Been spending some time pondering the weekend, would have responded sooner but was just not ready. It was long, very long...longer than I appreciated. I felt great the first 9 or so miles and then at mile 9 I started noticing my right IT band. This of course distracted me a bit. I also had to make a pit stop in Cheeseman which of course cost me some time. I found myself stopping briefly at each water station to get fluids down. I also found that I got sick of the gels after about 4 of them and switched to the Gatorade around mile 19 or so. This seemed to help a bit and certainly did not hurt. I basically just kept alternating between running for as long as I could and then walking briefly at water stops and a bit more frequently after mile 22 or so. I finished in 3:49, well off of my goal; but decent nonetheless. I did not hit the wall at any point, it was just generally hard. I felt that the IT thing came from my form; as I tire I tend to revert back to old habits of over-striding which inflames the IT which of course gets even worse as the miles tick away. I did Advil around mile 14 or so which definitely dulled the pain enough to carry on through the rest of the race.
I thought that the marathon was a lot harder than Imogene. I have read in many places that the effort for Imogene is pretty close to a marathon and that the time for Imogene is usually really close to a projected marathon time. The reality for me is that I had a much easier time at Imogene last year finishing around 3:25. And, I felt I had did about as good as I could this year at Denver given the perfect weather, a great night sleep and awesome family/moral support. Whereas several of the guys who had done a marathon and Imogene both finished with similar times between the two races. I guess I am just more of a trail runner/climber. Additionally, I think that trail running is a lot easier on my IT band as the terrain is much more variable.
Some of my lessons include adding more longer runs next time, maybe 2-3 21 milers rather than just 1. However, I think the program that we followed was right for me as I had not done a marathon before.
I will definitely focus more on the form thing as I know if I can keep my foot strike under my center of gravity my knees generally feel fine. I had had a gait analysis by Jeremy Rodgers (Sports Chiro in Louisville) and he had confirmed that I was over-striding with a major heal strike. I even have to mpegs that prove it in slow motion. I had just never been able to perfect the form over long distances; mostly because of laziness as it was just easier to run the old way. I now have the time to re-focus on form; well at least after a good break from running.
I will also figure out the shoe thing a lot sooner. I switched to a new pair about a week or so before the 21 miler. The new shoes were exactly the same as the old ones but for some reason they hit my right arch the wrong way. I originally thought I had injured myself on the 21 but it ended up being the shoes. So, coach Phil recommended I go back to the old ones (400 miles at that point) as there was not time to break in a new pair. This was the right decision with the least risk but I definitely felt that the old ones were nearly dead.
I will also try a different fueling strategy next time as well. The gels just sucked after the 4th one. I think I will give the Hammer stuff a try as drinking a mixed fluid seems like a better idea at this point.
At any rate, it was an amazing experience. I am extremely excited to have finally completed a marathon within a respectable time. Plus, the medal rocks!
Thanks for guiding me and the rest of the group through a great summer session!
