So let me break it down.... One- I chose to use the 3:40 speed work program and then use the 3:30 long distance program. This was a mistake. I needed to pick one time and stick with it. Two- Even though I was using the faster 3:30 program for long distance I was running them even faster than what was given. Mistake! Three- My arrogance! I thought I knew better than the Run Less Run Faster authors on what I could handle and what I was capable of doing therefore I became EXTREMELY burnt out. By the time the race hit all I could think about was ugh! Let's just get this dam race over. I do not feel like running. Which resulted in a 4:06 marathon.
Now let me get to the point of the title to this post. If you would like to see the effects of jumping the gun when the race starts... well here it is. My splits. As you can see after mile 1(which was uphill) I quickly jumped to a 7:22 pace. Ahhh not 8:00 which was what I was aiming for. Miles 2-7 were all under 8. So by the time the 8th mile was over I was feeling way tired. Then as you can see my splits were all over the place. One of my weaknesses with running is keeping a consistent pace. I am pretty terrible at it and should have focused more on that during my training. I also felt like I was going up and down, up and down the entire race so I posted my elevation as well. As you can see I don't climb a whole lot but it is up and down. This added to my tiredness in the end.
What have I learned from all this.... STICK TO THE TRAINING PLAN.
So to redeem myself and have a little fun I signed up for the GOOFY with my sister Jen! I seriously cannot wait. I don't even care about what time I am going for, all I want to do is run a fun race. Enjoy the distance. Enjoy the scenery and crowds. Plus is will be so fun to have Jen run with me. She is an expert when it comes to numbers and time so she will be the perfect pace partner. Oh and I told her that she can wear her watch and I am not going to. (I may change my mind later tho. Ha!)
What have I been doing for exercise in the mean time? Well I am back to 4 days a week. Last week because my family was here I only got in 3 days but this week I am going for 4.
This is an example
Monday- 8
Tuesday- Xtrain
Wednesday - 6-8
Thursday - 8
Friday- Xtrain
Saturday - 10 (I will add 2 miles each Long run getting up to 18 miles two weeks before the race and then I will taper)
I plan to run up the bridge hard for strength and work up to running comfortably 7:45-8:00 miles. Right now I am around 8:20 because I am still recovering from my last race and I don't want to push it to hard.
So that's it! Long post but had a lot to explain!
Here is to Goofy or BUST!! (Ps I better not bust cuz I am seriously considering the RnR marathon in DC this March :) Who's with me?!
XX
Sarah
Oh and I just watched Forks Over Knives. Post coming soon about my new diet plan. :)
Negative splitting a race is so tough- I can not slow myself down when I start a race really speedy. I can't help feeling like I need to take advantage of that speed while it feels good. It's not the smartest way to run but I agree that it's hard not to jump the gun like you did. I'm glad you have the goofy run, though, to make up for nyc- I hope you have a ton of fun!
ReplyDeleteI am especially curious about your opinions of RLRF because I just bought it and am hoping to use it for my next long race. Would you recommend using it but following it more strictly? Or do you think it was your downfall?
I had the exact same problem as you did on the marathon! I started out feeling great but slowing down, bit by bit. One of these days I WILL get the hang of negative splits!
ReplyDeleteAfter having a few disappointing marathons where I didn't reach my goal, I decided to just run one for pure fun. No stressing about pace. No goal time. My only purpose was to have fun. And I was hooked! After all, marathons should be fun. It sucks that we let ourselves feel disappointed after running 26.2 miles.
ReplyDeleteSo BRING ON GOOFY! I think you'll have a blast!
I can 100% relate to your race because it is EXACTLY what happened to me at my last marathon. Went out too fast, hung on for a little bit, and then DIED. You will learn from it and you will come back stronger than ever. :)
ReplyDeleteYay for the goofy race, it sounds fun!
I am so excited to hear about your new diet plan! Dean and I watched Forks Over Knives a while back and it definitely changed our perspective. I have been a vegetarian for a long time and actually was hardcore vegan for a while. I am eating some animal products now but still no meat! I just found it a little hard to fuel my workouts on a plant-based diet alone!! Maybe you can share some of your ideas and meals so I can steal them!!
ReplyDeleteHi there, long time no comment! Thanks for the interesting recap on your marathon experience. Would you use Run Less Run Faster again as a training program or recommend it to anyone else? I've been hearing a lot about it from fellow bloggers and was thinking of trying it for my next marathon in 2012.
ReplyDeletePS Yay for coming to DC to run RnR! If you want to meet up for coffee/dinner/drinks please let me know, I'd love to meet a fellow blogger :)
ReplyDeleteI was just telling Erik that I want to do the DC Rock and Roll. It would be awesome if you came down for that!
ReplyDelete