Hola :) Sorry for the long delay. For those of you who know me well, life has been more than a bit insane lately, but now I'm back! Thanks for sticking with me.
So, the marathon... what a great experience. The San Antonio Rock n' Roll Marathon was the first marathon distance run of my life, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here's proof that I was enjoying it... me at mile 25.5... and no, the cop wasn't there for me... :)
There's a few things that I already knew, a few I doubted, and a few I learned on the run about marathoning...
1. Marathons are split into two equal halves - the first 20 miles and then the last 6.2. Trite, I know, but 100% true. The run didnt get hard until somewhere between 20 and 21... then it got pretty challenging. Luckily I held my splits steady for the entire run - T3's training plans really work.
2. Nutrition remains key to any long event. Happy to say I got it right in a big way that day. Here's the plan I used...
- 1.5hr before race - took my sportlegs, had an odwalla protein shake, a bananna, and a 24oz bottle with nuun.
- 30min before race - got rid of nuun :)
- one race started, did one gel (hammer or carbboom) every 40-45min and endurolytes every 60-70min. May have been a bit heavy on endurolytes, but didnt have problems. At water stations, had either water or cytomax depending on how I felt at the time (not critical to my electrolyte or calorie intake strategy).
Nutrition remains a key element to any long event. Trust me on this one. Make sure to train the way you race, even with nutrition.
3. I'm not a fan of race directors putting hills less than a quarter mile from the race finish, but it was a nice challenge.
4. The big question on my mind prior to the start - which is harder, half-ironman tri or a marathon? A solid half-iron time is about 2 hours longer than a solid marathon time... but the marathon is certainly more of a challenge in terms of endurance. Skill, the half-iron is still more challenging, but for sheer physical endurance the marathon is more of a challenge.
The race organizers ran a great event. Hats off to them. If you're anywhere near San Antonio (or likely any of the rock n' roll series events), give it a go. It's a blast. Apparently they had 35,000 ppl participating in either the full or half. Craziness.
Here's proof that I finished :)
I'd be remiss not to give a strong 'what up' to the best race support crew in the world... Chris, Stephanie, Michelle and Stathi. Having your help and encouragement in training, on race morning, through the race, and to share it with at the end made this experience so much more than just a run. Hope I can add to your lives as much as you added to mine that day. Big up.
So, it's been a few weeks of medium to low-key training... have to start getting back to it soon! See you at the workouts!
