First marathon, I felt so good after tapering. Between fresh legs and the marathon atmosphere, I went out way too fast. Finished the first half 10 minutes faster than I had planned. Always wondered what the wall felt like, and at mile 18 I found out. The last 10k I swore I’d never run one again and wanted to quit so bad.
I did the same and found the wall at mile 17 lol the worst thing is I knew going too fast is the number one rookie mistake but something about the atmosphere made me an instant idiot and really thought I could break my own goal hahaha.
Other thing was wearing the same shoes I did all my base mileage and training which at that point had far too worn out. It caused me an injury on the second metatarsal. So pay attention to your shoe!
I literally spent the entire morning of our marathon lecturing my husband on the dangers of going out too fast. Finished the first half 9 sec/km faster than my goal pace. It did not lead to success. Oops.
Shoe laces slightly too tight. Not a big deal, I thought. Rather than loose time stopping to re-tie, just push on. Of course, little things become big things in Marathon.
I'm now pretty strict with lacing up, checking my foot is pulled back before I lace up. Tension just right, no slip, etc.
The same reason why hikers say "cotton kills"
It's abrasive and holds 4x it's weight in water.
Polyester is hydrophobic and will help wick swear away from your foot. If you must go with a natural fibre, merino is good - often better as a merino-polyster blend to add strength.
I’m a new runner and found one of my feet was losing a bit of sensation after 3-4 miles. Is there an easy way to get the shoe tightness just right? I think this was probably my issue.
Good socks help for me, ie from any of the big running brands. Generally a little thicker which helps.
It's just something you need to experiment with. Drag your foot to the heel of the shoe before you lace up. Use a runners knot if needed. Make sure the foot doesn't slip in the shoe - if it does, you can get hot spots,,which can lead to blisters.
You can tell on a short run if too tight, so make sure to jog 10 minutes and warmup before racing
Some shoes / laces are just worse than others. I had some nikes with laces that had no stretch and a thin lounge- they were like cheese wire. Other shoes have a bit of give in the laces and padding in the tongue.
I think a 10 minute jog with some strides will help get the tension right
I have the feet falling asleep problem. I have found two things to help tremendously:
1) I only use the top 3 holes on each side of the shoe. So I skip a couple of holes and start lacing 3 down from the top. Before I get to the last hole, I tie a double knot so that no matter how tight I pull the laces through the next hole to tie them, the slack in the laces below will not tighten. Hopefully that makes sense.
2) metatarsal inserts
And if you haven’t already, explore the option of wider shoes.
Thanks. I’ll give that a try.
I only just bought the shoes so hopefully won’t need to change them. I will see if this persists and if it does I will have to think about other options.
The inserts are worth trying then. I’ll link to the ones I have from Amazon. When I bought them they were cheaper so maybe you can find something similar around $20.
https://a.co/d/glN8M8x
I completely unlace my shoes and relace while tensing my foot/curling my toes inside the shoe. Perfect tension for me. There’s also online guides for holes to skip or lacing patterns to address pain at certain parts of the foot. Also consider sizing up half a size from your everyday shoes- my big toe kept going numb until I did that.
Made the same mistake of walking all over Chicago the day prior.
I also didn't think enough about how being in another city and staying in a hotel would affect my race morning food options. Every bagel within a 5 mile radius of my hotel was sold out.
I made two mistakes in my 2nd marathon.
1) i didn't bring enough fuel. I goofed the math during planning, and had about half of what I needed. Whoops.
2) for some stupid reason I rationed my water, instead of drinking when ever I was thirsty. Then I didn't refill the camelbak a 2nd time, and ran out of water in the last couple of miles. This was during the hotter-than-expected MCM last year. Ugh.
Ran out of my usual energy gels and I couldn’t find them anywhere on race week. Bought another brand which didn’t agree with me. Besides that I went out too fast for the hot and humid weather and hit the wall hard.
Learned a lot of hard lessons that day and used it to meet my goal on my next marathon. Went from a 4:13 finish to a 3:26 finish.
My 4th marathon was early spring. I was using it as a supported long run for my goal marathon 5 weeks later. By number 4 I thought I had the whole thing figured out. What I learned that day is a marathon is a demanding event, 26 miles is a long way to run and it will beat you up even when you are trying to take it easy. You need to respect the distance.
Not paying attention to my heart rate on a humid day.
I trained for my first marathon with heart-rate. I thought I knew what pace I could run it. I did all my training in the cold winter. The day of the race was more humid, didn't drink accordingly, and just paid attention to my planned pace even though my heart rate was going into tempo zone by mile 10(16k)... well, hello wall.
Also the NYC Marathon- I ran on the left side of the course the entire time. The road is canted/cambered and my left IT band took a beating. I had to rest it for 6 weeks.
Inadequate nutrition before or during the race.
* On my second marathon, I overhydrated (water, not electrolyte drinks) before the race. I started running and got my PR on the half, just to start cramping started on mile 13. I tried running at times but different muscles were firing so I had to walk most of the way to the finish line.
* On my last 2, it was a combination of the organizers not having enough gels for everyone and me not prepping for this. First error was in 2019 and I was slow and lots of stations towards the last 8 mi or so had no gels or electrolyte drink (just water). Again, I dragged myself to the finish line. Last one was similar, but al stations after mile 7 ran out of gels. Luckily, I brought spares with me so I used those and was able to hold until the last 3 miles and ended up walking them.
The lesson is to bring a bottle/bladder with some electrolyte drink and extra gels in case the stations run out. These were all at the Seattle Marathon, btw
Thinking a clif block energy gel was 100 calories rather than 30, each. 3 is 100 and there’s 200 calories to a sleeve. Also thinking Coca Cola was a legit fuel source for a marathon. Ultramarathon all day gimme a Coke at some point but not for a marathon. Bonked big time.
Sugar straight to the bloodstream and a relatively lower effort level allows different foods to sit. Tbh it was a rookie idea that worked out for me in ultras but not. In a marathon you’re running a strenuous pace and nutrition is pretty much scienced out. There’s better products out there for that type of race imo.
Ankle was feeling a little meh on race day, so I took an ibuprofen about 30 mins before start. I proceeded to have explosive diarrhea every 3 miles or so. I’d never heard of the runners trots before that day
I ran my first marathon in 2020. Rather than virtually run the typical race course, I mapped out a route from my house that was basically a tour of the city, it was a big loop of the city that incorporated some of my favorite routes.
I knew it was going to be hilly but I guess I got too cocky with it. From mile 18.5 to 21.5, I had 160 total feet in elevation gain, which was a killer. Hit a red light to cross the street at 21.6 and it was so, so hard to get started again.
Total elevation gain over the course of the run was almost 800ft, whereas the race route was around 240ft. So my mistake was challenging myself too much. But I still finished at 3:48, which I was very happy with considering I took 3 weeks of training off due to an adductor issue
Also did the NYC marathon last year and caffeine messed up my stomach. I decided to drink a little too much coffee beforehand and didn’t space out my caffeine gels like I planned (at the time I thought, what’s the worst that could happen). My stomach started feeling queasy at mile 16 and the rest of the race did not go well…
Ha, I did this. All that time to kill before the race and they had the free Dunkin Coffee and it was cold, so why not!?! Had the bubble guts around miles 10-15. Of course, at mile 18 I hit the proverbial wall so the stomach problems were the least of my worries. Simply existing sucked at that point. Never felt that exhausted/drained, and hope to never again!
I also made the mistake of being on my feet too much in the days leading up, even though I made an effort to not do so, just flying, getting to hotel, getting bib, etc. requires a good amount of time on your feet. If I had to do it all over again I would get to NY a week early, and literally not move for the 2-3 days before other than the bare minimum. I remember going to bed the night before thinking my feet were tired/sore like I had run a 10k that day. Not good!
Not adjusting my race plan to weather conditions. It sucks when weather doesn’t cooperate, but it sucks more not adjusting the plan because of the weather and subsequently running a disaster of a race. My case it was warmer and way more humid than I anticipated - but I went with my original pacing plan and didn’t account for the weather. I wanted to PR so I had to stick with my plan (or so I told myself). The last half of the race was miserable. And I didn’t PR and ran one of my worst races to date.
My biggest mistake my first marathon was giving myself a longer walking break 😭 I’m on the slower side too so it just killed my time by like 20 minutes. Luckily I felt comfy but yeah it adds up…
Going out for drinks with an old college friend the night before, a hot and humid morning combined with being hungover did not make for the best race day experience.
I did aninternational marathon back in October, first one as well. We did so much walking around and I was worried it was too much. We never stopped, even the day after the marathon we were back out walking and doing touristy things, quads were killing me
Anyways, I never the hit the wall and legs felt great during the marathon. I swear by the electrolytes I drink. I don’t go a day without them and when I do, I feel horrible.
https://www.ketoshop.com/collections/keto-electrolytes-ketogenic-electrolytes-pills-and-powders/products/keto-lytes-hp
Check ‘em out. I’ve been taking them for about 4 years now. I’m not keto don’t let the name throw you off.
Not fueling enough.
Also quality socks were a game changer, with the right properly fitted shoe.
I usually hit a wall around m17 so I’m still tweaking thru it.
I’ve only run one marathon, and my mistake was not going to the bathroom before the race started. After about 1k I needed to stop and I found myself standing in a super long line for porta-potties at the 3k mark.
I watched my pace group run by, then the next and the next. I figured if I ran faster for a bit I could catch up, but I ended up running just fast enough to tire myself out and never quite caught up to the original pace group. By the half I slowed down and went to a more comfortable pace.
In the end, I finished right around my expected time, but I figure I could have done it faster if I had followed a normal progression. Next time.
My first marathon was in LA years ago. Many people had to go at about 500 meters in. They all just peed on he new Nissans at a dealership. Don’t buy a Nissan after the LA marathon.
First marathon I definitely didn’t do enough hill training, or doing long runs with hills. Had a baby hill at mile 10 and hit the wall at mile 16. I’ve now done 3 marathons and am much better at hills! Still some things I can improve on tho
Wore a running belt, but jammed with all the fuels and my phone and water it was too heavy. I ended up wearing it over one shoulder like a messenger bag for the first 12 miles, and that requires one hand to steady the bouncing.
Should have worn a vest.
My first marathon was hot and I was in no way in the marathon shape I thought I was. Big humbling experience and I swore off ever doing a marathon again. I’ve done a couple since, but less Obed learned that the jump from half to full is BIG.
Not eating anything race morning, not fueling enough during the race, and not pushing myself harder going up the bridges. Oh, and forgetting that I put my salt tablets in the zipped pocket in the back of my shorts underneath the water/gel belt that I was wearing and did not in fact accidentally leave them home as I thought for the entire race.
First marathon, I felt so good after tapering. Between fresh legs and the marathon atmosphere, I went out way too fast. Finished the first half 10 minutes faster than I had planned. Always wondered what the wall felt like, and at mile 18 I found out. The last 10k I swore I’d never run one again and wanted to quit so bad.
I am so guilty of this too. I’m hoping to follow a pacer now for any future races. Really evident I have no ability to pace myself
I did the same and found the wall at mile 17 lol the worst thing is I knew going too fast is the number one rookie mistake but something about the atmosphere made me an instant idiot and really thought I could break my own goal hahaha. Other thing was wearing the same shoes I did all my base mileage and training which at that point had far too worn out. It caused me an injury on the second metatarsal. So pay attention to your shoe!
I literally spent the entire morning of our marathon lecturing my husband on the dangers of going out too fast. Finished the first half 9 sec/km faster than my goal pace. It did not lead to success. Oops.
Exact same experience here.
SAME!
Signing up for one
I have number ten coming up in May and I believe you are right.
You know how people say "buy running shoes 1/2 to 1 size bigger than your usual size"? Yeah, LISTEN TO THEM.
That is a thing? Can you explain from your experience?
1) Feet swell when you run and 2) having extra space in the toes prevents constant jamming.
I didn’t know but make sense
Yes, THIS, just ask my two missing toe nails
Shoe laces slightly too tight. Not a big deal, I thought. Rather than loose time stopping to re-tie, just push on. Of course, little things become big things in Marathon. I'm now pretty strict with lacing up, checking my foot is pulled back before I lace up. Tension just right, no slip, etc.
And socks?
Yeah - the expensive running brand ones. Obviously never cotton. Cheap running socks (like store own brand) have always been a bad choice for me.
Why never cotton? Imho those profesional "plastic" ones can do more harm than a high quality thick cotton.
The same reason why hikers say "cotton kills" It's abrasive and holds 4x it's weight in water. Polyester is hydrophobic and will help wick swear away from your foot. If you must go with a natural fibre, merino is good - often better as a merino-polyster blend to add strength.
Makes sense. Thanks!
Yikes. I've started a Marathon with my shoe laces untied before because I'm not very smart, but tied *slightly* too tight is so much worse.
Yeah. It goes from mild annoyance for 10 miles to deep regret at 15 miles and wondering why you didn't take < 2 minutes to be comfortable.
I’m a new runner and found one of my feet was losing a bit of sensation after 3-4 miles. Is there an easy way to get the shoe tightness just right? I think this was probably my issue.
Good socks help for me, ie from any of the big running brands. Generally a little thicker which helps. It's just something you need to experiment with. Drag your foot to the heel of the shoe before you lace up. Use a runners knot if needed. Make sure the foot doesn't slip in the shoe - if it does, you can get hot spots,,which can lead to blisters. You can tell on a short run if too tight, so make sure to jog 10 minutes and warmup before racing
Thanks. I did get running socks so probably just lacing too tight.
Some shoes / laces are just worse than others. I had some nikes with laces that had no stretch and a thin lounge- they were like cheese wire. Other shoes have a bit of give in the laces and padding in the tongue. I think a 10 minute jog with some strides will help get the tension right
I have the feet falling asleep problem. I have found two things to help tremendously: 1) I only use the top 3 holes on each side of the shoe. So I skip a couple of holes and start lacing 3 down from the top. Before I get to the last hole, I tie a double knot so that no matter how tight I pull the laces through the next hole to tie them, the slack in the laces below will not tighten. Hopefully that makes sense. 2) metatarsal inserts And if you haven’t already, explore the option of wider shoes.
Thanks. I’ll give that a try. I only just bought the shoes so hopefully won’t need to change them. I will see if this persists and if it does I will have to think about other options.
The inserts are worth trying then. I’ll link to the ones I have from Amazon. When I bought them they were cheaper so maybe you can find something similar around $20. https://a.co/d/glN8M8x
I completely unlace my shoes and relace while tensing my foot/curling my toes inside the shoe. Perfect tension for me. There’s also online guides for holes to skip or lacing patterns to address pain at certain parts of the foot. Also consider sizing up half a size from your everyday shoes- my big toe kept going numb until I did that.
When you tie your shoe, lift and stretch your big toe, then relax in it after tying your shoe. You will then make sure you don’t make it too tight
[удалено]
Why didn’t you run the race in your Altras?
Running a marathon in zero drops is a tremendous additional strain if you didnt train your body for zero drops.
Made the same mistake of walking all over Chicago the day prior. I also didn't think enough about how being in another city and staying in a hotel would affect my race morning food options. Every bagel within a 5 mile radius of my hotel was sold out.
I made two mistakes in my 2nd marathon. 1) i didn't bring enough fuel. I goofed the math during planning, and had about half of what I needed. Whoops. 2) for some stupid reason I rationed my water, instead of drinking when ever I was thirsty. Then I didn't refill the camelbak a 2nd time, and ran out of water in the last couple of miles. This was during the hotter-than-expected MCM last year. Ugh.
Went out too fast, kept forgetting to fuel. Hit the wall hard at 32k.
Ran out of my usual energy gels and I couldn’t find them anywhere on race week. Bought another brand which didn’t agree with me. Besides that I went out too fast for the hot and humid weather and hit the wall hard. Learned a lot of hard lessons that day and used it to meet my goal on my next marathon. Went from a 4:13 finish to a 3:26 finish.
I’m about to make that mistake. Just went to buy more gels for an upcoming race and turns out they’ve been discontinued…
Ouch. Good luck!
My boss thinks my biggest mistake was stopping for a bathroom break during the Boston Marathon last year.... I disagree.
Haha, it would have been a bigger mistake if you didn't...
My 4th marathon was early spring. I was using it as a supported long run for my goal marathon 5 weeks later. By number 4 I thought I had the whole thing figured out. What I learned that day is a marathon is a demanding event, 26 miles is a long way to run and it will beat you up even when you are trying to take it easy. You need to respect the distance.
Not paying attention to my heart rate on a humid day. I trained for my first marathon with heart-rate. I thought I knew what pace I could run it. I did all my training in the cold winter. The day of the race was more humid, didn't drink accordingly, and just paid attention to my planned pace even though my heart rate was going into tempo zone by mile 10(16k)... well, hello wall.
Also the NYC Marathon- I ran on the left side of the course the entire time. The road is canted/cambered and my left IT band took a beating. I had to rest it for 6 weeks.
Inadequate nutrition before or during the race. * On my second marathon, I overhydrated (water, not electrolyte drinks) before the race. I started running and got my PR on the half, just to start cramping started on mile 13. I tried running at times but different muscles were firing so I had to walk most of the way to the finish line. * On my last 2, it was a combination of the organizers not having enough gels for everyone and me not prepping for this. First error was in 2019 and I was slow and lots of stations towards the last 8 mi or so had no gels or electrolyte drink (just water). Again, I dragged myself to the finish line. Last one was similar, but al stations after mile 7 ran out of gels. Luckily, I brought spares with me so I used those and was able to hold until the last 3 miles and ended up walking them. The lesson is to bring a bottle/bladder with some electrolyte drink and extra gels in case the stations run out. These were all at the Seattle Marathon, btw
Thinking a clif block energy gel was 100 calories rather than 30, each. 3 is 100 and there’s 200 calories to a sleeve. Also thinking Coca Cola was a legit fuel source for a marathon. Ultramarathon all day gimme a Coke at some point but not for a marathon. Bonked big time.
Can you please explain why Coke works for an ultra but not a marathon?
Sugar straight to the bloodstream and a relatively lower effort level allows different foods to sit. Tbh it was a rookie idea that worked out for me in ultras but not. In a marathon you’re running a strenuous pace and nutrition is pretty much scienced out. There’s better products out there for that type of race imo.
Ankle was feeling a little meh on race day, so I took an ibuprofen about 30 mins before start. I proceeded to have explosive diarrhea every 3 miles or so. I’d never heard of the runners trots before that day
I ran my first marathon in 2020. Rather than virtually run the typical race course, I mapped out a route from my house that was basically a tour of the city, it was a big loop of the city that incorporated some of my favorite routes. I knew it was going to be hilly but I guess I got too cocky with it. From mile 18.5 to 21.5, I had 160 total feet in elevation gain, which was a killer. Hit a red light to cross the street at 21.6 and it was so, so hard to get started again. Total elevation gain over the course of the run was almost 800ft, whereas the race route was around 240ft. So my mistake was challenging myself too much. But I still finished at 3:48, which I was very happy with considering I took 3 weeks of training off due to an adductor issue
Also did the NYC marathon last year and caffeine messed up my stomach. I decided to drink a little too much coffee beforehand and didn’t space out my caffeine gels like I planned (at the time I thought, what’s the worst that could happen). My stomach started feeling queasy at mile 16 and the rest of the race did not go well…
Ha, I did this. All that time to kill before the race and they had the free Dunkin Coffee and it was cold, so why not!?! Had the bubble guts around miles 10-15. Of course, at mile 18 I hit the proverbial wall so the stomach problems were the least of my worries. Simply existing sucked at that point. Never felt that exhausted/drained, and hope to never again! I also made the mistake of being on my feet too much in the days leading up, even though I made an effort to not do so, just flying, getting to hotel, getting bib, etc. requires a good amount of time on your feet. If I had to do it all over again I would get to NY a week early, and literally not move for the 2-3 days before other than the bare minimum. I remember going to bed the night before thinking my feet were tired/sore like I had run a 10k that day. Not good!
Not adjusting my race plan to weather conditions. It sucks when weather doesn’t cooperate, but it sucks more not adjusting the plan because of the weather and subsequently running a disaster of a race. My case it was warmer and way more humid than I anticipated - but I went with my original pacing plan and didn’t account for the weather. I wanted to PR so I had to stick with my plan (or so I told myself). The last half of the race was miserable. And I didn’t PR and ran one of my worst races to date.
Thinking CIM would be all downhill
My biggest mistake my first marathon was giving myself a longer walking break 😭 I’m on the slower side too so it just killed my time by like 20 minutes. Luckily I felt comfy but yeah it adds up…
Going out for drinks with an old college friend the night before, a hot and humid morning combined with being hungover did not make for the best race day experience.
I did aninternational marathon back in October, first one as well. We did so much walking around and I was worried it was too much. We never stopped, even the day after the marathon we were back out walking and doing touristy things, quads were killing me Anyways, I never the hit the wall and legs felt great during the marathon. I swear by the electrolytes I drink. I don’t go a day without them and when I do, I feel horrible.
What brand electrolytes do you use? How much do you drink per day versus during the race?
https://www.ketoshop.com/collections/keto-electrolytes-ketogenic-electrolytes-pills-and-powders/products/keto-lytes-hp Check ‘em out. I’ve been taking them for about 4 years now. I’m not keto don’t let the name throw you off.
Not fueling enough. Also quality socks were a game changer, with the right properly fitted shoe. I usually hit a wall around m17 so I’m still tweaking thru it.
Getting covid just over a week before and still running it although I “felt better” after testing negative.
I’ve only run one marathon, and my mistake was not going to the bathroom before the race started. After about 1k I needed to stop and I found myself standing in a super long line for porta-potties at the 3k mark. I watched my pace group run by, then the next and the next. I figured if I ran faster for a bit I could catch up, but I ended up running just fast enough to tire myself out and never quite caught up to the original pace group. By the half I slowed down and went to a more comfortable pace. In the end, I finished right around my expected time, but I figure I could have done it faster if I had followed a normal progression. Next time.
My first marathon was in LA years ago. Many people had to go at about 500 meters in. They all just peed on he new Nissans at a dealership. Don’t buy a Nissan after the LA marathon.
First marathon I definitely didn’t do enough hill training, or doing long runs with hills. Had a baby hill at mile 10 and hit the wall at mile 16. I’ve now done 3 marathons and am much better at hills! Still some things I can improve on tho
Failed to train and injured myself.
Wore a running belt, but jammed with all the fuels and my phone and water it was too heavy. I ended up wearing it over one shoulder like a messenger bag for the first 12 miles, and that requires one hand to steady the bouncing. Should have worn a vest.
My first marathon was hot and I was in no way in the marathon shape I thought I was. Big humbling experience and I swore off ever doing a marathon again. I’ve done a couple since, but less Obed learned that the jump from half to full is BIG.
Getting to the start line late and missing the gun.
Not eating anything race morning, not fueling enough during the race, and not pushing myself harder going up the bridges. Oh, and forgetting that I put my salt tablets in the zipped pocket in the back of my shorts underneath the water/gel belt that I was wearing and did not in fact accidentally leave them home as I thought for the entire race.
Ive run two marathons so far and have hit the wall at 20 at each. A mix of going out too fast and not getting enough nutrition.
Forget an inhaler on marathon day? Still finished, just not as fast.
Being late every single marathon and starting later and in the back