RJSuperfreaky wrote:
Just depends on your perspective. My first 70.3 I did the usual rookie mistake, overbiked, and blew up on the run after mile 2, eventually alternating walk/run every 0.2 miles. I definitely felt defeated then, even though I actually beat my goal time cutoff.
Subsequent 70.3's I've run the whole thing and felt great, but I was smarter and better trained.
For my (as of now) only full, I planned a run/walk strategy from the beginning, with the goal being for me to run longer and better for the whole race. Basically after every mile I walked for 1 minute, then ran again at my usual pace. Repeated this for the whole race, never had an issue, and had a much better run than many sloggers who ran a slower pace the whole way, or (worse yet) ran until they bonked and had a 10 mile hike. I definitely did not feel defeated, because I followed my plan, and it worked.
Then again, I knew I wasn't "racing" it. This is my hobby, not my job. Even being a competitive guy, I never felt this was a race against anyone but myself. How fast you finish a race is up to you and your training, but how you process that race is solely on you.
THis was me in a nutshell for my first. I did 4 min to 1 min run/walk as the plan (and the walks were not leisurely, would drop to about 15-16min/mi pace). This was the plan going in, and I knew that it would yield an acceptable time for me. Finished within about 30 min of standalone marathon time.
For my second, I walked from mile 18 in. The whole day was a mess. Left my bike SN bag at the room (luckily I had my juice, and just made my wife hand it off to me at the 1/2 way point). Wore the wrong shoes, and was a bit undertrained. Tried to just run it out without walking to boot and crashed and mailed it in at 18. Walking 8 miles is tough too.