My First Marathon

Tristan_1.png
My First Marathon
By Tristan-OH

The day finally came for the big race. I knew I was ready, and was going to finish. Just a little over two years ago when I was still shod I never thought I would do a marathon. After relearning how to run, the thought of a marathon was back on the table. So for the past two years you could say I had been training for this. More officially I had been training for this since I did the half marathon in May and subsequently signed up for the full this fall.

Tristan_2.jpg
Packet pick up at the convention center.

I tapered a bit more than I had planned due to straining my left leg a little on that last long run. Luckily a few days off and low mileage week helped it rebound quick. Then I rolled into my two week planned taper. So I sort of tapered 3 weeks. And I hadn’t really run with full force since straining the leg, so I was a bit nervous it might come back up during the race. But I really focused hard on setting myself up right, massage earlier that week, and carb loading 3 days out (I generally don't really carb load). I tried the all natural fruit approach for carbs. Night before meal was 12oz wild salmon I grilled along with some wild rice, fruit, and a couple glasses of Malbec. Race morning was one soft boiled egg, banana, and I munched on grapes through the car ride and right up to the starting line. Speaking of which...

Tristan_3.JPG
A cold, dark morning in Columbus.

First race I've ever done that started out in the dark. And as big as it was (~17,000) I made sure to get there early. Getting into downtown at my last big race was a huge problem when I only showed up 30 minutes or so prior to race start. Luckily I work downtown and have access to my own companies garage that will be 99% vacant, and just a few blocks away. When I shut off the ignition it was 5:57AM, corrals open from 6-7 and race start at 7:30.

It was cold that morning, coldest day since spring in fact. 36-37F at gun time. No big deal to some, but I generally cant run much under 40F without numbness, and that after acclimating slowly, not 60's to 30's with nothing in between. Luckily being warm recently, the ground probably was warmer than the air temp made it seem. But I had 45 minutes of standing around at the starting line, so decided to put on a pair of socks to help keep the feet warm. It matched well with my garbage bag jacket, and black sock arm sleeves. :wacky: It helped I am sure, but unfortunately come gun time the feet were darn cold and numb. My leaking hydration pack didn’t help either. It's a very slow leak, but 45+ minutes of it on my back and it had soaked through the pack and soaked my back and down the backside of my shorts. Brrrr. Need to get a new bladder.

Tristan_4.JPG
And the 'A' wave is off with a bang I mean fireworks!

They did wave starts, I was in the 'B' section with a 4hr estimated finish time. Not sure how many waves they had. They also had some big fireworks that shot up in the sky. And they did the fireworks with each wave. Here is what it looked like from my perspective when the B wave was set free...

Tristan_5.JPG
B corral is a go!
Finally! And I'm shivering with bare shoulders and pits, and well, feet! Even with the wave starts, it was crowded. I should have tried to get closer to the front, but figured I'd let myself get stuck in the masses as a means to warm up and not go to fast. 7 lanes wide and shoulder to shoulder for several miles. A couple miles in I had to pee so bad I had to have my first experience using the port-a-johns mid race. In fact I had to use it again later too, so two potty breaks for me on the clock. I should have held off to the next ones, as there was actually a wait at the first ones, but not too long. For the first time yet barefoot, I got the back of my heel stepped on by another runner. I didn’t even flinch, my numb soles had all my attention.​
Tristan_6.JPG
Still warming up.
A pair of cheap cotton gloves and black poly dress socks with the toe end cut off served me well. It took a good 2-3 miles for my feet to warm up, and it wasn’t until 5-6 miles that I pitched the gloves. I kept my sleeves on though, as soon after I took the gloves off I started getting cold again. I just don’t warm up as fast at a 9minute+ pace than I do at a 5k or 10k pace.​
The roads narrowed through Bexley, so just as things were spreading out they were condensed again. It seems like I would be stuck in a crowd for the entire race! I made my way though openings when I could, but tried not to bob and weave so much. I figured if I was more conservative at the beginning it would just be more energy to increase the pace toward the end. I hope.​
Tristan_7.JPG
Heading back into downtown.
The shot above was probably around mile 12. Still packed and crowded. It wasn’t until we crossed Nationwide Boulevard, just about 13 miles, that the halfers turned off toward their finish line. All the sudden everything opened up, just in time for me to start slowing down! Well I didn’t slow down much, but I was just finding a comfortable pace in the upper 8 minute range. I crossed 13.1 at about 1:55. Not too shabby, I'm on track to beat 4 hrs I hope! Just had to hang on to my pace the second half.​
Thanks to rbondi for giving me the suggestion on dates for fuel.
thumbsup.gif
Starting at 10-11 miles in I ate a date about every 2 miles up to 20 miles, where I planed to race it to the finish. I hadn't had much chance to test em during long runs so was a bit unsure. They were pretty thick and sweet, and just about on the edge of what I could tolerate running (much better than the GU's I tried which made me sick to my stomach). I felt a lot better to knowing they are all natural fruit, and I needed not support some chemical company.​
Tristan_8.JPG
The Ohio State Stadium.
One really neat part about this course was running through the OSU horseshoe. And it came at a good time, about 17 miles, when I was hitting the lowest point of my run. I felt fine, just my mind wanted to settle me in on a bit slower of a pace. I had never saw it before, so I got on my phone and snapped a couple pics.​
Tristan_9.JPG
Coming through the chute.
I'm not really a big sports fan but it was really neat to run through the 'Shoe. The slowest part of my run, but it kept the spirits up and started preparing me to make my move at the end. The timing pad their captured my time, and between there and 20 miles was my slowest split at 9:34. I was worried I might not hit that 4hr goal, but at the same time I could feel the energy building back up, especially after popping another medjool date.​
Tristan_10.JPG
In the 'Shoe.
I ran out of water shortly after Ohio State. Not sure if I underestimated, or the leak was worse. I wanted to get a last drink before I picked the pace up, so I didn't break out into my race until I got water close to the 21 mile mark I think it was. And I was finally warmed up enough to pitch my arm socks. I had a special playlist for the final stretch, my most motivational songs, so after fiddling with my phone for a second I bolted. My legs were feeling pretty fatigued, I know I've been using them more than I ever had. But I just felt like I had so much energy and motivation, and I just felt happy that I wasn’t burning out and instead I was going to kick this final stretch and finish for sure. I started getting an upset stomach soon after... that last date might not be digested enough for this pace. Look down at the Garmin and it was showing me upper 7 minutes. Maybe a bit too fast, and that might explain the stomach. I backed down to low 8's and just bounced around there. Not that it was easy, I was constantly slowing back down to around nine, realizing it, then speeding back up into the upper 7's. Passing folks left and right. Seemed like everyone was slowing down and many were dropping down to walk.​
Tristan_11.JPG
Looks like I caught up to the 'A' Team.
Am I lifting my foot too much there? A lot of my other pics show this too. First time I've bought the race pics so I get to see kind of what my form looks like. And well I think I have lots of issues with my form. But anyhow...​
Finally we are heading back into downtown once again. The crowds are growing bigger, people cheering, DJ's announcing my name and cheering for the barefoot guy. I could really feel my muscles straining, and couldn’t quite hold my fast pace and slowly drifted back towards 9 minutes. Until the final turn onto Nationwide Boulevard. It just so happens the final couple tenths of a mile were the steepest downhill of the whole race. And spectators were packed along the sides cheering. I let loose into a full on sprint. Probably gained 50-100 yards in the last stretch, passing several people.​
Tristan_12.JPG
Form? Not much of that left, only speed. :D
Tristan_13.JPG
I think I strained... everything. Whoopsie.
A quick check of Garmin had me around a 4 minute mile for the last 30 seconds or so. I recall starting to get a bit dizzy. So I got a little carried away? :facepalm: The bad part was crossing the finish line... a few steps after the line I pretty much came to a complete stop as the finish area was jam packed. Within seconds I could feel all the muscles in my leg just cinching tight. I really wanted to do an easy cool down jog but there was no way. Even after picking up my goodies and everything, working my way through the park, to the complete other side before things opened up.​
Tristan_14.JPG
Traditional foot shot post race.
The feet were about the only thing on me that didn't hurt! No blisters or even hot spots. My heels took a bit of a beating in that final sprint in, but that was about it for foot discomfort.​
By the time I had space to jog I tried but found I couldn't. I mean really my legs wouldn't engage in flight. Best I could muster up was a moderate walk. My parking garage was actually the very building up against the end of the park, so I dropped my stuff at my truck and walked laps around the garage for 10 minutes and did some light stretching. I knew I over did it, and was going to be in some pain. Surely enough, next day I was more hobbling around work than walking, and even had to bow out of the lunch walk for 3 days knowing I couldn’t even keep up with a regular walking pace. I had a massage session Monday, and that really helped, but it still took a few days to recover. Maybe next time I'll be better trained and it wont take such a toll on the body to pull off a marathon. We’ll see, as I am surely going for another!​
Tristan_15.JPG
A couple things to note that I highlighted on my stats... my fastest split was the final 10k stretch, first time I've ever been able to pull off a decent finish in any race really. And while not as competitive as my shorter races I still think 1441/5496 is pretty respectable for my first! But what was even more amazing I thought was that last stretch it shows I passed 368 runners and wasn’t passed by any others! Now after I took that screen shot they updated the numbers and now it shows that like 5 passed me I think, but still pretty good I think! I wasn’t going to re screen shot, save and upload it though. And how dare they change the numbers a couple days later? Is it people that didnt hit the sensor for some reason? Did they write in and asked to be added in or something?​
Something else my mom identified right away when she saw my time of 3:48... I was born at 3:48, so I guess that was my time in more ways than one.​
But I had a blast. It never really felt like I was at a low, or that it was just dragging on. I felt strong and full of energy. And this is from someone who never thought they'd do a marathon just 2 years ago!​
 
[SIZE=5][I][COLOR=#000000][U]Barefoot[/U][/COLOR][/I] PR's:[/SIZE] [B][SIZE=5][/SIZE][/B] [SIZE=5][B][B][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]1mi -[/COLOR][/B][/B][COLOR=rgb(153, 51, 0)][B][B] 05:38 [/B][/B](2018) [COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][B]5k -[/B][/COLOR][B] 18:50...
View all 21 featured items
Very cool report! It sounds like it was a great race for you. I had my best half-marathon time a few weeks ago (2:01, down from 2:08 on the same course last year), but I did it in (fairly light) shoes. I've been running for about 2 1/2 years now, and haven't done a marathon yet. I have done a couple of 20 mile trail runs (again in shoes... really rocky and cactus-y here!). I was up to a little over 4 miles at a time barefooted, but then backed off because I didn't want to do anything "weird" to myself before the half (I'm still pretty new to BF running). I didn't see anyone running barefooted in my half this year, but last year I got passed like I was standing still by a guy running barefoot (but carrying shoes). I'd like to work my way up to being able to do at least a half marathon barefooted. Your report gives me something to shoot for!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tristan-OH
I loved your write up, thanks for sharing. Excellent first Mary and BF too. It's hard to run negative splits, but those are the best marathons.
For your next marathon you will have the benefit of this experience to guide you. I am sure you will run even faster if that is your goal. How would you rate this marathon? Fast course? Well organized? Bare foot friendly roads?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tristan-OH
Thanks all!

I loved your write up, thanks for sharing. Excellent first Mary and BF too. It's hard to run negative splits, but those are the best marathons.
For your next marathon you will have the benefit of this experience to guide you. I am sure you will run even faster if that is your goal. How would you rate this marathon? Fast course? Well organized? Bare foot friendly roads?

This is probably the perfect marathon for a first barefoot marathon... yeah it was well organized, fast and flat course, barefoot friendly roads. The only thing that was questionable on the barefootedness was the temperatures at the starting line, but I think most barefooters up to the marathon level can handle down in the 30's, historically I think they list the average temp as 41ºF at race start, this year happened to be a much cooler than average start. But the energy just feels amazing, lots of crowds cheering and entertainment along the way. I will probably revisit this one yearly, and yeah next year I'll be armed with some more experience and knowledge of what to expect.
 
  • Like
Reactions: barefootn
WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! You little ripper!!!! Bloody brilliant inspiration for a beginner BF - WELL DONE YOU :barefoot:
 
Tristan,
I am so inspired, this is the most motivating post I have ever read on this site. It is what you did that is inspiring, a marathon barefoot you are in an elite group of runners and to do it under 4:00 hours that is respectable. You give me hope ! Now I just need to find one and sign up.