Background

A goal for 2010 that carried into 2011 is the completion of a marathon.

Referenced in previous writings were attempts to complete the Marine Corps Marathon in 2010 and the Richmond Marathon in 2011. Both races were held around the same time, late October (2010 MCM) and mid-November (2011 Richmond). Due to injury, the initial goal attempt came to an abrupt halt due to a back injury sustained after finishing 15 miles. This resulted in an intense year of chiropractic care and self-maintenance with particular attention placed upon form and foot strike. After registering for Richmond Marathon this year and working really hard to achieve results, I had to withdraw from the race due to flu contracted the week before which kept me bedridden. The emotional letdown after the buildup left me unsatisfied. A couple of weeks after Richmond, while planning for a scheduled vacation in Florida, I learned about the Palm Beach Marathon via the Active.com racing newsletter.

Following is my attempt to journal my first marathon.

After learning of the marathon, my first thought concerned my base. I already went through 2 weeks of taper, the flu and an additional week of Thanksgiving before discovering this marathon. After consulting my coach, Jeff Kline of PRSFit, we both agreed that the marathon could be accomplished with a race plan of 9 minutes running and 1 minute walking.

So, off I went. The 3 or 4 days before the race were spent drinking lots of water, keeping my legs elevated and rested when not doing a workout and enjoying my vacation.

The Friday before the race, Gloria, my Mom and I traveled to West Palm Beach and the race expo to pick up my bib and tracking strip. Judging by the size of the expo, I didn’t think the race was all that big. This turned out to be true and affected how the race was organized.

The wheelchair race starting at 6:30 AM; and the 10K, half marathon and marathon starting at 6:45 AM on the same course. The impact of different racing venues was felt in ways that were not intuitive before the race started.

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