ONE
I've completed numerous races and flushed through a variety of training cycles, so I'm confident that not much catches me off guard... until this past marathon. My body gave me some surprises during and after Eugene.
- I felt tired early (mile 12ish) but mentally shut that down quickly. I was frustrated that it began at such a low mile marker.
- My calf muscles took the brunt of pain in this race. Not only were they screaming sore post-race, but the hurt began during the marathon. This is odd simply because I never ever have calf issues. My quads and glutes are typically the sore muscles after a race. This time, not so much.
- Pain on the bottoms of my feet have been an issue for me during long runs (and my past two marathons). This time... nothing! I'm happy about that, but it still surprised me. I did run in brand new shoes - which is suppose to be a no-no, right?
- I almost always get chaffing under my bra line during long runs... always. Last Sunday, Eugene was warmer temps than I've been used to, which should make it worse... but instead, I went 100% chaffe-free. Thank you Vasoline.
TWO
When you live in the Midwest - basically farm country, corn fields and super flat - don't believe course descriptions like "This course is flat and fast." from those in mountain ranges. They haven't had the luxury of running a true flat course like Illinois, Quad Cities or Wisconsin. It's all about perspective. Eugene was not hill-infected per say, but there were some elevation challenges. I swear the climb at mile 8 was never going to end... and I don't remember any downhills (ha!)... but I do remember a beautiful course. Perhaps one of the most "green" race routes I've ever run. Totally worth the handful of climbs.
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| Eugene Elevation Chart... I just don't believe any of it. |
THREE
I'm still content with my decision of No More 26.2 this year. I was worried that after finishing Eugene, I'd be all giddy and tempted to register for another. I'm not. In fact, I feel great relief that it's done... over. Oddly enough, I didn't even experience a runner's high after this PR. What the? I'm confused by it, but it just tells me that my gut feelings were right. It's time to get excited about 13.1 again. I've already been working on my next training plan for the Fox Cities Half (Sept)... and feeling excited for my family's camping trip to Kentucky over Mother's Day weekend, where I'll run the IronMom Half.
I hate it when races say flat and there are hills all over the place! It's good that you're listening to your body and switching to 13.1 for a while. I burned out in 2008 and hated running for a while. I want to do Quad Cities Marathon, did you love it? I've done the Bix7 3 times but never the marathon.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see other people's standards of hilly or flat. When I first started running I lived in Iowa City and there were some good sized hills there so I was good at running hills. Living in the flat land now, the smallest, non-steep hill makes seems hard.
ReplyDeleteWhat part of Kentucky?!?!? I'm in Louisville & hadn't heard of the IronMom Half!
ReplyDeletePaducah!
DeleteMy calves are bothering me and it's because I got new shoes that are properly fitted for my feet. Other muscles are now out of whack! Here's to finishing 13.1 on Sunday without pain!! (*crossing fingers*)
ReplyDeleteThis is a little different, but after I rode my 100 mile century in Sept for the first time, I lost all desire for it. And I haven't found it yet. 100k rides? Sure! But not the full centuries... It will return someday I hope, but I don't need to put myself through that kind of pain again for awhile. :)
ReplyDeleteSarah
www.thinfluenced.com
Congrats on your PR Jess! I think you made a good choice to focus on other distances plus training for 26. in the Midwest summer is hard. TIme to focus on other things! Proud of you!
ReplyDeleteI am from the flat farmlarnd of Northern Indiana and totally agree about what flat really means. The Indy Mini is nice and flat but the Hoosier Half in Bloomington has not one bit of flat--surprisingly the hilly Hoosier Half is my favorite. I can't train for a marathon every year, but really enjoy the 13.1 distance.
ReplyDeleteif you do races in Chicago, you would not call the quad cities half flat, granite i did it in 2002, and 2009, but there were some hills on that course.
ReplyDeleteHaha... yeah, how could I forget FLAT cities like Chicago and Indy? Not even a road bump! :)
Deletei had the same thing after my first full, two months later i'm just starting to get the high and get over the slump i felt afterwards. crazy.
ReplyDelete