Marathons are essentially a math problem

My first Marathon is behind me. I didn’t qualify for Boston. I’m not overly upset about it as I missed it by a good 10 minutes. The postmortem has begun.

I emailed Bill (Camelback Coaching) my heart-rate, mile-splits and nutrition info. His assessment was:

  1. I went out too fast in the beginning. My heart-rate fluctuated too much and I used too my glycogen in the beginning.
  2. My pacing was off as my heart-rate and speed were going up and down with the initial hills. The idea is to maintain the heart-rate and not worry about pace.
  3. My nutrition was off. I consumed only 80 calories an hour while I should be consuming between 100 and 150 (depending on my pace).

Basically, it was a combination of heart-rate, pace and calories. Bill ended the email by saying, “Marathons and all races are essentially a math problem.” He also thinks that I can run a marathon in less than 3:15. I am a glass-half-full kinda person, but I have no idea how I can shave off 20 minutes off my time!

Today is a well-deserved rest day after a hard Marathon day yesterday. I am still sore. My eye is better but my body aches everywhere below my waist.

My next “A” race is not until March, 2013. The focus will now shift to the Puerto Rico half-Ironman (70.3).

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