Silicon Valley Marathon

Check out my cool medal! Today I ran my first marathon of the year. I started out a few months ago thinking I would try to qualify for Boston, but after two months of visits to my physical therapist, an emergency family trip to Michigan, and all the other things that conspire to ruin a good training plan, I scaled back my 3:30 idea to maybe just running a PR. My best marathon time was my very first marathon last year in San Francisco. I had to beat 3:47 so I wore a 3:45 pace band.

The first half went exactly as planned, running a very consistent 8:35 pace. The weather was cool, I was comfortable and the course was flat. At the halfway point we ran around the Los Gatos High School track where the half marathon ended. I was only 30 seconds behind plan at the halfway point and figured I could make it with a good second half. I took fluids at every single aid station, knowing the heat would be an issue late in the race. I felt good at 18 miles, and even at 20 miles I thought I could still stick my 3:45 goal. But the legs would not respond. I finished in 3:51, six minutes off my goal.

I had forgotten to bring a couple salt tablets which would have helped keep me loose and avoid the stiffness that sets in during the final miles. As it turned out, I had real difficulty recovering after the race. I was hydrated, but had lost electrolytes, and I needed sodium. It wasn't until a few hours later at home that I finally started feeling better.

My finish time convinced me not to try and qualify for Boston at CIM in December. 21 minutes is too much to cut in seven weeks. I will probably run the Big Sur half marathon on Nov. 9, then turn my attention to ultra training or off season triathlon training. I was reminded again today that the marathon is way harder than a 50K. Always respect the marathon.