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October 2009 – Manchester, NH. I am running my first marathon. I have aspirations of qualifying for Boston in my first marathon. How cool would that be? Of course, I’ve only been running for a little over 11 months now. My training has been haphazard, AND I’ve had to lay off the miles in the 6 weeks before the marathon due to a possible stress fracture/probably tendinitis in my right foot. But come on! I’m excited! I’m pumped! I’ve found the 3:30 pacer and I am going to follow him for 15 – 20 miles and then drop the hammer and bring home a sub-3:20:59 and a BQ. Did I mention this is my first marathon?
I flew through the first mile in under 6:30; flew through the first half in just under 1:35 (on pace for 3:10 – Woohoo!); and then I crashed and burned, hitting a wall at 16 and halting to a dead stop at mile 20 with frozen quads. I hobbled the final 10K to still finish in 3:54, but it was not the way anyone would want their first marathon to go.
***
I’ve learned a thing or two in the almost two years since – I even managed to finally qualify for Boston a year later at Smuttynose (my 4th marathon) with a 3:19.
One of the biggest lessons that has stuck with me however, is that if one is running their first marathon and one is not a World Class Athlete like Ryan Hall or Kara Goucher, then one’s goal in a first marathon should be to Just Finish. Sure, it’s good to have time goals. Sure, if you were an All-American in the 10,000 meters in college, maybe a BQ the first time out is not out of the question.
But if you are like me, just a regular guy who happened to fall in love with running because it made you feel good, then embrace that feeling in your first marathon and go out and have fun.
Just finish.
Enjoy the spectacle of the marathon and just finish.
***
Yesterday morning I signed up for the Vermont 50. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but honestly, it’s become something that I just want to be able to say I did – I want to be able to say that not only am I a marathoner, but I am an ultra-marathoner as well.
Can I do it? Can I cover 50 miles before they shut down the course?
That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?
I don’t have aspirations for anything longer (Western States 100? No Frakking Thank You!). Seriously, anything that takes over 12 hours to cover is just insane in my book.
Have I trained for this? Nope.
Have I run trails before? Once – last weekend, and that was only a few miles.
Am I going to get to train for the terrain like I always preach? Hardly. With the end of the summer rapidly approaching, the start of school and some family obligations thrown in for good measure, I will not have an opportunity to head up to the mountains for some training.
What the Hell am I thinking?
At this point, I am thinking this:
Just Finish.
Run, jog, walk, waddle, crawl – whatever it takes.
And here’s the thing – I will not be going out fast. In fact, I guarantee that the first several miles will be uncomfortably slow.
But that’s okay, because the idea for me is to Just Finish and not worry about the racing part of it.
If I finish and I feel “too” good? Who knows, maybe next year I’ll come back and try to “race” it, but in the meantime, I will not make the same mistake in my first ultra-marathon that I made in my first marathon.
When I signed up for the Vermont 50, two words crossed my mind: “Uh Oh!”
I have four new words that I will be focusing on over the next 30 days:
Just Finish. Have Fun.
Run Luau Run 
Best 4 words you have spoken in a while. Yeah!!!
I knew you’d get a kick out of this one! 😉
Great post. For my 1st marathon, I was thinking “just finish” and knew I could, given 4 hours. But then, I wanted more. I wanted to finish in 3:45. I was realistic. Who doesn’t want to be a Kara Goucher? but we’re not. I was lucky and finished in 3:46, qualifying for Boston on my 1st try. Good or bad? Probably bad because now, like you Luau, I want more all the time.
You’re so wise in going into your first Ultra with the “just finish” mind set. But I bet somewhere in those thoughts you have a time goal. We’re just that way. Just that competitive with ourselves. It’s not bad as long as the goal is a realistic one. Good luck.
I just can’t get enough of your posts. Your words hit home.
I’ll never tell…well, at least, not until September 26th…and that’s only if I come in under 11 hours…Oh! Dammit! You Jedi Mind Tricked me!!! Seriously though, there may be secret goals, but the ultimate goal in this one will be to to finish and have fun while I’m at it.
Um, so how long are you giving yourself to prepare? I have to say that I’m impressed at how quickly you’ve taken it to this level. You’re obviously a natural. I’ve been running since I was a kid, ran my 1st marathon (just to finish) in 2004, caught the bug and sought out my BQ. I just got it last year! I am thinking I’ll make my next marathon (#20) an ultra but only a 50K and not for a while. I’m still getting over a tendonitis from the Boston to Big Sur Challenge. *sigh*
Yeah…probably not “ready” for this, but I figure as long as I focus on the fun part of the race I should be fine. I’ll walk when I have to walk…rest when I have to rest…and I’ll do it all with a smile.
Just finish is definitely the right goal to have with the VT50.
I did it last year, and my husband has done it twice (I paced him the last 9 miles the first year). It is a tough beast, with 9000 feet of climbing, most of which is on trails. In terms of pace, you will be significantly slower on trails than on the road – especially given all of the elevation. So, throw away your watch – ha! ha!
I’ll offer a few tips – hopefully you’ll find them helpful!
The first few miles start on dirt road, and it’s deceptive in that way. Resist the urge to run at even a moderate pace. Run sloooowwww. Just to give you a frame of reference, I can run marathons at an 8:12-8:15 pace, but ran the first few miles of the VT50 at about a 10:30/11:00 mile pace. Go slower than you think in the beginning. Eventually, you won’t feel like you are going slow – it will just be your “pace.” (I ran a 10:29:33 overall, a 12:35 min/mile average).
The last several miles are the hardest, I think. There’s lots of ups and downs – and by that point, the downs hurt just as bad as the ups – ha! ha! Just keep pushing through. Smile 🙂
Another tip: don’t be a hero on some of the hills. If it’s super steep and/or you can’t see the top of the hill, speed walk. This serves two purposes: it keeps your heart rate from going beserk (the race is too, too long for that), and it uses slightly different muscles than running, and spreads the agony – ha! ha!
I also recommend that you do as much running on trails as possible to strengthen your ankles and feet. You ankles will be doing significantly more movement on trails than they do on the road, and it can hurt like heck if you aren’t prepared. If you can’t run trails, then do balance exercises – single leg squats, stand on an uneven surface and balance on one leg, etc.
You can also do a jog-walk pattern, which is quite popular with ultra runners. For e.g., run 9 minutes, walk 1 minute. This works best on flat sections. Otherwise, walk up the hills, run everything else. But, above all: just keep moving. Don’t spend too much time at the aid stations-get what you need and move on. The aid stations are spaced about 5-7 miles apart – so bring a handheld water bottle or belt to get you through – depending on the section, it can take well over an hour to get from aid station to aid station.
if things get tough, break the course up that way: just concentrate on getting to the next aid station.
All of that being said: the VT50 course is absolutely GORGEOUS! The fall colors will be out, and some of the views are absolutely worth the grueling climbing. And, the finish line is a great feeling. Enjoy the day!! good luck & have fun 🙂
I have to say that I have been PSYCHED for this for almost a year! But now that it is OFFICIAL and I know that you are going to be there running with me? I’m out of my mind! Thank you! Thank You! THANK YOU! You are the BEST! You, Adam, Jeremy, Jonah and I are going to be INCREDIBLE company! We’re going to make an AWESOME team! “Pumped” doesn’t even begin to describe this feeling.
Maria’s Plan above ^^^ is basically the plan that I am planning on executing… Walk the ups, run the down’s and flats and to not push it too early. We’ve also got Sarah and Madz crewing for us along with my best friend Dave. Dave is also training to pace us in the last 7-9 miles. Hopefully Lex will be there for me/us as well. Woo-Hoo! I’m thinking of hosting a get together for the “team” with a short run (6-9) followed by meat, beer and fire on 9/11. Will that work for you?
And don’t worry, I’ve done a decent portion of my training and a few “tune-up” races on the trails, but a majority of my training has been relegated to the treadmill. I’m going to try to get in a 30+ miler next weekend, but haven’t gone longer than 24 yet… You’re going to be awesome!