Post by Janet E on Oct 11, 2007 15:30:36 GMT -5
Last weekend I drove to Chicago to run the marathon with my cousin, who was running her first marathon ever. The goal was simple for me, stick my cousin and get her through it.
Little did I know when I signed up, what we were going to be dealing with!
My cousin hates the heat. The couple times she ran in the heat while training she struggled. Most of the time she tried to avoid it altogether. From what I seen out there on the course, many of the participants were not used to training in the heat.
Take-away point #1-- Train in all conditions so you are prepared.
Take-away point #2--Hydration should not be under-estimated. I was not running anywhere close to my long run pace, but I was still ridiculously thirsty. Both my cousin and I were sure to take in lots of fluids throughout the day....I am sure this is what helped my cousin to keep going.
Take-away point #3--When survival is your goal, don't be afraid to slow down earlier than later. It was obvious to me very early in the race that if we stuck with her goal pace, she may not make it.
It was my first Chicago marathon experience, one I am sure I will never forget. At mile 20 we heard the marathon was "officially over". It was a total mess of confusion and I felt really bad for all the people who had trained so hard. In the end, my cousin finished her first marathon and I was totally proud of her!
It really can be so rewarding to do a race for someone else besides yourself and I would encourage others to give it a try if you haven't.
My full report with pics can be found here-
www.daisyduc.blogspot.com/
Little did I know when I signed up, what we were going to be dealing with!
My cousin hates the heat. The couple times she ran in the heat while training she struggled. Most of the time she tried to avoid it altogether. From what I seen out there on the course, many of the participants were not used to training in the heat.
Take-away point #1-- Train in all conditions so you are prepared.
Take-away point #2--Hydration should not be under-estimated. I was not running anywhere close to my long run pace, but I was still ridiculously thirsty. Both my cousin and I were sure to take in lots of fluids throughout the day....I am sure this is what helped my cousin to keep going.
Take-away point #3--When survival is your goal, don't be afraid to slow down earlier than later. It was obvious to me very early in the race that if we stuck with her goal pace, she may not make it.
It was my first Chicago marathon experience, one I am sure I will never forget. At mile 20 we heard the marathon was "officially over". It was a total mess of confusion and I felt really bad for all the people who had trained so hard. In the end, my cousin finished her first marathon and I was totally proud of her!
It really can be so rewarding to do a race for someone else besides yourself and I would encourage others to give it a try if you haven't.
My full report with pics can be found here-
www.daisyduc.blogspot.com/