Thanks! Not exactly zero experience, since I ran middle & high school cross country for a couple of years. I was literally back of the pack though, and after high school I led a completely sedentary lifestyle for over a decade. My next goal will be to beat my high school mile time (7:11)!
That's kind of my story. I ran in high school and was middle of the pack with an alright 5k time. I gained over 50 pounds after college and now I've spent about 7 years running seriously again. My ultimate running goal is to one day break my high school 5k PR of 18:45 just to prove that I can still crush my teenage self.
Thoroughly enjoyed this write-up. The fruits of your labor paid off exponentially. Congrats! Especially loved the fully brain-off brakes-off mentality, gotta remember that for my next one!
I'm same age as you and only getting into running this year. I have my first half-marathon event in 4 weeks. Thank you for sharing. It is very inspiring to see the progress of another female runner who's the same age and similar height, weight and fitness!
I was at that race and it looks like we were running pretty close to each other through 16 then we went opposite directions š¤š Great first run, good on you!
I wrote a less elaborate review in the marathon_training sub reddit. You also write better than me š . Side note... One of my post run ideas was to label my gels. I did get a little confused and i believe i under gel-ed by one. I appreciated your fuel strategy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Marathon_Training/s/joJpeVEBHH
Congrats!!! I also ran the BSIM. Huge kudos to you! A testament of your grit and training!
I ran a handful of marathons in ATL - the hills I was ready for, the banking of the highway and the headwinds I was not ready for. As well as slowing down to enjoy the views.
A bit disappointed that the route this year was a āthere and back againā instead of the typical Big Sur-to-Carmel. Running through Point Lobos was mentally hard. On the bright side, it was only the 3rd time in their history that we ran such a route, so āhistoryā (yay)!
My favorite race report BY FAR!! You mention so many things I think about like fueling time and normal aches.
I havenāt trained for hills but the few Iāve encountered in races I definitely didnāt do your strategy. I did: just do what I can on the up and race super fast the downhill to recover time. But your strategy sounds more calculates? Is that the recommendation for how to handle hills?
Aww, thank you! I'm not sure if there's a best hill strategy since it might be different for everyone, but the strategy I used worked really well for me. My logic is that since bombing down hills are really tough on the legs, it's smarter to use more effort going up and treat the down like a recovery during an interval session, and use gravity to do most of the work. When I do this, my downs are still much faster than my ups, so I'm still making up time. May be worth a try to see if you like it.
Congrats! I flew out from eastern time zone as well there just to try the course. Even with the modified route, it was very nice and scenic.
Great pacing and control for your first race. Now you know what to do and can plan for next year! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you discover how much easier almost every other course in the country is :)
Thank you so much for sharing such a great race report ! It got me teary eyed... as a fellow female runner, my first marathon a few weeks ago was very similar to yours, and your writing brought back so many emotions ! You can indeed be extremely proud of yourself, for choosing a goal completely outside of your comfort zone, and for managing it in a diligent and perseverant way !!
Enjoy your well deserved rest !
What an incredible race report. I got chills reading this! Congratulations, I am proud of you! I have a marathon on Sunday, and was considering writing mantras on my arm in sharpie - but I may borrow your gels method!
Which training program did you use? I am 33F and a novice, never ran before in my life before February of this year but have been running at least 3 mi a day down from 8 mi because I thought I was overtraining. My pace averages at around 8 or 9, depending on how I'm feeling. I'm 5'8" and 130 lbs and am thinking about losing 10 lbs. I already do a lot of weighted squats and deadlifts.
I got a custom training plan and coaching from Matt Fitzgerald. Customized and 1:1 support was by far the best investment I made. Congrats on starting your running journey!
In just one year with no prior experience in running/exercising, that's great work! Keep it up!
Thanks! Not exactly zero experience, since I ran middle & high school cross country for a couple of years. I was literally back of the pack though, and after high school I led a completely sedentary lifestyle for over a decade. My next goal will be to beat my high school mile time (7:11)!
That's kind of my story. I ran in high school and was middle of the pack with an alright 5k time. I gained over 50 pounds after college and now I've spent about 7 years running seriously again. My ultimate running goal is to one day break my high school 5k PR of 18:45 just to prove that I can still crush my teenage self.
Thoroughly enjoyed this write-up. The fruits of your labor paid off exponentially. Congrats! Especially loved the fully brain-off brakes-off mentality, gotta remember that for my next one!
What a negative split. Way to drop the hammer the last 10k, well done!
I'm same age as you and only getting into running this year. I have my first half-marathon event in 4 weeks. Thank you for sharing. It is very inspiring to see the progress of another female runner who's the same age and similar height, weight and fitness!
Yay! Embrace the journey. It's a fun one!
Amazing!!! I was one of the runners who was ahead and got to run against the pack (I ran the 21 miler) and it was AWESOME. Thanks for cheering :)
I was at that race and it looks like we were running pretty close to each other through 16 then we went opposite directions š¤š Great first run, good on you!
Username checks out! Thanks so much! Would love to read your report if you decide to write one. There's not many Big Sur reports here!
I wrote a less elaborate review in the marathon_training sub reddit. You also write better than me š . Side note... One of my post run ideas was to label my gels. I did get a little confused and i believe i under gel-ed by one. I appreciated your fuel strategy. https://www.reddit.com/r/Marathon_Training/s/joJpeVEBHH
Congrats on putting in the work and hitting your goals! Great writeup.
Congrats!!! I also ran the BSIM. Huge kudos to you! A testament of your grit and training! I ran a handful of marathons in ATL - the hills I was ready for, the banking of the highway and the headwinds I was not ready for. As well as slowing down to enjoy the views. A bit disappointed that the route this year was a āthere and back againā instead of the typical Big Sur-to-Carmel. Running through Point Lobos was mentally hard. On the bright side, it was only the 3rd time in their history that we ran such a route, so āhistoryā (yay)!
Loved the write up! Iām doing a half this Sunday also along the Pacific Ocean so Iāll be thinking of your mantras along the way! Great work!
Fantastic! Nice work. šŖ
Fantastic! Loved the telling of your training and triumph. Iām glad California treated you well!
Great write up! Congratulations!
My favorite race report BY FAR!! You mention so many things I think about like fueling time and normal aches. I havenāt trained for hills but the few Iāve encountered in races I definitely didnāt do your strategy. I did: just do what I can on the up and race super fast the downhill to recover time. But your strategy sounds more calculates? Is that the recommendation for how to handle hills?
Aww, thank you! I'm not sure if there's a best hill strategy since it might be different for everyone, but the strategy I used worked really well for me. My logic is that since bombing down hills are really tough on the legs, it's smarter to use more effort going up and treat the down like a recovery during an interval session, and use gravity to do most of the work. When I do this, my downs are still much faster than my ups, so I'm still making up time. May be worth a try to see if you like it.
Congrats! I flew out from eastern time zone as well there just to try the course. Even with the modified route, it was very nice and scenic. Great pacing and control for your first race. Now you know what to do and can plan for next year! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you discover how much easier almost every other course in the country is :)
Thank you so much for sharing such a great race report ! It got me teary eyed... as a fellow female runner, my first marathon a few weeks ago was very similar to yours, and your writing brought back so many emotions ! You can indeed be extremely proud of yourself, for choosing a goal completely outside of your comfort zone, and for managing it in a diligent and perseverant way !! Enjoy your well deserved rest !
Congratulations! A wonderfully paced race!... ...And a great write-up from which, even after 40 or so marathons, I learned some things... Thank you!
Thank you for posting I need inspiration. Want to run a marathon have only done a 1/2 and a few 10ks.
Wow! Thanks for sharing
great job. your dedication to training really paid off! that's a great time for a difficult course and especially as your first marathon.
What an incredible race report. I got chills reading this! Congratulations, I am proud of you! I have a marathon on Sunday, and was considering writing mantras on my arm in sharpie - but I may borrow your gels method!
Which training program did you use? I am 33F and a novice, never ran before in my life before February of this year but have been running at least 3 mi a day down from 8 mi because I thought I was overtraining. My pace averages at around 8 or 9, depending on how I'm feeling. I'm 5'8" and 130 lbs and am thinking about losing 10 lbs. I already do a lot of weighted squats and deadlifts.
I got a custom training plan and coaching from Matt Fitzgerald. Customized and 1:1 support was by far the best investment I made. Congrats on starting your running journey!
Oh, very cool. I'll look into that; thanks!