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Mississippi Blues Marathon - Run


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Jackson, Mississippi
United States
Mississippi Blues Marathon
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 35m 15s
Overall Rank = 73/842
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 3/25
Pre-race routine:

Woke up three hours before race time to make sure the body was awake before the race started.
Event warmup:

I jogged for about 5 minutes to get the legs loose. I really didn't want to wear myself out before this race.
Run
  • 3h 35m 15s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

http://www.strava.com/activities/105581501

My pace was solid (outside of the restroom break at mile 17) until about mile 19.5. It was at that point that my left leg felt like it was about to give out, so I slowed my pace a hair to keep my form in check. At mile 20 there was a long hill that pushed me over the edge.

The last 10k took me over an hour to get through. Every time I was close to rallying another hill came along to bring the pace back down. This race really ramped up the difficulty after mile 20.
What would you do differently?:

I'm really not sure. It's possible that aiming for a 3:15 was a bit aggressive for this course. My progress leading up to this race was promising, and I did really well in my longest run leading to my taper.

Marathon running just requires tolerance for a type of fatigue and hurt that I'm not as well conditioned for. At least now I get to get back into a tri training mindset. Ultimately this marathon training was to help get my run form back, and I definitely accomplished that.
Post race
Event comments:

It's a challenging course, but it is a well run race.




Last updated: 2013-10-11 12:00 AM
Running
03:35:15 | 26.2 miles | 08m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/25
Overall: 73/842
Performance: Average
Course: The course is pretty hilly. It runs you all around Jackson, which has a lot of hills in the downtown area.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2014-01-13 9:22 AM

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Extreme Veteran
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Ridgeland, Mississippi
Subject: Mississippi Blues Marathon


2014-01-13 9:53 AM
in reply to: #4930181

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Melon Presser
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Subject: RE: Mississippi Blues Marathon

Congratulations! You did awesome. Hills really do have a way of wearing one down.

2014-01-13 6:38 PM
in reply to: 0

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Regular
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LHOTP
Subject: RE: Mississippi Blues Marathon

While not your goal time, that is a VERY respectable marathon time Matt.  The difference between a hilly tough course and a flat fast course can be HUGE.  I know how excited you are to be back to tri training, and, as you said, the goal of this marathon was to help you improve your run form and speed, both of which you can put nice fat check marks by

It's easy to get bummed after not hitting a goal in a race, but I hope you're not being too hard on yourself.  You've had an AMAZING 2013, and I'm sure 2014 will be just as impressive.

Hugs brotha. 



Edited by switch 2014-01-13 6:38 PM
2014-01-13 7:46 PM
in reply to: switch

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Veteran
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South Windsor, CT
Subject: RE: Mississippi Blues Marathon
Hold that head up, Matt. That was a very nice execution. It's an extremely challenging distance, and if you race log is complete, then I do believe that you improved from a 5:51 IM marathon to a 3:35 open marathon.

That's HUGE.

You have built up another season of run fitness that you can collect in triathlon PR's. To run the M distance well takes dedication, big training volume, avoiding injury/illness, luck on race day with weather and a lot of mental fortitude. Holding moderate pace for a long time can be very challenging to the mind and body.

I do not know what your actual mile splits were as you wrote your usual brief report, so if you give more information about how the minute details of the race actually went, I'd be happy to comment, and I bet others would love to see what happened.

People who have few moderate volume seasons under their belt struggle at the 'wall'-around 20 miles, which is why it's so important to stay right below your true LT for this distance and really build the volume. It takes years to do this. It should still feel easy at mile 15. The pain starts at mile 20, but there are often patches which bring self-doubt.

Overall, you should be proud of the effort and the result.
2014-01-14 7:41 AM
in reply to: #4930181

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Pro
4482
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NJ
Subject: RE: Mississippi Blues Marathon
Matt, congrats on a very good performance...especially on that course. Perhaps short of your goal but still very strong. Ive enjoyed reading about yur training the oast few months. You gained a lot of great experience, race day and training, that will serve you well in the coming year. Good luck in the year ahead.
2014-01-14 9:41 AM
in reply to: 0

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Extreme Veteran
2261
20001001002525
Ridgeland, Mississippi
Subject: RE: Mississippi Blues Marathon

Yanti, 

You're an awesome person.  Thanks for your encouragement!

Switch,

I'm "ok" with the result of the race.  I'm taking solace that I placed in my AG, and I did PR on my open marathon by 10'.  In the process of training, I got my 10K back under 40' where I wanted it to be, so I'm satisfied with the overall result of my training.  

Annnnd I'm ready to get back on the bike.

Dale, 

The strava link in my report has all the details of my race including the splits.  You're correct in that holding that moderate pace for a marathon is difficult in a way that no other distance can simulate.  My open marathon PR is 3:45, so I did PR in all levels for that distance.  Overall I should consider it a success, but I tend to push my goals, so I get greedy.

Kim,

Thanks for your encouragement.  I've enjoyed reading about everyone's training in the "work your weakness" thread.



Edited by msteiner 2014-01-14 9:43 AM


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