Mohawk Hudson River Marathon - The good and bad
The Mohawk Hudson River Marathon quick recap.
Bad:
- I went out too fast. I got chatting with another runner for the first 10 miles or so and ended up going at least 30 seconds faster than my target pace. I felt so good that I just kept on running and talking. It was a very cavalier attitude and it cost me BIG pain later, when the wheels fell off after mile 17. Plan your race, race your plan, and I didn’t.
- The course “gatorade” was incredibly weak and very sour. It was almost like it had no sugar in it, or hadn’t been stirred at all. I didn’t realize how much I had depended on it when I would bring it on my long runs. It ended up giving me stomach cramps until around mile 15. Next time I take a lesson from Dianna and bring my own.
- The course was very lonely. Because of its location and the size of the race (550 limit) there were very few spectators. The majority of the race was spent running in silence.
- The bag check was a little too informal. When they delivered them to the finish, they just piled them on the lawn unattended. I guess they really meant it when they said to not put valuables in your bag.
- I showed up at the start waaaaay too early. I was nervous about finding a parking spot. I was the first one to arrive at the park. I could have saved myself almost an hour of sleep.
- The hills were harsh. Long slow uphill, and very steep downhill. I watched one woman do a giant faceplant at the bottom of one. I could hardly slow myself on some of them. I think it really zapped my quads.
- I have a fever of 100.7, yet I felt fine before the race.
Good:
- I still cut about 15 minutes off my marathon time, despite the crashing and intermittent walking after mile 17. It really put in perspective how bad off I was in the last one.
- The race course was really beautiful. A large section was on a running path along the mohawk and hudson rivers. Tree-canopied paths with some falling leaves. Just a really nice place to run.
- Good snacks! They were a little confusing to find, but they had donuts (ok, I had
onetwo), apples, juice boxes (100% juice), juice packs (100% juice), kudos bars, homemade bread with butter to put on it, those little cracker packets like they sell in vending machines, and lots of water. Plenty to go around too. - We got nice running hats at the finish with our space blankets, and the race shirt was a long sleeve technical one.
- I beat the train! We had to cross train tracks and I beat the train by about 2 minutes and didn’t have to stand and wait. They were giving time credit for it, but still, it would have sucked to stop.
- I didn’t have to park way out in Albany at the finish and then take a bus to the start. I was able to park at the start in Schenectady (much closer to home), and then they had a bus that took people back to the start line. Very nice!
- I’m glad I trained on hills. Nothing like these hills, but if I had no hills at all, I would have been totally dead.
- NO INJURIES! I crossed the line extremely tired and spent but without any injuries at all. Not a peep from the shins and the calves behaved themselves. A few times they had that pre-tearing feeling but I straightened my form again and they calmed down.
Lessons learned:
- Plan my race, race my plan!
- Bring my own gatorade or train without it.
- Calm down about getting there in time.
I know there are alot of RBF folk racing this weekend. I hope you all had fabulous races!
October 7th, 2007 18:34
congrats! sounds like a beautiful course. and it’s great to hear you finished without injury.
October 7th, 2007 19:55
I liked your goods more than your bads so I’d call it a good outing. Congratulations!
October 7th, 2007 20:55
Yah Rah Rah, Jon! Congratulations, now you can call yourself a marathoner (my kids say you have to do two to call yourself that!)
October 7th, 2007 21:09
NICE job! The Portland Marathon was today and I found myself wishing I had trained and run. Next year, for sure.
October 7th, 2007 21:39
Good job! Especially great about no problems with the shins and calves. So… maybe it was the shoes?
October 7th, 2007 21:57
With my sporadic visiting, I didn’t even realize you were racing. But wahoo, Jon! You beat the train! Great job…and no injuries. I miss your smile:)
October 7th, 2007 22:43
Good job Jon, I was thinking of you out there today and wondered how it was going for. Could you hear me cheering?
October 7th, 2007 22:59
Oh, Jon, I can believe you went out too fast! I do that every time, too. It sounds lovely, really, and a 15 minute shave off your last marathon sounds like a bit of alright to me. Perhaps a great day would have been made better by some chocolate at the finish.
October 7th, 2007 23:09
And the shoes??? Are you ready to join Barefoot Ken Bob? Great job! Run Good!
October 7th, 2007 23:10
congrats jon!!! that’s awesome, all of it! good and bad! at least you didn’t eat dirt! how was the heat up there?
October 8th, 2007 11:18
That sounds like a great race! What cost you big pain gave you big gain. Go Jon!
October 8th, 2007 11:21
Jon,
This, IMHO, is ALL good. You changed a lot about how you train and race in this marathon and came up with a huge PR. You earned this and it must feet really good to know the changes you’ve made have paid off so nicely. Now that the changes have proven themselves, it just gets better from here.
CONGRATULATIONS on a well run race!
October 8th, 2007 13:42
Great job, Jon! See, I told you those shoes would carry you to the end.
October 8th, 2007 17:35
WOW! But you finished a marathon. I am so nervous to do another one. The first one took a lot out of me.
October 8th, 2007 21:57
Congrats, Jon. 15 minutes is nothing to sneeze at, especially in different shoes.
October 8th, 2007 21:58
Oh, and at least you didn’t do this
October 8th, 2007 22:30
Yay for you! 15 minutes is nothing to sneeze at, especially considering those hills.
October 9th, 2007 22:34
Well done Jon! You beat your marathon time and finished injury-free. At the end of the race, you really can’t ask for more than that. Congratulations!
October 9th, 2007 23:59
Congrats on a good race!
October 10th, 2007 13:01
woohoo!! 15 minutes improvement is wonderful - great job!!
October 10th, 2007 23:56
still a PR. just leaves room for something to shoot for next time.
congratulations!!
October 13th, 2007 17:24
Congrats! So…what’s next?!? :)
October 13th, 2007 17:46
Way to go!!!! I’m so glad you were able to run it injury free!! I know you had to be happy about that!
October 24th, 2007 21:25
Heh Congrats. Sorry I didn’t get over here sooner to say that.
October 26th, 2007 14:37
Donuts, huh? I’m all about donuts at aid stations, so I’ll be adding this race to my list of ones I need to consider. Great blog, by the way!
Topher
http://www.illrunfordonuts.blogspot.com