Almost finished my first marathon......still happy (I think)

Jeepmonkey

Barefooters
Oct 13, 2010
158
17
18
Well, after running 20mi this morning in my first attempt at a marathon, I had to tap out and quit. My hip flexors weren't flexing and I had a blood blister the size of a walnut on my right foot.



I keep telling myself at least I went 5 miles farther then I've ever gone before. I feel like I've been hit by a truck! But I may have needed serious medical aid if I'd have even tried to climb the 2 mile hill at the beginning of the last 6 miles.



Better luck next year!
 
Just remember how much

Just remember how much sweeter finishing will be next year. Better to try then not at all and think about the what if's, so no regrets.
 
I say congrats on the 20 you

I say congrats on the 20 you did finish! Not many people can say they've done that. You should be proud of yourself. I am!
 
You did what you could and it

You did what you could and it was smart of you to called its quits when you did there will be more races.

20 miles is something to be proud of..CONGRATS!!!!
 
Congratulations on your 20

Congratulations on your 20 miles! I hope you will recover fast. And you will be able to run 26 miles by next time.



I'm registered for my first marathon in 2 weeks but I had to abandon my training at the 15 miles mark due to IT band issues. At least you got to enter the race and it will make you more prepared for next one.
 
Thanks for the

Thanks for the encouragement. I really don't feel that broken up about it yet. :) According to the volunteers I was the only BFR in the full marathon. My family was at the finish line and said there was a woman BFR in the half. Wish I could've met her.....Ohh well! I met another guy that was in VFF's who said he'd been on this site before, but never posted or bothered to become a member.
 
Hold your head up high that

Hold your head up high that you at least had the "balls" to try! There's always next year for this marathon and more than a couple others out there as well!

Also, sorry to hear about your issues (ITB, blister). How many miles did you train before the attempt?

Keep on truckin'.



Cheers.
 
I didn't train nearly

I didn't train nearly enough. Until yesterday, my longest run was only 15 miles, and that was two weeks ago. I know I dropped the ball on the training.
 
You all have me starting to

You all have me starting to think positively about signing up for one of those things next May. It's a little scary, in prospect. The last one I did was in shoes was in 1984, and I had no friggin' idea what I was getting into. I think it took me more than a month to even begin to feel recovered. I was so stupid...

Now, though, I don't think it would hurt much at all if I carry on with my regular running with only a bump of extra milage to fine tune my training. The one I'm considering is flatflatfat, is run almost entirely on a gravel path, and only costs $50! (York, PA)
 
GO FOR IT JOSEPH!!

GO FOR IT JOSEPH!!
 
I say go for it too.....but I

I say go for it too.....but I couldn't even think about doing it on a gravel path! I'm going really train a lot more for the next one. I can't say I didn't know what to expect....I just overestimated my abilities more than anything. In the end, my determination to finish wasn't enough. :)
 
I'm not ashamed to wear VFF's

I'm not ashamed to wear VFF's for a run like that. I've walked on that trail before and know it's lovely country. I wouldn't think of trying it BF, though. I think it would eat my soles right off my feet.

My historical 26.1 run was in 3:18. I don't think I will try to PR on this one, either.