Nouli wrote:
btw - I've done New York twice, including capping a 3 marathons in 4 weeks stretch a few years back with a hobbled 2:45 finish. That was too many.
Nice post. I don't really understand this part, though. Your best is 2:42, but you capped a 3 marathons in 4 weeks stretch with a hobbled 2:45 finish? 3 minutes off your best? That doesn't sound too hobbled.[/quote]
Good point - I was definitely in shape for 2:38 that season, but it didn't work out for various reasons. At NYC my friends were mid-packers and I had no interest in running in the herd, and I felt good, so I said what the heck and went out at 2:41:30 pace (6:10's) to see if I could sneak under my somewhat soft 2:42 PR.
With dozens of marathons, I know that limits are well beyond where most people think they are, and that "hitting the wall" is often more mental than physical. I'd like to think I've pushed through more than most people do or would. However, on that day, the two prior marathons (both hard, but not full out) came crashing down like a ton of bricks at mile 24, and my legs were just gone.
I'm sure most folks have a comparable story of cracking, but this was different in that my feeling at the start, half, and even 20 was misleading versus what I actually had available to dig into. I've felt a lot worse a lot earlier and hung on better.
Net, the distance and effort stay with you longer than you probably think. I hit rock bottom, literally nothing left in my legs, and to use the bank account analogy, it took a very long time before I started living off interest rather than principal again. In my estimation that isn't too healthy a thing to be doing over and over again.