I am running my first marathon this Sunday, February 13th, in Austin, TX.
Wish me luck!!
I will give a post race summary on Monday.
Oh, weather forecast for Sunday… RAIN! Isn’t that wonderful.
Rain is not a problem in a marathon…it will have zero impact on your race and will keep you cool.
Plan your race and race your plan. You need to be very disciplined in your early pacing and not let your competitive juices start to flow until mile 18 or 20. You’ll see people blow past you in the early and you’ll be tempted to go with them…DON’T. Run your own race at your own pace.
Enjoy! there’s nothing like your first marathon, just make sure to soak it all in and lock away somme goodies in your memory banks.
Good luck.
It’s a great race. I ran the 1/2 last year and I’ll be on my bike cheering on a couple of friends this year. Crowd support is great (hope they won’t be daunted by the weather), and the race is net downhill.
Good luck, race well.
Good luck to you!
First marathon. Like the first of anything, it's the one you'll never forget. Make it a good one. It's all about pacing, pacing, pacing. You want to run those last six miles. Not Walk. Remember that early when you are feeling good and want to get going. It's all about what happens after 20 miles.
Good luck and have a great race!
Jim Sweeney
Thanks to everyone! I’ll keep you posted!
Rain advice: Body glide or vaseline or bandaide your nipples.
If your shirt becomes totally soaked (even Coolmax) it might chafe big time. I thought this was silly until I ran my second marathon in the pouring rain (Cal International, Saccramento, 97) and I had scabs on my nips for a week. Looking around I saw I was not the only one. Good luck!
Good call. I will certainly remember that!
If its wet Lonestar you should use surgical tape instead of bandaids…just tape a big X over each nipple…bandaids come apart if its too wet.
And make sure you drink plenty…for some reason runners get this idea in their head that they can’t dehydrate when its raining. DUUUHHHHHHH.
Good luck Lonestar!
My first marathon was just in December and had the dreaded “walk the last six miles”. Legs just completely cramped up!
Hydrate and watch your pace… I use Duct tape for the nips!
Good luck Lonestar!
My first marathon was just in December and had the dreaded “walk the last six miles”. Legs just completely cramped up!
Hydrate and watch your pace… I use Duct tape for the nips!
OOOOUUUUUCCCCHHHH!!!
More harm than good!!!
Good luck lonestar! You never forget your first time!!! 
D.
My first marathon was just in December and had the dreaded “walk the last six miles”. Legs just completely cramped up!
Hey, but you finished! Congrats! I knew there was one more use for duct tape I had not thought of!
Thanks to EVERYONE for your support!
Have a great time,
If it is raining you may wish to put vasaline on your feet
also make sure you dont overhydrate.
Lots of people (me incl) drink way to much befor and during the race and get relative hyponutremia (diluted electrolytes) and end up cramping badly.
race well and have fun
By the time I’m done with a marathon, the removal of duct tape is nothing compared to the ache of my legs. Actually allows you to focus on a discomfort elsewhere!
Austin is a great marathon. I’ve never done it, but a couple of people from my local club have done it. They raved about it.
I finished my first marathon this past Saturday. I went 4:15, which isn’t great but I was pleased. I wanted to finish in under a 10:00 per mile pace. I was able to run the last 6 miles, though I did have some trouble between miles 23 and 25. I ran it with a friend of mine, and we walked a few of the aid stations. Other than that, we ran. It was a great experience. Take the advice you’ve been given so far. Pace yourself early on and don’t get in a hurry. Make sure you Vaseline/Body Glide your underarms, crotch and feet. I covered my nipples with Band-Aids, but it wasn’t raining Saturday. Use whatever will survive the rain. Chafed nipples are quite painful to deal with.
All in all, my marathon experience went very well. My feet and ankles took a big beating; I didn’t know feet could hurt that bad. If you pace yourself and take care of the parts of your body that are prone to chafe and blister, you will be fine.
RP
If the rain gets bad…you will need a dry pair of socks…
You will prune and then blister severely!!!
Put a pair in some aluminum foil or saran wrap and put it on your Fuel Belt.
All good advise here, but what the hell…i’ll throw one in too.
I like to run my Marathon as a 20 mile long training run…first at zone 1 then maybe by 17 zone 2 and if you have it by 20.
Its a 10 K race baby.
Look good for the Brightroom folks!
Good Luck!
Fish
If you wear loose running shorts then chafing from the leg seams at the inner thighs can be bad when the shorts get wet (sometimes sweat alone is enough) so I actually wear my tight tri shorts for anything over a half marathon, wet or dry. A lesson learnt the painful way.
If the rain gets bad…you will need a dry pair of socks…
You will prune and then blister severely!!!
Put a pair in some aluminum foil or saran wrap and put it on your Fuel Belt.
All good advise here, but what the hell…i’ll throw one in too.
I like to run my Marathon as a 20 mile long training run…first at zone 1 then maybe by 17 zone 2 and if you have it by 20.
Its a 10 K race baby.
Look good for the Brightroom folks!
Good Luck!
Fish
Why don’t you just bring an umbrella?
I’ve run several marathons in torrential rain and I’ve never had pruning or blistering on my feet. I’d pass on the spare socks.
Sometimes I think about training for a marathon since I’ve never actually raced any longer than 10 kms or had a training run much beyond 2 hrs.
But then I look at my bike and think nah and go for a long ride instead.
Good luck with it.