“Chad hitting the wall at Mile 21″
I mentioned a couple of days ago that I was down to my last long training run before the ING Marathon, here in Atlanta. Well, I did it and it was humbling. The training schedule called for 18 last weekend, and I had to beat that and go for 19. Today’s run was supposed to be 20, and my ego decided to shoot for 22 (22.5 to be exact).
So, the infamous wall. That obscure, mysterious “thing” that I have heard of, but not yet encountered. I guess I just had not run far enough. I hit this said wall, at precisely 3 hrs, 15 mins, and 24 secs into my training run this morning. It was definitely all it is cracked up to be. My legs screamed, my chest hurt, my internal man-voice said things I am not going to repeat in this post. It took every ounce of ego I had to keep running. I pushed, I prayed, I tried to interject positive thoughts into my internal dialogue. Nothing worked. I can’t even find the words to admit this with a straight face, but I did the unthinkable, the unmentionable – I walked. I walked up that damn hill at mile 21. Yes, I waved the white flag. I ate humble pie. I was unable to “git r done”. (yep, I said it)
It all started around mile 15. I recall looking at my watch at the 2hrs, 15mins mark and thinking I didn’t believe I could go another hour, but I kept on trotting along. Next big warning happened at mile 18. I hit a decent uphill on Ashford Dunwoody. This is when I first started to notice the weight of my legs. It’s like they were glued to the ground. I thought a peanut butter and honey sandwich might help, but that only made me want to puke. I put the sandwich back into my fanny pack running satchel hydration belt and kept pushing. After stopping off at the gas station for a little more Gatorade G2 (did I mention how thirsty I was today? I think I must have been a little dehydrated before the run this morning — I have never been so thirsty on a run) I pushed on south down Peachtree.
My last checkpoint was Dresden. I knew I would get a nice little downhill, so I was regaining my confidence. Unfortunately, the downhill didn’t last long. My inertia took me as far up the hill as it could, but that’s when I hit that steel reinforced, cinder block wall. It was a big hungry bear and I was a little fluffy bunny. David and Goliath, but I couldn’t find a stinking rock. I was no match. I gave in. I must admit, I tried to run after my encounter with the big immovable object. I actually tried to run several times, but I couldn’t go for long. The sickest thing is that I started laughing at myself because I imagined I was one of the people driving past me and picturing how ridiculously pathetic I must have looked trying to run. I am surprised no one called 911.
So, that pretty much sums up the last training run before the marathon. Not the biggest confidence booster, but I think I will be ready for the 26.2. I’ll certainly drink more water the few days before the race. Another thing I am certain of is that I am going to enjoy taking it kind of easy over the next two weeks.
Anyone else have a bad training run story to share? Would love to hear them. Misery loves company.
Enjoy your Sunday. It should be a great day.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Chad – you’ve summed it up pretty well but I found out on Sunday (during my first marathon in New Orleans) that apparently there are multiple “walls” that you can hit.
I did my longest run with Chad on a Saturday evening and hit a wall around mile 15/16. Chad must have been on a runner’s high because he glided to the end with ease as I struggled to shake the “gorilla” on my back. Painfully and very cold I was able to push it for a few more miles to complete 19.5. It definitely wasn’t pretty but I needed the extra mileage which paid off during the race. I too wanted to do a 20+ run to be more confident for race day but was unable to due to a flu that knocked me out for a week. It effectively forced me to taper my training early as I did not run for a full week and struggled to just get back in shape for the start of the race.
I felt great during the race. One advice that was given to me that I kept playing over and over in my head was to drink Gatorade (except Cytomax was served during the race … eww) as much as possible earlier to avoid losing electrolytes. So I picked up a cup at every station. Unfortunately at mile 17, I started to feel a couple of twitches in my hamstrings and quads. This started to concern me since I had been running at/below my MP and this was the first troublesome sign. Then slowly I started to have flashbacks of what it would feel like if I did not listen to my body (ie. getting kicked in the nuts while having both your hamstring and quad cramp up at the same time which is effectively a death spiral as they play tug-of-war). At this point I forced myself to walk but it was now my mind screaming obscenities at my legs for not wanting to move anymore. Deep down inside my body wanted to continue at the same pace and finish under 4 hours but my legs had failed.
Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before? This was a completely different wall that I hit. It took me 1 hour to walk/run/stretch/crawl 5.2 miles; however, I had never felt like this. I was not exhausted, out of breath, feeling heavy or pulling monkeys/gorillas behind me. My leg muscles were starting shut down. Maybe it was dehydration? Bad training? Inexperience?
On a positive note, I did manage to finish 26.2 mi and I had the most fun running EVER in my life.
Congratulations Andy! Great post. Thank you for sharing your experience, makes me even more excited about my upcoming race. =) Glad overall all it was a very rewarding and positive experience!
Interesante, no va a continuar con este artнculo?
Gracias
Miato
Gracias, Miato. He continuado el articulo aqui . . . http://chadanddavestrackclub.com/?p=273
That’s my best attempt at Spanish!
Thanks so much for posting all of the excellent info! Looking forward to seeintg more posts!
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