The Atlanta Marathon. 10 months of training, 750 miles of running, many hours of cross training (cycling and swimming) and strength training all led up to the Atlanta Marathon. This was my first marathon so I did not know what to expect. I've ran multiple half marathons but this was double that distance.
Atlanta Marathon Recap:
4:45 AM - Woke up. I felt great after feeling really bad Friday and Saturday. Most of the congestion that I had the two days prior seemed to be gone.
5:00 AM - Got dressed, ate one egg and got the girls up and helped get them ready.
6:15 AM - Arrived at Atlantic Station in downtown Atlanta. It was still dark and cold. We found a place to park and then headed to the start line. I stood there with my family and tried to prepare myself mentally for what I was about to do.
6:50 AM - Said my good byes and wished the girls good luck on their fun run then I went to the start line and waited. The signing of the National Anthem was great. Great way to get you motivated.
7:00 AM - The marathon starts. I am in B wave so it takes me a while to get through the start line. Everyone starts off really slow and that doesn't bother me at all because that was my plan. Everyone in our wave kind of stuck together for the first 5 miles or so. So it was nice to share this part of the run with others before the real suffering starts.
It was 41 degrees outside but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It felt really good. I knew heat wouldn't be an issue and it was showing in my run. I was speeding up mile by mile. I was running consistent 9:30 - 9:45 paced miles or negative splits.
My nutrition plan for the run was Hammer gel at miles 7, 14, and 21 and alternate water and powerade every other aid station which were every 1.5 miles. I got off course on the second aid station because they didn't have powerade but it didn't seem to mess up my run at all.
I got through the first 7 miles with no issues at all. I did my first Hammer gel just because I didn't want to get off my plan. Somewhere around the mile 7-8 aid station another runner told me she loved watching me run, that I was like a metronome, anywhere else that would have been weird but I took that compliment and pushed on.
By mile 10 I was still feeling strong I started tell myself that I may need to scale it back some to conserve energy. So I slowed down and just kept running at a comfortable pace. I hit the 13 mile point and I must have just been so motivated I didn't realize that I sped up. I looked at my watch and I was running a 9:04.
Got to mile 14 took my second Hammer gel. Still feeling great. The volunteers and cheering crowds were great. They definitely keep you motivated. A lot of them are funny and helped take your mind off any pain you might be having.
THE WALL: Having never done a marathon I didn't know if I had trained enough to not hit the wall or if I was going to hit it, when was it going to happen. Well I hit the wall somewhere around the end of mile 18. The hills were starting to get really bad and I just didn't have the energy to get up them anymore. I had 8 more miles to go and I couldn't keep a steady run going.
I never had any doubts about finishing I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. It didn't matter if I was walking the hills and running what little flat or down hill there was, I was going to finish.
I started feeling hungry at about mile 20 so I went ahead and took my last Hammer gel a mile early. I figured it wouldn't bother me too much since I was already walk/running.
Miles 20-24 the hills were crazy. It seemed like we were climbing hills every turn. My calves and hamstrings were starting to cramp up. My shins were starting to burn a little from power walking up the hills. I made it to mile 24 and it was almost all up hill. I think I walked the entire thing. 13:07 pace. I was starting to get frustrated with myself. So I just started running at a very slow pace and got through mile 25 in 11:57.
I was feeling a little better about myself. 1.2 miles left!!! I saw the sign mile 25 I knew I just had to run 1.2 more miles. Then I saw another that said Magical Mile and had an arrow pointing right. I ran to the turn and looked forward. IT WAS A LONG SEMI-STEEP UPHILL CLIMB!!! Are you kidding me. I walked it. :)
Somewhere around 25.75 miles it started downhill and eventually leveled out. I started running again. I knew I was getting close so I didn't let myself walk. I got to 26 miles. I could start hearing the crowd cheer. I picked up the pace. I got to corral area and I started scanning the crowd looking for my family. I spotted them close to the finish line. They were cheering like crazy. As I'm approaching the finish line the announcer says "Justin Forehand coming across the line." I crossed the line. I did it I ran a marathon.
I finished in 4:36:53. Which is a 10:29 pace. I thought I was going to finish with a better time with the way I started but I'm happy that I made it through and my body still feels pretty good.
It was not as hard as I envisioned but definitely challenging. As I was finishing I was thinking of what marathon I can do next year. I'm already signed up for the Rocket City Marathon in December, just 7 weeks away. I'm taking this week off, well I ran a mile yesterday with Renae, then my 6 week bridge plan starts.
This was an experience I will never forget. I thank everyone who has supported me and put up with all my facebook posts about my training. Thank you Callean and girls for letting me train and not complaining about it. I love you.
Pictures and my Garmin connect are below
