Monte's Log, Featuring a Debate About Dotard Genetic Potential with an Ant

Race day. Sickening.

Don't forget, everyone overruns the course. You gonna run at least 26.5 miles, maybe more. So have to use mile markers to hit a specific target.

5 mile marker (40:00)
10 mile marker (1:20)
Half marathon marker (1:45)
20 mile marker 2:40

go well Monty

SPOILER

I was going to do a spoiler with a theory on what happened but instead I am going to click and paste into my notepad and then post later. I saw the results already.

3/3: Chattanooga Marathon Report
No real issues getting down to the race; I ran this with my buddy and a friend of his that's turning into a friend of mine - he invited this guy to come race a few weeks ago and he accepted and ran it with basically no training other than Orange Theory. Pretty impressive.

The only real fly in the ointment is that my buddy invited another friend of his to come down, and that friend brought down his two not well-behaved up until 10 pm kids (ages 6 and 4). Pretty annoying as we were sharing a wall with them and my kids had to take couches; I got good sleep Friday night but only four hours last night, so not ideal.

I did exactly what I said I wouldn't do in this race - deviated from the plan. I ran the first half in 1:43.28 per the chip, which is about a minute and a half faster than I'd wanted to; the second loop is a bit different for the first half of the loop, but follows the second half of the first loop exactly, which includes most of the most soul crushing hills. Through mile 20 (per my watch), I was reasonably comfortably under an 8:00 pace (at 7:54), but the hills combined with the extra energy I'd expended killed me. I averaged about an 8:20 for miles 21 through 24 and 9:30 for miles 25 through 26; I managed to pull it together to finish the second half at 1:50:27 per the chip for a time of 3:33:55.

Per my HR strap, which I'm probably going to have to replace, my HR was never really out of control - 158 average and 180 max, but if I'd have been able to run all of the hills it probably would have been a few beats higher. Just a matter of not following the plan because I felt good and then paying for it. Lesson learned, on to the next one.

My guess is the wheels partially fell off. Maybe a hamstring cramp or calf cramp. Guy was flying first half.

5 minute positive split? Welcome to the pain cave bro.

That's a considerable slow down. If nothing was cramping really bad, well then you were in 3:31-32 fitness in Chattanooga and just ran the first half a bit hot.

Definitely in sub3:30 shape on pancake course.

Let's see the heart rate graph, especially the first half. You averaged 158 but those slow miles at the end probably brought down the average. My guess is you touched some 160s (possibly 164 in the first half and that cost you a bit at the end).

7 minute positive split. Major pain cave but you probably just mailed it in last couple of miles. Did your heart rate drop to 150 that last mile?

My first marathon was 3:29 so about the same. It was a training run though, ran 3:12 at berlin the next month.

Just waiting to get into Tokyo or London for one last hurrah, but they keep rejecting me.

Congrats Monte - well done on your first marathon. Your last 5 mile travails sound common but actually not too bad in the scheme of things. How was your mindset over that period?

Am guessing you'll be super sore tomorrow...particularly if you're sinking a load of cold ones tonight?

Good job monte.

Good job Monte!

Impressive first. Congrats! Lotsa work and commitment with other life obligations.

Nice job, Monte! Even with the plan unraveling, still a very nice result.

You may not be a Great Rich White, but we both know you can buy your way in. Just pony up and run.

he has freedom and visible abdominals. No man has more riches than that

Nice race!

Quite a bit of walking in miles 24 and 25, as you can see; I definitely touched some 164+ HRs in the first half, but it tracked with elevation and came down immediately thereafter so I thought it was fine (it obviously wasn't). Any little hill in those last few miles I wanted no part of. Lesson learned; the next one will be flat and I'll be even more conservative then I think I need to be in the first half.

My mindset was pretty bad; annoyed at myself for going out too fast and not being able to run the whole way, and just in a lot of pain. My right calf stiffened when I walked and loosened up when I ran, but other than that nothing pain-wise beyond what I'd expect for this level of exertion. I'm feeling better than I expected; no booze after the race, so no issue there - we had a six hour drive home yesterday so wanted to keep it reasonable.

Thanks bros!

Truer words have never been spoken!

Good effort!

I give that monte race a B-.

Check out my even split Berlin beauty. This is an A-. Ignore the bump in the first two miles, that's cadence lock. It's pretty funny that many think that bump is race day jitters. It's not, race day jitters are fake. Mile 20+ that heart rate dip is for real, I started walking due to hamstring cramping. I was about to mail it in, when one of my best buddies showed up in roller blades at the Berlin marathon and I heard him yell, you got this loco, come on man. It was a surreal experience. He had said he was coming but i didn't hear from him, it was sickening that he found me at mile22. I hit the hidden reserves and I even split that beatch marathon and thought I was going to Boston. The camera man took my most iconic running pic of all time at mile 25. I am checking my watch and behind me some guys are carryng a fallen warrior to the finish line. Sickening. Started crying at the finish. When you run a beautiful marathon its a thing of beauty.

But any ways going back to the monte. It's obvious he was mainly using pace, he was shooting for sub3:30.

The first mile was a bit hot, maybe hilly or had to pass a few people. Mile 3 to mile 5 is probably downhill, would of liked to see heart rate remain in the 150s even if you popped 3 miles at 7:40 pace.

Minute 45:00 to 1:15 is where we see the first major mistake. That's way too hot, this cost you a minute or two.

But you adjusted and reigned it very nicely. However at 2:15 we see almost close to one hour of 163-168 heart rate. Ouch. By 3:05 you knew it was game over. I mean I am pretty sure I said it multiple times, we can't see those mid160s til mile 20 or even 23. You saw them like at mile 15 and just cranked out 6 miles basically redlining.

He gave it a good shot, that's for sure. The donks always say, a marathon is halfway at mile20. I never really believed that shiet because I am mostly guided by my heart. But today I believe it a bit more.

I will leave you with a scene that summarizes what happened in Chattanooga.

Last thing I will say is that is some damn fell wrathian heart from mile 14 to mile 21. After something like that, life is a lot easier.

Just gotta combine that with an even split or slightly negative split. And that is marathon nirvana.

Congrats

Thank you sir!

All fair; I didn't quite realize how much extra energy I was burning in the first 20 miles and just couldn't hold it even though the last few miles were net downhill. I knew that "banking time" in the first half isn't a viable strategy and that wasn't what I was doing - I just felt really good and was trying to take advantage of the downhill portions. Lesson learned for next time, hopefully.

High praise dot gif. I think I'm going to do the local ultra in June (~50k down the Monon, which is a paved running and biking trail in Indy) and then do the Monumental Marathon November 9th. It's quite a bit flatter and I've run a fair bit of the route already, so it should be a fair bit less stressful.

Ran four miles Tuesday and four miles this morning at about a 9:45 pace; HR very slightly elevated over what I'd expect (mid 130s instead of high 120s/low 130s), but I suppose that's to be expected. I think I'm going to try a light lifting session tomorrow and see how that goes.

That Indy marathon is top5 fast flat marathon.

Not only is it flat it is scheduled at the perfect date, almost always cool.

Berlin and Chicago need to move to late october/early November. Too damn hot these days.

Unfortunately the Indy marathon has got to be pretty damn boring and not scenic. IndygonnaIndy. But yeah if you live there, an excellent option.

Sub3:20 or Bust. Well I don't know if I should say that, after you busted in Chattanooga. But Chicago calling afterwards, so no choice. Sub3:20 or Bust.