I almost feel dumb posting this, because I feel like I am always posting about my "big" events. I do have a life outside of this stuff. It just so happens, this marathon really never weighed too heavily on my mind and now my legs are really feeling it! I decided to run the TOU marathon as sort of a test to see how good you can run a marathon with minimal running and more cycling. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I did a long run every other week of about 20 miles. My weekly miles averaged around 25-30 when I did a long run and less than 15 when I did not. I rode my bike about 60-100 miles a week depending on the week.
What I discovered was you can run a descent marathon with cycling as a cross-trainer. The problem is, my legs were not use to the pounding and I got really, really bad cramps in my calves and lower legs. (This was probably because of the downhill in the canyon too). My toenails will fall off again and my legs hurt like heck today!
So the marathon went like this: I woke up in the morning at about 4:00. I went out to check that my Garmin (my lifeline for running/pacing) was charged. It was completely dead. I was sick. I went back to the bathroom and heard the rain pouring down outside...gathered rain gear and headed out. The weather turned out awesome!
So I missed my turn in the portapot because the line was sooooooo long. Go figure. The race started and we were off. I ran the first 2 miles way too slow because my plan was to run negative splits. I didn't have any idea how fast I was going without my Garmin. I ended up running into an old high school buddy with a Garmin so he kept us on pace until I had to pit stop at mile 7. I wasted 2 1/2 minutes in the porta and my friend was gone. I ran alone again till mile 9 when I met Dave...
What I discovered was you can run a descent marathon with cycling as a cross-trainer. The problem is, my legs were not use to the pounding and I got really, really bad cramps in my calves and lower legs. (This was probably because of the downhill in the canyon too). My toenails will fall off again and my legs hurt like heck today!
So the marathon went like this: I woke up in the morning at about 4:00. I went out to check that my Garmin (my lifeline for running/pacing) was charged. It was completely dead. I was sick. I went back to the bathroom and heard the rain pouring down outside...gathered rain gear and headed out. The weather turned out awesome!
So I missed my turn in the portapot because the line was sooooooo long. Go figure. The race started and we were off. I ran the first 2 miles way too slow because my plan was to run negative splits. I didn't have any idea how fast I was going without my Garmin. I ended up running into an old high school buddy with a Garmin so he kept us on pace until I had to pit stop at mile 7. I wasted 2 1/2 minutes in the porta and my friend was gone. I ran alone again till mile 9 when I met Dave...
The girls, Ty, and Adam met me at mile 14 at the base of the canyon. I could NOT WAIT to see them. They had their running clothes laid out for 2 days waiting for the race.
K. So the older man next to me is Dave. Don't ask me why I attract older men in races. The 2 boys behind me are the boys I ran with until mile 7. We caught them at about mile 16. Dave is an animal-I guess I can say that. He has run 130 marathons. All of his kids have run a marathon by the age of 11. Crazy! He was really good to run with cause he kept a good steady pace and pushed me. And no. This marathon was not as fun as I am making it look. Close though.
1 comment:
Holly, you're awesome! I wish I could find the drive to run or bike with you. Help me! I loved reading about your marathon and bike race. That's so cool! YOu are soooo skinny!!!Lindsey
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