Marathon Musings

So, I was perusing my Disney Marathon results from 2012 for some unknown reason….  I think I told the story of how I was boarding along the line of asthma attack the night prior…yada yada…woe is me… Anyhow, the point is around the results and when I checked them after the race, they were all funkified.  My finish time was correct, but I was more interested in the splits as I wasn’t sure as to what they were.  Anyhow, checking them now and they seem to have been corrected.  Given the whole breathing thing I actually impressed myself…for the first 13 miles anyhow…

5 mile split – 39:20

10 mile split – 1:18:22

Half split – 1:43:54 (my Half Marathon PR 1:48:50)

20 mile split – 2:47:04

Finish – 3:53:36

Fell way off at the end there due to a number of things, probably things well within my control (pre-race nutrition, hydration, fueling duing, etc.).  Was I dissapointed though? Not at all.  I really was having major lung issues and honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to run or finish the race prior to the start.  Not to get all religious, but I said many the prayer for the ability to run and finish the race, and it wasn’t looking good until I actually started to run.  Probably the closest thing to a miracle that I’ve had. 

So what did I take out of all of this.  First, nothing like training for a marathon to make a half marathon seem like a fun run…  Second, I should be able to run a sub 1:40 half marathon this fall when I run it in Hartford.  Third, I really need to watch my marathon week prep and also concentrate on the fueling strategy.  While this wasn’t a PR for me, it was a darn miracle that I finished let alone put in sub-4hrs.   It’s true, the races are really decided during your training and not so much on race day.