I’m in pain. My quads and calves are so wrecked at the moment I have trouble getting up. Getting out of bed this morning, I needed to push myself up with my hands because if I just used my legs the pain was unbearable and I just fell back down. I’m laughing at myself right now because it’s my fault but at the same time I am happy that this pain is here for the moment because it reminds of what I accomplished yesterday.
Now that the race is over I can see what I can improve on for next time, and even though my legs still hurt, I can’t wait to race the next one. I can’t believe how much satisfaction there is from putting your body through such feats.
Problem: Excruciatingly painful calves and quads
Solution: Improve lower body muscle strength by including weight training sessions each week.
I’ve been training with weights but I usually go easy on the legs because I run and cycle quite a bit. I think having one solid leg workout at the gym each week is going to help strengthen my legs and therefore strengthen my run. The other thing to include is hill runs. I haven’t done any of those in the past few months and this is something that also slowed me down. Hill runs help build leg strength and reduce the risk of injury.
I’ve been training with weights but I usually go easy on the legs because I run and cycle quite a bit. I think having one solid leg workout at the gym each week is going to help strengthen my legs and therefore strengthen my run. The other thing to include is hill runs. I haven’t done any of those in the past few months and this is something that also slowed me down. Hill runs help build leg strength and reduce the risk of injury.
Problem: Slowed pace after 21km
Solution: Include long and tempo runs each week.
In training for this marathon my longest run was 70 minutes. I had plans and good intentions of running for up to two hours but never got around to it. Shocking, I know. If I could, I’d kick myself for that. Long runs are vital to prepare the body for the challenge of a marathon. Tempo runs are also important but at the right pace. I do tempo runs for between 45-60 minutes. However, the pace is probably a little too slow. It’s like I’m afraid of pushing myself that little bit further these days and I don’t like that. Once I’m back to training (hopefully next week), I’m going to work on pushing myself a little bit more.
In training for this marathon my longest run was 70 minutes. I had plans and good intentions of running for up to two hours but never got around to it. Shocking, I know. If I could, I’d kick myself for that. Long runs are vital to prepare the body for the challenge of a marathon. Tempo runs are also important but at the right pace. I do tempo runs for between 45-60 minutes. However, the pace is probably a little too slow. It’s like I’m afraid of pushing myself that little bit further these days and I don’t like that. Once I’m back to training (hopefully next week), I’m going to work on pushing myself a little bit more.
Problem: Significantly slowing down while drinking
Solution: Practise running and drinking during training.
In the first half of the marathon, each time I took a drink of water it spilled on me rather than in my mouth. In the second half I was slowing down to a walk at the drink stations which made me slower towards the end because each time I started running again it took longer to get into a comfortable rhythm. I’m also going to buy one of those belts that holds up to two – four small water bottles that I can use for longer races. It will be easier to drink from and I won’t have to wait for a drink station to quench my thirst.
In the first half of the marathon, each time I took a drink of water it spilled on me rather than in my mouth. In the second half I was slowing down to a walk at the drink stations which made me slower towards the end because each time I started running again it took longer to get into a comfortable rhythm. I’m also going to buy one of those belts that holds up to two – four small water bottles that I can use for longer races. It will be easier to drink from and I won’t have to wait for a drink station to quench my thirst.
Problem: Disgusting blood blisters
Solution: Wearing second-skin plasters during the race
I got one during the half marathon last year so I wasn’t surprised I developed one during the marathon yesterday. I actually felt it growing before the half way mark but I completely ignored, the pain in my legs kind of blocked out any other discomfort I felt. There are these cool second-skin plasters that you can stick on to the areas of your feet where you’re mostly likely to get blisters and apparently blisters don’t develop. I’m going to try them next time.
I got one during the half marathon last year so I wasn’t surprised I developed one during the marathon yesterday. I actually felt it growing before the half way mark but I completely ignored, the pain in my legs kind of blocked out any other discomfort I felt. There are these cool second-skin plasters that you can stick on to the areas of your feet where you’re mostly likely to get blisters and apparently blisters don’t develop. I’m going to try them next time.
