My First Marathon

So I did it. I completed my first marathon and enjoyed almost every minute of it.

I learnt that a lot of the things you are told about marathons by people who have run them before are true. Like; a marathon is a long way, and you will enjoy the first half and less so the second half, and you will hit the wall at 30k.

All these prophecies came true. I loved the first half immensely, I was rolling along at faster than predicted pace and feeling comfortable, everything was going smoothly. I started to feel like I was working a bit more at around 22k but then it eased and I felt great again until about 27k. Then several 'undulations' on the course sapped my legs and by 28k I 'hit the wall' officially.

I remember feeling like I was running slower and thinking I need to pick up, but my head and legs were no longer connected. My head was fine and coherent, but my legs had turned off and no matter how hard I thought I was working, the speed and turnover never returned.

I bonked hard over the last 10-12k and went from a consistent just over 5-min per k pace over the first 27k, to more like 6-min per k pace + for the remainder of the race. It was an interesting experience, and one I had never experienced before. My heart and lungs were fine, as was my head, stomach and feet. My legs though, had had enough.

My nutrition had been on point, taking a gel and water every 40-45 mins throughout. I just hit a ceiling of either my fitness or training or both.

I eventually finished in 3hours 48mins after being on track for a 3:30 something for most of the race. The last 10k took me over an hour when I was hoping it'd take me less than 50 mins.

I missed my 'A' and 'B' goals but hit my 'C' goal of sub 3:50. So my first ever marathon is complete. Weeks of training and preparation and sacrifices all for a run around some roads and countryside with strangers.

Does the future hold more marathons? Absolutely. It not only holds more marathons but faster ones (hopefully). We live and learn and now I've lived it, I have learned. I hope to complete many more marathons over the coming years and have lofty goals of eventually going sub 3!

As for next year......read my blog on 2023 goals for that.

Happy Running!

Adam
LARK Running UK