Northern Central Trail Marathon

I ran in the Northern Central Trail Marathon in Sparks, MD, yesterday. It was a totally different experience traveling to and competing in a race that only involved running, as opposed to the Triathlons I have been competing in lately which involve swimming, biking, and running. It was so much easier and simpler to plan for. All I had to do was make sure I didn’t forget my running shoes and throw a couple other things in the back seat of the car and we were good to go! When I go to compete in a Triathlon though, I have to bring my bike and many bike-related items and all my swimming and biking stuff. We usually fill up our trunk and back seat with stuff when I do a Triathlon, so going to run a marathon felt like a leisurely walk in the park – in terms of the packing and preparation that went into going to the race (and only in that regard).

Running the marathon was still as difficult as running a marathon will ever be – even though it was easy to pack for. I had set a goal of running the marathon in under four hours. I did not reach my goal. This marathon was somehow more difficult and painful than the marathon I ran to complete my first IronMan-distance Triathlon back in September. I know that sounds crazy, and believe me when I tell you that I feel crazy saying it, but somehow this is the case. I did manage to finish this marathon faster than the marathon in the IronMan, but honestly it wasn’t by much. After talking to Michelle about everything and having reflected on things for a day, I have come to a couple conclusions about why I didn’t reach my goal and why the race was so much more difficult than I expected it to be:

First, my legs were not at %100. The last couple weeks I have been purposely keeping my bike in a higher gear than normal when I commute to and from work. I workout my quads a lot this way, and not coincidentally my quads were the first part to break down in the marathon yesterday. At about ten or 12 miles into the race, my quads felt like they were packed with cement; they were so tight and so sore.

Second, I hadn’t put the running preparation into this race that I should have. My hamstring had started bothering me a little bit about 3 weeks ago, so I stopped running. I actually hadn’t gone on a single run for at least two weeks I think before yesterday’s race. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t do any really long or intense runs in the weeks immediately before a marathon but not running at all probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Not sure how I didn’t see this as being a problem beforehand.

Third, I didn’t plan the nutrition side of running a marathon the way that I should have. I guess I thought the on course water and Gatorade would be enough to keep me fuelled. I had one gel and one pack of Powerbar gummies in my pocket that I ate during the race, but this wasn’t quite enough. I probably should have had about 500 or 600 more calories, plus some of the electrolyte pills that helped me so much in the IronMan-distance Triathlon. I also should have eaten a better breakfast, one with more carbs. I also probably should have eaten a lot less pumpkin pie with a lot less whipped cream over the previous two days – but hey, it was Thanksgiving, what can you really do?

In conclusion, I am not at all disappointed nor do I feel bad about how things went because I had fun! Also, I learned some valuable lessons and ran my first marathon (that wasn’t part of a Triathlon). What’s more, I did set a new personal best, both because it was faster than my Triathlon marathon time and because it was my first stand-alone marathon. I will definitely be even more motivated to reach my goal in the next marathon I run. Finally, as always, I had the support of my wife, Michelle. She was there to send me on my way as the marathon started and was there to greet me with a hug and a kiss as I crossed the finish line and got my finisher’s medal, even though I was stinky and sweaty (like I always am when I cross the finish line); fortunately for me she doesn’t seem to mind.