Before a marathon it helps me to recap my training, to sort of remind myself what I’ve accomplished and that I am ready and physically capable of meeting my goals in the marathon.  I’ll do my training recap post soon.

This whole marathon thing has been (and continues to be) a huge learning process for me.  Little Rock will be #6.  Each marathon that I’ve done has presented different challenges and been such a unique experience.  I’m excited to see what #6 will bring!

This time I’m also going to do a “marathon recap” post, since most of my old race reports, etc. are on my old blogspot runnin-from-the-law blog.  I’ve learned so much from each marathon that I think it will be a good reminder for me to recap them.  And for those blog readers who are new, you can read about my marathon history.

So here goes:

Marathon #1:Twin Cities Marathon October 2008 (4:27:17)

• Training plan:  Low Heart Rate, with one tempo a week
• Weather:  49 degrees and very heavy rain for first 8 miles, then temps/cloud cover ok, but I was frozen and injured.
• Goal:  BQ (3:45).  Felt that I was trained for it, but didn’t have the mental confidence to push through pain.
• Issues:  Right foot to thigh issue about mile  7.  Walked on and off through finish.
• What I Learned:  That I CAN finish a marathon.
• F-bombs:  On and off from mile 7 til Summit; Constant from Summit til finish.

Marathon #2: Grandma’s Marathon June 2009 (4:17:15)

• Training plan:  Daniels A 18 week/65 mile max
• Weather:  HOT (mid-60’s start – 80’s finish) and full sun
• Goal:  BQ (3:45).  On pace through about mile 14, but sun/heat killed me; I knew it would, but I wanted to try to hang on as long as I could.
• Issues:  Developedright IT band issue about mile 15.5.  Ended up walking a ton between mile 17 and end.
• What I Learned:  That I’m not a quitter.
• F-Bombs:  Pretty much constant, increasing as the temps rose!

Marathon #3: Twin Cities Marathon October 2009 (3:56:49)

• Training plan:  Started Pfitz 12/70.  After two weeks jumped into Daniels A 65 mile max
• Weather:  Pretty much ideal.  42 and partly cloudy at start.  Clouds throughout.
• Goal:  BQ (3:45).  On pace through about mile 17.  Then calves cramped up.
• Issues:  BOTH calves cramped up at mile 19.  I think I didn’t fuel properly and was dehydrated.  Calves and IT bands on both legs hurt for remainder.
• What I Learned:  That I need to fuel properly and stay hydrated throughout the entire marathon.
• F-Bombs:  From mile 17 til end, constant.  So demoralized!

Marathon # 4: Illinois Marathon April 2010 (3:59:28)

• Training Plan:  Pfitz 18/55 (modified to add an extra run; started it 17 weeks out)
• Weather:  Uggg.  HOT again!  Low 60’s at start, mid-70’s and full sun at end.
• Goal:  BQ (3:45).  On pace through about mile 18, then started feeling the weather and slowing down, so backed off to a comfortable pace (I was planning on doing Grandma’s Marathon in 8 weeks, so wanted to save myself).
• Issues:  No real issues, finally!  Just wasn’t happening because of the heat.
• What I Learned:  Sometimes its smarter to back off the pace and save the legs for a better day.
• F-Bombs:  Just a few sprinkled in randomly in the last few miles, from general marathon pain.

Marathon #5: Twin Cities Marathon October 2010 (3:49:41) (BQ for 2012!)

• Training Plan:  Pfitz 12/55 (modified to add an extra run)
• Weather:  Pretty much ideal.  40 at start, high 50 something at finish.
• Goal:  BQ (3:45 for 2011 or 3:50, since i would be 40 in 2012).  On pace through about 20, then slowly started falling apart.  Miles 21 -23 were way too slow.  Realized at 23.5 that I could still qualify for 2012 so found a magic gear and kicked it in for last few miles.  So fun!
• Issues:  None, just tired and so slowed about mile 21 (plus there is evil hill mile 21 – 23)
• What I Learned:  That there really is a magical gear that kicks in when it’s needed.
• F-Bombs:  None!