Heading into NYC, I had felt confident in my training and fitness, as I was able hit my targets in all of the workouts. And I had experienced no issues during the long runs either, and was consistently able to run 3:10 marathon pace for the MP workouts.
NYC, on top of being a difficult course, the amount of people running the race, also proved to be a challenge! I went through the first half in exactly 1:35, and the second half ended up being 1:45. The day ended up being hotter than I expected, and I had also spent more time on my feet exploring NYC in the days prior to the marathon. After crossing halfway, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to maintain that pace for the second half, so I decided to back off the pace and enjoy the crowds and atmosphere of the race for the remainder.
Leading into CIM, I had not been able to do much training between NYC and CIM, but I still felt recovered and confident in my ability to race. I ended up running 1:37 for the first half, and the second half in 2:12. The first 5km or so felt pretty good and easy, as one would expect, and I kept cruising (on 3:10 pace) till about 10km or so. The next part of the race, kimoleters 10-15, I knew would be the toughest part of the course, and I had expected to drift slightly from MP at this point, so I wasn’t too concerned about my splits here. However after this section, I felt that my hamstrings (both sides) were feeling tighter than I would have liked at this point in the race, and around here is when I knew that today wasn’t the day for a 3:10.
My goal then shifted to maintaining a consistent pace to finish in under 3:20 (my NYC marathon time). Right before half way, I ran a little bit with a team member and had exchanged some words too, it was refreshing to be able to chat to a fellow team member during the race. After reaching halfway in 1:37, I thought that I should be able to maintain the current pace till the finish, however over the next few rolling hills - my hamstrings and IT bands just getting tighter and tighter, and on top of that, the big toes of my feet were starting to hurt too. I decided to slow down to a walk for a few aid stations, in order to recompose myself and being overtaken by the 3:20 and 3:30 pace groups, my goal had then shifted to just getting to the finish, no matter how long it took.
Taking my shoes off after the race, I had seen two blisters on both big toes of my feet, and this had justified the pain that I felt during the race.
I think the tightness I felt in my hamstrings/ IT band could be attributed to my bike commuting during the week of the marathon, so leading into the next marathon - my learning is that I am planning to tone down the bike commute during the final two week taper period too.
Overall, I think it was a tough ask to give 100% at both NYC and CIM in such a short period of time. Looking forward to taking it easy, before diving back into Boston training.
Although I am a bit disappointed about my times for this year, it fuels me with motivation for Boston next year!