knee on both sides before (PT guy says weak core.... ) so I knew some taping and stretchs I could use for before the "big day". My longest long run was 24 mi at ~3:40 (trail run) and I completed it with 2 goos, so I felt pretty strong going into the marathon.
I ran the race with the 4 hr pace group to "slow me down" in the begginning, and was doing pretty well, till a long down hill at mile 22. My knee gave and I had to walk/hobble it in after that. Last four miles clocked in at 13, 13, 11, 12. :-\ SUPER down about that. I worked SO hard.... Never hit a wall, but never got to "push" either because I was afraid I wouldnt make it to the end.
I finished at 427, eh, I knew I could do better. SUPER bummed about my time... I am already planning my next marathon, and how to "train smarter" this time round. The knee is still a little sore walking down stairs, so I am going to wait till the irratation goes down before I get back into it. Stretching and sit ups here I come
I think my ego is the worst part. I really worked so hard, I knew I could do better. 0
Replies
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CONGRATS! I have my third coming up next may, GREAT TIME - my first was 6:11:24 however my goal was to finish and I did.
I hope to finish under 6 hrs next time. GOOD JOB and RECOVER, recover slowly and allow your body to tell you when it's ready.0 -
Congrats! I'm supposed to be doing my first full next weekend, however I fell victim to ITBS at the beginning of Sept. I spent a month in PT and seemed recovered as I made it through an 8 mile run with run/walk intervals, but now I think I've injured myself again last week as the pain has returned after only a couple miles. I'm pretty much throwing in the towel for this one unfortunately-- very very undertrained and not healed.0
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Congratulations! I just finished my first too at 4:50 I was really hoping for a 4:30 so I understand your sense of disappointment but I am choosing to focus on the positive. I FINISHED!
YAY us! We are marathoners!
I am already signed up for my next one too!0 -
How long did you wait for your next one? I am thinking about March, because I want it to be local, but I also don't want to start training again until I am completely healed, and if that takes till mid-December or January, I doubt I will have enough time to train up again properly. I want to get my 20 down to 250 (current PR 258)
I am starting to elliptical, if only to keep my caridac fitness up. I find that as long as I do SOME exercise during my recovery time I can bounce back faster. I can't do too much, for risk of my knee messing up again.0 -
How long did you wait for your next one? I am thinking about March, because I want it to be local, but I also don't want to start training again until I am completely healed, and if that takes till mid-December or January, I doubt I will have enough time to train up again properly. I want to get my 20 down to 250 (current PR 258)
I am starting to elliptical, if only to keep my caridac fitness up. I find that as long as I do SOME exercise during my recovery time I can bounce back faster. I can't do too much, for risk of my knee messing up again.
For a beginning marathoner, 2 a year is about the most you should consider. One is even a better idea, in my opinion. You need 4 to 6 weeks to fully recover. You'll feel fully recovered in probably 3, but you still have some damage left to heal. Then, there is the psychological part of being ready. It's really difficult to get pumped up for a marathon and the training and then turn right around and do it again. Err on the side of caution here. The less frequently you do a marathon, the bigger chunks of time you can take off your PR too.
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My next 2 marathons are scheduled for June 2013 and November 2013.
I am also starting another training class in January to work on my speed and keep up the milage of my long runs (somewhere in the 10-14 mile range I am guessing). Its specifically targeted to fall marathoners training for faster spring half-marathons. It will end about 14 weeks before my June marathon so I can just roll into Marathon training mode.0 -
i think you did great! being injured is a bummer.
i ran my 1st marathon 6 months ago. i fell ill the week before with a vomiting bug- i was so sick. but i decided to run anyway. i had hopes of a 5 1/2hr finish. i finished in 6 1/2 after throwing up on myself and walking the last 6 miles of misery.
3 weeks ago (6 months later) i ran my 2nd. i carb loaded properly, trained generally well, and felt physically good going in. IMO that was the start of my success- i felt good, i'd trained well and i knew i could do it. and i finished in 5hrs38, which for me is awesome!
i know that disappointment that goes with not hitting your expectations- i hid my 1st marathon medal with the time on it because i was embarrassed. everyone around me was telling me how proud they were of me, and that i'd done it. but in my mind i really hadn't because i hadn't done it on my terms and i felt so ****ing awful at the end. my goal for this marathon was simply to finish feeling better than i did last time.
i'm now having a year off from marathons (i want to spend some time training on my speed over a half distance). but my next planned full will be rerunning the one that nearly killed me- i'm not letting that bugger get the better of me!
i'm no expert, but i say make sure your knee is properly healed first. there will always be other marathons you can race. but even if you're a bit unsure that your knee will make it then you should probably back off for a bit. also, i can advise leaving 6 months between marathons. i took a few weeks off, then started a 20 week training program which included a bunch of core training.
good luck. i hope you heal well.0
