Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon - RunMarathon

My plan was to go conservative and just finish sub 4:30. I started in the back with the Jamie's (they were doing the 1/2). As the gun went off I started quick. I was freezing and wanted to warm up and get the blood flowing. I found my first mile at an 8:36 pace, despite the waeving I did from the back. I decided to maintain that pace until it became uncomfortable then back off a little. I stayed in the mid 8's for several miles, then the thought of a sub 4:00 mary started bouncing through my head. My legs were holding up surprisingly well and I decided to re-calculate my plan at the halfway point. I got to mile 14 and decided to break it down to 2 10k's to make the mileage ahead of me more palatable. I continued the sub 9:00 pace until mile 18, and then slowly started to fade. I knew that I had enough "deposits" of time in the bank to start hitting 9:30's, but still tried to maintain the best pace possible.Pace started slipping at mile 18 when I saw Amy K and mile 23 was when the real pain began. The legs were feeling depleted and the heart rate was rising as the pace started really dropping. The little hills started feeling like big hills, and my finicky achilles started to really misbehave. This was new mileage territory for me and I knew the last 5 k I would have to dig really deep to pull off the sub 4, and I was right- it sucked. with 2.5 miles to go Jonathan (j22)ran up to meet me and pace me in. It was just what I needed. Mile 26 was a beast- I dropped to 10:41 and I watched the 4:00 pace group run ahead of me like I was standing still, even though my heart rate was at LT. at this point I had about half a mile to go and picked it up. Jonathan ran ahead to the finish line and then the adrenaline started to kick in. I waved to Jamie and High fived Rivi on the way in. I pulled it off. I could barely hold myself up as I received my finishers medal and framed bib. I had a weird outflow of emotion mixed with pain. I was a sweaty,salty,bloody,exhausted mess, and I've never felt better.

Just train more. I had injury issues all the way up to race day due to ramping up the mileage so much and being a larger runner. I think my mental effort exceeded my physical capabilities. I need to dig a little deeper in training like I do on race day.

Stumbled and bumbled until I found jamie. Got some pizza and a coke, then stretched


general inexperience at this distance. Could lose a few more pounds, injuries


Good race with above average post race activities for a smaler low key race. I was a first time mrathoner so they gave me a framed bib number which I thought was a nice touch.
My only complaint was there were no portapotties on the run. I have never seen so many people running into the woods (men and women) peeing and pooing- It was just weird!