…so, do you run as much as you can until it hurts and ‘gut it out’ (March) or do you try to hold off the pain as long as possible and ‘pace’ yourself. Because, no matter what, it is going to hurt. Just a matter of how much, how long and how much further to the finish.
In my IM, I had a plan to walk the aid stations and run between them. It worked perfectly (it was my first marathon) and I also stopped and stretched twice during the marathon. Other than that, I ran the rest of the time and skipped the last aid station. My marathon time was 4:08. I’m not fast by any means, but I finished healthy and in good spirits.
You do what you can on race day. My plan is always to run the entire marathon. Reality says, you may have to walk the first 1/2 mile to get your legs back. OR you need to walk aid stations OR you walk from mile 19 to 24. Fluids, salts, and other nutrients will also dictate what happens during your run. Go in with a plan that reflects your training and hope for the best. Most people go too hard on the bike and pay for it on the run.
Running the whole thing is not an option for me. I just wanted to see what other people do. Not really looking for the cure, just everyone’s plan.
I hurt my foot 1 mile into the run on my first half iron man. Ended up doing a 12 mile solo death march/trot/march. MISERABLE. No fun at all, and it was a cool and breezy day and I was froze after 15 minutes cause I wasn’t working hard enough to generate heat. Can’t imagine doing that again, let alone a marathon death march.
Do a search for the run/walk thread from a couple of days ago. If you doubt your ability to run the entire distance, it’s probably the most efficient (time/energy) way to make it through. You have to be disciplined enough to follow your plan, though. Don’t wait until is starts to hurt to put it into effect or it’s too late.
Steve
I am not a runner at all, my first marathon was at the end of my first Ironman. I’m not sure if my run would be called a Death March, it was more of the Ironman Shuffle. I started out very comfortably on my run/jog (again, I’m a fish, not a land mammal), plan was to walk the aid stations, jog between. It worked for probabyl 20 of 26 miles (15-20 were rough). The “Shuffle”, some may have called it a Death March, was where although I was still “jogging” (aka walking with a bounce), it was SLOW… VERY SLOW. I’m sure I looked dead, but I was still bouncing, so I considered it jogging still.
If I were you, I would lose 50 lbs and get a coach who could actually prepare you for an IM properly, fattie.
For IMAZ last year I did this…
Run the first 13 miles at an even pace, taking in as much fluid as possible. This took up the first 1:30.
Around mile 14 begin the following regimen:
Walk a little. Put ice down shorts. Jog. Fall down. Run the wrong way. Turn around. Walk. Hobble. Jog. Tell practically everyone you see that, seriously, they are pretty much your favorite person in the wide world. Jog. Eat 1 pretzel. Continue for 2:30 for a total run of 4:02. Hobble across finish line. Lie on pavement until 8:30pm.
Hope this helps!
I tried to pace myself, with short (30sec) walks at aid stations. I ended up negative splitting my run and passed heaps of the field in the second half of the run. AP
The beginning of my first (and only, so far) ironman run was a big shock to me (my butt hurt and I felt heavy). I walked/jogged the first three miles getting my legs back. From then I picked it up, but walked through every aid station (skipping the last one entirely), and walk/jogged up every hill. I felt better and better as the run progressed and finished strong. 4:17 total.
Gordo seems to be implementing a pretty effective Run/Walk strategy both in training and racing. I’m seriously considering this as it seems to work well for a lot of people. If you start early enough, you’ll prevent a lot of fade later in the race.
sounds fun!
Running the whole thing is not an option for me. reply]
brian, it’s always an option… I thought everyone walked in the IM marathon until my coach put it in my head that there was no reason to… You CAN run a marathon in an IM:-)
That is beautiful.
That hurts. Stop it. You meanie. I’ll make sure I wear something on my back with a lot of print on it in Louisville so you can read it. If they make letters that big.
Hey stranger! Thanks for the positives!! Hope to see you there!
I may come watch now that dave is not running boston. But yeah if you can put in your head that you CAN run that marathon, there IS no reaon for you to walk:-) You just got to believe…
IMC x2
IMH x1
walk the aid stations, walk up any significant hill, walk when real tired during parts of the last 5 miles, other than that try to run steady
2005 4:17
2006 4:05 and 4:16
the imc run times were fast in my age group 50-54
This year my plan is to run a tiny bit slower and to not walk the aid stations and to be a little tougher in the last 5 miles (ok that last 5 mile part has always been the plan until I get there).
Its all about the total time and there’s no shame in walking. Running past the point of exhaustion / pain and then stumbling the rest of the way is likely not as fast as taking strategic walking breaks to stay ahead of your ability to recover.
That said… beware of walking too long. Seems like it got harder and harder to decide to run again once I failed to go AS to AS (about mile 15). Saved my day by setting my timer for 1 min intervals; run 2, walk 1 until I got to within a couple miles of the finish.
Obviously a better plan is to jump off the bike and rip off a 3:30 marathon but I just don’t see it happening.