In three weeks I'll be lining up on the streets around Eakins Circle for the start of the Philadelphia Marathon. This won't be my first rodeo. I'm not exactly sure, but I have started somewhere around 30 stand alone marathons - the first one back in 1999 - dropping out of two due to injury. I may not be the fastest at the distance, but I certainly have some experience.
Some races have been quite successful, while others complete disasters. Getting it right is fun, but getting it wrong tends to bring more knowledge and understanding of what works and what doesn't. The combination of doing a good number of marathons and my propensity to race kinda stupid from time to time, I have managed to blow myself up in an embarrassing number of ways.
Here are the top eight ways I have destroyed a training cycle:
1. Start the race not in marathon shape - There is a difference between being fit and being marathon fit. Before I started competing in triathlons, this wasn't much of a problem as the marathon was the point of my training plans. In the last few years, however, I have been really fit but not necessarily marathon fit. The marathon is a totally different beast from any other race. Trust me, if you aren't trained for the specific stresses of a marathon you won't run your best race.
2. Race at "wish I could" pace, not "what I should" pace - Listen to your training. If your training indicates a 7:30/mile marathon, going out at a 7:15/mile pace will be a disaster. Here is how it plays out: the race starts and you feel great, as you are running on fresh, tapered legs. After passing through the half feeling good, you start to tire a bit around mile 15 or 16. From there it gets worse and worse until you are shuffling along or walking most of the final 10k. It took me some time to figure this one out (I can be a bit thick headed).
3. Start the race with a known injury - My second try at the marathon distance was at the Jersey Shore Marathon in April, 2000. Going into the race I was coming off a strained calf ... or at least that's what I told myself. I really wanted to do the race and convinced myself I was good to go the distance. Around mile 15 it started to ache. Buy mile 18 I was walking. At mile 21 I caught a ride to the finish line to meet my family.4. Run too fast a pace in the early miles - I forget the year, but back in the mid-2000s I felt great going into the Philly Marathon and we (Jack and I) decided to go for it. We went out fast. Really fast. Stupid fast. We reasoned that even if we slowed down a bit we would still run a good time (by our standards). Yeah ... By the time we hit the turnaround in Manayunk (mile 20) we were hurting. Bad. By mile 22 we were staggering across Kelly Drive. We did eventually finish ... eventually.
5. Improper fueling - I have never over-fueled, but I have under-fueled on a number of occasions. If you don't get enough calories in early on you will run out of fuel and hit the wall. On a hot day, not enough liquids can cause cramping and over heating. Best thing to do is work on this during your long runs and have a plan.
6. Overeat the night before the race - Eating a huge plate of pasta and all the bread they will give you at the Italian restaurant isn't the best option. It takes time for your food to completely digest. Eating a big meal too close to the start of the race can, and likely will, leave you bloated and/or with intestinal distress. I have found that a better alternative is to make breakfast the largest meal the day before a marathon (or triathlon for that matter). As a side note, don't go crazy at the race expo with the free samples.
7. Show no respect for hot, humid conditions - I am just terrible in the heat. Sorry, that's an understatement. I'm like a 300 pound guy wearing cotton sweatpants and sweatshirt. If I were in a blizzard in my underwear I would break into a sweat. Now that you have that picture in your head, understand every race isn't run in ideal conditions. If you have a goal but it turns out that your race will be run in 85 degrees, not "average" mid-50s you expected, bag the original game plan. This is more important for early season races when the body isn't heat acclimated. Don't believe me? Ask anyone who ran Boston in 2004 or 2012.
8. Overdress in the cold - This is the opposite problem from #7, and one I have only done once - at the Boston Marathon in 2009 (?) when a major storm rolled through causing havoc. The rule of thumb is to dress for 10 degrees warmer than the actual temperature. If you are one of those people who are always cold or always hot, modify this rule to fit your needs. The problem is, over the course of 3 to 6 hours the temperature can change drastically. I've done races where it's in the high 30s at the start and mid-50s by the time I cross the finish line. Best thing to do in that situation is to dress in layers. Use arm warmers, vests, two sets of gloves, ear warmers, and "throw aways." In Boston I wore a jacket which was fine for a while. When the weather changed I was stuck and soaked, which really sucked.
And there you have it, some of my dumbest racing mistakes there for the taking. Fortunately for you, all of these mistakes are easily avoidable with just a bit of forethought in your training and race prep. I put this out there to help others speed up their personal learning curve while reminding myself of the dumb mistakes I have made in the past, hoping to not make them (again) in the future.
Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon
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