Race Report: Country Music Marathon

Most endurance athletes taper before a major race. Somewhere between one to three weeks prior to the big day, they start scaling back their workouts to make sure there that they are in peek condition for race day.

I began the taper for my first marathon about eight weeks before race day, running roughly thirty miles per month for March and April. What I am actually saying is—I completely fell off the wagon. It was a perfect storm of dissertations, conference work, travel, family, and so forth. Even when I had the time to work out, I didn’t have the motivation. My mind was on other things. (Of course, it is often the case that when the more you need exercise the less motivated you are to actually do it.)

I did a couple of short runs the week leading up to the race. Last year I did the half-marathon at about 1:45:00, or an 8:00 minute per mile pace. I figured that despite my recent slacking, I was still in slightly better shape than last year. Thus, it shouldn’t be too difficult to maintain a slower 9:09 pace for a full marathon, finishing just under 4:00:00.

At mile twelve, I felt strong. It seemed that I could hold this pace forever. By mile fourteen, my heart rate spiked to 194, which I am pretty sure is my maximum. The hills on the first eight miles, plus the unusually high temperatures, plus my undertrained legs and lungs, finally got to me. I had to slow down and watch the pacer pull away from me.

Once my heart rate settled back into the 160s, I started feeling better. I alternated running and walking for the last half of the race. My finishing time was roughly 4:31:00, about a half hour over my initial goal.

Despite whatever troubles I had on the course, or perhaps because of them, this was by far the most fun I’ve ever had in a race. The organizers did a phenomenal job of keeping everyone full of fluid, calories, and salt. There were cool-down stations throughout the course, along with dozens of medical tents. I never felt dehydrated, bloated, cramped, or overheated. And once it was clear that I was going to miss my target time, I relaxed and just started enjoying the experience.

Though valuable in itself, the race was also a great diagnostic tool for my ironman training. I feel much more motivated to put in some long hours. I’m also a little less worried about how my stomach will handle thousands of calories of sports drink and gu packs. And finally, I’m more confident that even if things get really bad, I’ll be able to inch forward until I cross the finish line.