JimB.
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 4,415
Wellllllll, this morning I ran my 1st full marathon - The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer in Jax Beach, FL.
It was (in a pseudo-sadomasochistic way) fun & rewarding. But Lemme' tell you, right now I am camped in a comfy recliner & have no intention of moving anytime soon.
I ran with 2 other guys from work + 1 co-worker's DW.
Confessions first - 1.) I did not train enough for this & knew it going in. My longest LR was 16.8 miles about 2 weeks ago. And it did not go well, Because of this I was really anxious as to whether I would actually finish. 2.) The starting time & part of the course (IMHO) sucked. More on that later. 3.) My co-workers DW is really HOT (once again, IMHO)
.
Up at 5 a.m. to pick up my friend Jeff. Arrived at the bus stop about 6 a.m.. Got right on bus for 15 minute ride to start point
. Left my HR Monitor chest band on bus 
. Ahhhh, Cest' La Vie. Whatever. That's why there is Amazon. Race start time at 8 freakin' 30. Reason? 2 1/2 miles of the course were on the beach )(ya' know, sand/water/dead fish/etc.), and the race had to be run to allow for maximum low tide. (Next year - ditch the beach & start at 7 am.). Did I mention it was really warm today yet?? The pre-start area was nice. Seems like it was kind of laid out at random, but otherwise ok. Lots of Port-a-potties. Gear check in was smooth. Moving to the starting line was ok. The race had about 5600 people total ( 1700 M, 3900 1/2), so there were a lot of people, but nothing compare d to WDW.
Anyway, prior to the start, Jeff says he wants to hang with the 4:30 pacing group as long as possible. Yea. Right. Did I mention this was my first marathon Jeff? And Yours Also??
Charlie, the 4:30 pacing guy was a distant memory about 10 minutes into the race. Nice call, Jeff.
The following are some pictures of the start and the first part of the course.
The fire boat from Jax FRD. Pumps about 7000 gpm.
The Beach Run. It was actually kinda' nice, but I would have rather the race started earlier.
Here I am at about mile 16. At this point I am still standing and all of Jim's Big Pieces are still working. Mostly. As you can see I am still faking happiness.
This bridge was the last big "whammy" of the run. The square thing partway up on the right side is the 25 mile marker. Did I mention I think big bridges suck??
The finish line...........
Jeff & I after the finish......... None the worse (ok, ok, just a LITTLE worse) for the wear.....
I finished in 5:10:15. Not too bad for a first effort I think. I was secretly hoping to break 5 hours, but I realized about 4 milres from the finish that was not going to happen.
All in all, it was a (figuratively) cool race. Jeff Galloway was there & ran (I kicked his butt!!! Really!!). Jeff (my co-worker) finished in just under 6 hours. We were both standing & smiling at the finish, so ya' could not ask for much more (except maybe 20 degrees cooler).
Since I knew going in that this was a big question mark, I tried the "Galloway Plan" even though I had not used it in training. I ran 3/walked 1 minute until about mile 22. When I hit the bridges & overpasses, my legs really started to go, so I went down & down until I was doing a 1/1 period until about 1/2 from the end.
Lessons I learned:
1.) Schedule marathons in cool weather.
2.) Hydrate copiously, but don't chug/guzzle. I carried a powerade bottle with me that I was able to keep full from water stops. I sipped every time I walked.
3.) Endurolyte tablets rock!! I do not how it would have gone without them. I had a fairly hard time with calf cramps at about mile 20 on, but in the WDW 1/2, the same issues struck at mile 8!
4.) I need to put mucho miles on my legs to build up the lactic acid tolerance and quad stamina before I go Goofy next Jan.
5.) Remember to keep the head up and have fun! Otherwise I would have missed the table where some guys were giving away free beer about mile 18. No. I did not. But I WAS tempted.....................
6.) When your body is screaming for fuel, the flavor of the GU Gel really does not matter............. I would have had a hickory/asphalt flavor if it was offered.
7.) Sometimes, regardless of one's desire, you just have to take what your body can give you & live with it. Don't push or your body may push BACK.
The folks of Jacksonville Beach were GREAT!! This race pretty much closed down a great portion of side roads and neighborhoods for hours, but they were out in force, cheering, giving water, SPRAYING water & making it a good time.
ETA: One thing I did not mention was that this was, at times, a really emotional experience. To run with breast cancer survivors & with people paying respects to those that have not survived, was quite a humbling experience. If a survivor can run 26 miles, then I sure as hell can, and without complaints!
Also, when I figured out about mile 19 or so that I could crawl the rest of the way & finish, I actually choked up a couple of times. I was not sure until then, but at that point it was in the bag. As long as I was careful and didn't do anything stupid.
It was (in a pseudo-sadomasochistic way) fun & rewarding. But Lemme' tell you, right now I am camped in a comfy recliner & have no intention of moving anytime soon.
I ran with 2 other guys from work + 1 co-worker's DW.
Confessions first - 1.) I did not train enough for this & knew it going in. My longest LR was 16.8 miles about 2 weeks ago. And it did not go well, Because of this I was really anxious as to whether I would actually finish. 2.) The starting time & part of the course (IMHO) sucked. More on that later. 3.) My co-workers DW is really HOT (once again, IMHO)
.Up at 5 a.m. to pick up my friend Jeff. Arrived at the bus stop about 6 a.m.. Got right on bus for 15 minute ride to start point
. Left my HR Monitor chest band on bus . Ahhhh, Cest' La Vie. Whatever. That's why there is Amazon. Race start time at 8 freakin' 30. Reason? 2 1/2 miles of the course were on the beach )(ya' know, sand/water/dead fish/etc.), and the race had to be run to allow for maximum low tide. (Next year - ditch the beach & start at 7 am.). Did I mention it was really warm today yet?? The pre-start area was nice. Seems like it was kind of laid out at random, but otherwise ok. Lots of Port-a-potties. Gear check in was smooth. Moving to the starting line was ok. The race had about 5600 people total ( 1700 M, 3900 1/2), so there were a lot of people, but nothing compare d to WDW. Anyway, prior to the start, Jeff says he wants to hang with the 4:30 pacing group as long as possible. Yea. Right. Did I mention this was my first marathon Jeff? And Yours Also??
Charlie, the 4:30 pacing guy was a distant memory about 10 minutes into the race. Nice call, Jeff.
The following are some pictures of the start and the first part of the course.
The fire boat from Jax FRD. Pumps about 7000 gpm.
The Beach Run. It was actually kinda' nice, but I would have rather the race started earlier.
Here I am at about mile 16. At this point I am still standing and all of Jim's Big Pieces are still working. Mostly. As you can see I am still faking happiness.
This bridge was the last big "whammy" of the run. The square thing partway up on the right side is the 25 mile marker. Did I mention I think big bridges suck??
The finish line...........
Jeff & I after the finish......... None the worse (ok, ok, just a LITTLE worse) for the wear.....
I finished in 5:10:15. Not too bad for a first effort I think. I was secretly hoping to break 5 hours, but I realized about 4 milres from the finish that was not going to happen.
All in all, it was a (figuratively) cool race. Jeff Galloway was there & ran (I kicked his butt!!! Really!!). Jeff (my co-worker) finished in just under 6 hours. We were both standing & smiling at the finish, so ya' could not ask for much more (except maybe 20 degrees cooler).
Since I knew going in that this was a big question mark, I tried the "Galloway Plan" even though I had not used it in training. I ran 3/walked 1 minute until about mile 22. When I hit the bridges & overpasses, my legs really started to go, so I went down & down until I was doing a 1/1 period until about 1/2 from the end.
Lessons I learned:
1.) Schedule marathons in cool weather.
2.) Hydrate copiously, but don't chug/guzzle. I carried a powerade bottle with me that I was able to keep full from water stops. I sipped every time I walked.
3.) Endurolyte tablets rock!! I do not how it would have gone without them. I had a fairly hard time with calf cramps at about mile 20 on, but in the WDW 1/2, the same issues struck at mile 8!
4.) I need to put mucho miles on my legs to build up the lactic acid tolerance and quad stamina before I go Goofy next Jan.
5.) Remember to keep the head up and have fun! Otherwise I would have missed the table where some guys were giving away free beer about mile 18. No. I did not. But I WAS tempted.....................
6.) When your body is screaming for fuel, the flavor of the GU Gel really does not matter............. I would have had a hickory/asphalt flavor if it was offered.
7.) Sometimes, regardless of one's desire, you just have to take what your body can give you & live with it. Don't push or your body may push BACK.
The folks of Jacksonville Beach were GREAT!! This race pretty much closed down a great portion of side roads and neighborhoods for hours, but they were out in force, cheering, giving water, SPRAYING water & making it a good time.
ETA: One thing I did not mention was that this was, at times, a really emotional experience. To run with breast cancer survivors & with people paying respects to those that have not survived, was quite a humbling experience. If a survivor can run 26 miles, then I sure as hell can, and without complaints!
Also, when I figured out about mile 19 or so that I could crawl the rest of the way & finish, I actually choked up a couple of times. I was not sure until then, but at that point it was in the bag. As long as I was careful and didn't do anything stupid.
