Marathon #6
Jacksonville is marathon #6 for me! (1-4 all happened between 2005 – 2009, and then my second wave started this May).
Fun fact: I have PR’d every single marathon I ran! Well, until yesterday. (Trajectory was: 4:01 –> 3:56 –> 3:53 –> 3:48 –> 3:35). I was prepared for and expecting that, so it wasn’t a disappointment. But noteworthy.
Training
I did train decently for this race. I am not sure when I considered my training block to actually start; after a brief recovery from May’s marathon I was back to 50-ish miles/week by mid-June. Most weeks I have been running in the low 50s range, with a few high 50s and a peak of 62.
I feel like I have this story in my head about not training well, but I did work reasonably hard for this race. The difference was that I took more cutback weeks, did not hit 70 mpw (I did for Bayshore ~3 weeks in a row), and missed my last 20 miler due to illness. The summer (AND OCTOBER OMG) was brutal weather-wise, life was tough for a good bit of hat stretch, and I needed those cutbacks.
THE YEAR:
PAST 3 MONTHS:
Long runs, beginning September 7:
12, 17, 18, Fail (Hurricane Helene), 17, 14, 18, 18, 16, 14, 20, 20, 10 (failed 20 – sick), 12
Many of those were run in disgusting weather, like 80+F and 90% humidity. I am not ever planning on marathon training over the FL summer/early fall (which is still summer, weather-wise) ever again.
So yes, I did train a decent amount! But I had a higher number of workouts that just didn’t go well, took more cutback time, and just didn’t feel like there was a ton of progress during this block. I’ll get into some analysis on that at the end.
Race Day!
Data below from racecast– great tool for race day weather stalking, by the way!
Things started out great weather-wise! It was a little windy but pretty cool and I remember thinking “I know it won’t stay like this, but it would be great if it did!”. Honestly I felt pretty great until it got close to 10 AM (the race started at 7). The temp started to approach 70, there was no shade, and the wind!! THE WIND WAS SO UNWELCOME at that point and of course it felt like it was 100% in my face.
The weather was not the only factor to explain my splits but the drop-off with the decline in conditions was real:
Miles 21 – 26 were a struggle even at the paces shown. I honestly had to convince myself just to keep going and am surprised my paces didn’t fall off even MORE off a cliff (though the above is pretty bad!).
I did in fact go out too fast, but really only for mile 1 — I reigned it in pretty quickly. I think 8:20 was a reasonable goal for pace (and my final pace ended up being 8:28/mi). I also had an Apple Watch fail for the first 90 seconds (I thought I started it but nope) which is why my total distance shown on Strava is just over 26.2 rather than the typical 26.4ish because no one can run perfect tangents for 26.2!
OFFICIAL RESULT: 3:42:24
(I promise I didn’t skip the 13.1 mat!! It looks like that one was broken as others were missing it as well!)
I have mixed feelings about this race! On the plus side, it’s a BQ by 2:36! HOORAY for being in an older age group. Notably, they pushed all of the standards 5 minutes faster for 2026, so a 2:35 or lower buffer requirement actually is possible. I knew I wasn’t headed for a PR, so I wasn’t disappointed by that point at all.
On the minus, I wish the weather had been more favorable. I’ve read so many recent race reports where the weather was perfect and Jacksonville HAS had some beautiful coldish days – just not yesterday! I think (purely speculative) I probably would have run closer to 3:40 under ideal conditions.
What Wasn’t Great About the Training Cycle
Well, the HEAT for most of it, as previously mentioned.
But also just a higher-than-normal amount of life stress (the Aug/Sept stuff which did kind of also impact my mental state in October). I’ve been working a LOT (courses, writing, etc).
I didn’t strength train AT ALL. Like nothing for weeks. I feel very lucky I did not get injured this year despite running so many miles with such little strength training. Muscle mass I used to have in my upper body is not there right now and I hate that! I want it back.
My nutrition was just kind of haphazard overall. Just not a lot of strategy or balance there. I did a 2-day carb load and was fine with during-race fueling (Gu Liquid Endurance every 3 miles just like last time!) but everyday eating was just meh, especially in the last month or so.
Josh’s race
So this is his story to tell, but he ended up stopping around mile 19. He ran 18 excellent miles (~7:30 pace) and then abruptly hit a wall (not literally, but in the running sense) and felt like he could not continue at any sort of reasonable pace for him and decided to call it and spare his body the damage.
His first DNF marathon . . hopefully the last!
His training cycle was great in some ways (fast workouts) and suboptimal in others (total mileage, lacking long runs). He knew this going in so I think he feels okay about all of it and ready to change things up for his next round!
So now what?
Well. I still want to run Boston 2026.
I have a time that might get me in, but also might not.
Josh wants to do it too and still needs his BQ for this cycle.
So . . . .
I think we are going to run Bayshore again (5.24.25)!!!! I KNOW, I was going to consider making 2025 a marathon-free year. And another race in 5.5 months is . . . a lot of marathons. But I just feel like I’m in a better headspace to train now and would very much enjoy a training cycle in much better weather (which will typically last at least the next ~4 months or so).
WHY pick the same race? Well, we loved it! The logistics and course were great. The timing is also ideal – I had already requested the days off and asked about childcare for those days because it is our anniversary. It’s not a guaranteed perfect weather day, but most years it’s decent. AND compared to a March/April race this gives me some recovery/regroup time.
Then, for the foreseeable future of my marathon running career, I’ll aim for one marathon/year in the spring. That feels like the right amount!
So do I regret running this race? Sort of a little bit! I think my instincts to stop the training cycle in September or thereabouts were probably kind of . . . the right ones. But it’s over now and it is nice to have it DONE.
We DID have a fantastic time just resting and relaxing after the race. We watched My Old Ass (recommend!) and Man on the Inside (all of it! also recommend). I feel super lucky that Josh enjoys racing and that this is something we get to do together and make a couples trip out of it.
Back at home + Today
We did miss Cameron scoring 2 goals (!) at a tournament game yesterday; our nanny has been in charge since Thursday afternoon and the parenting break has been absolutely lovely. About to head back (~5 hour drive) and prep for a new week that is going to come WAY before I’m ready.
(I am not off tomorrow though Josh is!)
I am SUUUUUUPER sore right now. I can’t remember if I felt this bad after Bayshore; maybe I did?! Definitely planning on taking it easy the next couple of weeks; we are also going SKIING in a week so hoping my muscles are totally ready for something completely different by then. (On that note I am excited NOT to run on the ski trip like I have in previous years!).
Well . . . I hope you have enjoyed this epic race report of a not-quite-as-epic race!! 2024 was definitely my best running year yet. Hopefully more to come in 2025!
18 Comments
Kae and I were tracking and texting back and forth so you had an upper Midwest cheering squad! I am sorry the race did not turn out like you hoped. I think that exhaustion can kind of compound. That is how I am feeling lately but for different days. It’s hard to maintain that high of mileage for that long and to train during a very unpleasant time of year in FL. Your plan to do one marathon/year in the spring makes so much sense, though, and we will make sure you stick to that goal. Ha. It’s good to have some accountability partners to remind you of things like this sometimes! Bayshore 2025 sounds awesome, though. I hope you can really take some time away did the next couple of weeks (aside from skiing of course) to give your body a rest before starting the next training cycle.
Aside from the race this sounded like a great getaway! It is wonderful to have an active hobby that gives you excuses to get away. My husband and I both run but he doesn’t race so our active getaway of choice would be hiking. I am hoping as the boys get older we can plan some hiking-centric trips when the boys are out of school in the summer.
Aww thank you!! I love that you guys were texting!!!!! I am not TOO disappointed – honestly could have been SO much worse and I’m thrilled to at least have made the BQ threshold. But just not like, ideal dream race like May felt like! (The bar was high!). I love the idea of hiking couples trips. Esp bc that’s an activity you can do into older decades, too.
Congrats on your run! I am sorry that it didn’t quite meet expectations, but there is always next time.
I know you know it, but strength training as a runner is SO important. I hope you find time to include it in your next cycle:)
100%!!! I know I’m really missing out by not doing it. Will prioritize even over miles this spring.
Congratulations! BQing is a big deal.
I feel like I had a similar experience training for and racing Chicago last fall. I didn’t have a good long run until the one that went awesome but I think pushed me into the realm of overtraining. Then I spent the whole race feeling completely flat. It’s just so hard to train through the heat and feel confident going into a race. Hopefully everything goes more smoothly going into Bayshore and you guys get your double BQ!
Both of the people from my running group who ran it commented on the weather – both the wind and the heat at the end. You even finished at almost exactly the same time as one of them :).
oh that’s cool!! YES Josh and I did plenty of strategizing about him fitting in runs so I think barring injury or other disasters he’ll be really well prepared for Bayshore. I feel validated by the heat/wind comment. It really was decent conditions the first ~2.5 hours!! And then . . . less so.
I saw you ran a 3:42 and thought you’d be disappointed, but I just want you to know that you’re still fast af. I’m excited you’ll be doing bayshore again! If you want any “up north” ideas for things to do I’d be happy to share!
absolutely would take recs!! Probably nothing super active because it’s basically going to be rest-marathon-rest but still sights / restaurant / ec recs welcome. Yes mixed feelings about the actual time but not feeling too bad about it. Mostly glad it’s done and ready to move forward!
Proud of you!!!!!! You persevered through a tough training cycle and still did so amazing, especially with less than ideal conditions. 🤩 And Josh, you’ll come back stronger next time and crush it (again) in May!
Well done Sarah!!! You did so well to keep going through those hard miles in the heat, and a great outcome overall. And Josh was smart to listen to his body and make the call to stop- not easy I can imagine after months of training. Glad you can rest during your skiing trip, and take a bit of a break before training for Bayshore.
SARAH! For what it’s worth, I am super proud of you. I know your training didn’t go as planned and I remember you shortly contemplated if you even wanted to run this race, but all things considered, you DID put in the work and you DID so well. I am super-impressed with your hard work. And you got your BQ!!! Also, you know I am in awe of you for running in heat and humidity, so that counts extra in my book!! I went on the tracker app but only caught you at the tail end of your race (damn time difference!) but know that I was there in spirit!
I do feel that strength and mobility work really helped my race so I hope you’ll figure out a way to incorporate that again going forward.
I am sorry that Josh had to DNF but that was probably smart on his part and he’ll come back stronger for the Bayshore Race!!
thank you so much!! I am seriously super excited to find out what YOU will decide to race next! I am 100% dedicated to adding back strength. I don’t love doing it but I don’t HATE it and I really miss how it made me feel and the effects on how strong I feel. Excited to be back. I wish Peloton offered more ‘programs’ because that’s what tends to motivate me (feel like I’m following something progressive)!!
Congrats! You showed up and ran a great race and you BQ’d. That is amazing! And I think it is really, really great that Josh bowed out when he knew it was best for his body. What a great example and I think that level of self-awareness is amazing! Finishing a race injured would put him a lot further behind than bowing out early. I am confident he will smash his goal in May!
Big congrats Sarah! You did so well, not as well as you’d wanted but still it’s a big deal BQing with so many things happening this training cycle around. It’s also great that you are fine with the outcome no matter what enjoying and having fun with josh. Bayshore would be awesome! there’s something comforting to go back to the race that you did well, you know the logistics, you know the course! that’s a great idea. I may have to think about it too.
Sarah I’m so happy for you! I was reflecting today that 2024 was a big EVERYTHING year for you. With so much going on, you didn’t just survive, you thrived! Marathon training is a part time job and I am so impressed that you did it among all of the other things you do. Enjoy a nice break with family (and without training!) over the holidays.
It was kind of a crazy packed year – but MOSTLY good stuff mixed with some hard stuff! Marathon training is a lot of time but clearly I love it! One 26.2 race a year though will be new plan starting next year 🙂 🙂
Oh wow!!!! I was thinking about you this weekend but didn’t expect the race report up so fast! First of all- you did GREAT. It wasn’t a PR but it was your second best marathon time. That weather really is disappointing. I would have hoped for 50s in JAX at this time of year, and I definitely think you would have had your 3:40 if it had been cooler. But you really weren’t far off. 3:42 is a great marathon time, and you trained for it in less-than-ideal conditions. I think your new plan is good- run a spring marathon (somewhere else- not in Florida) so your training will be in the winter months.
Anyway- congratulations to you, AND Josh, for making a wise decision to DNF. Sometimes it’s the right choice.
i hope you’re starting to feel a little less sore by now!