Yesterday, I finished my first ever marathon – the Columbus Marathon!! I had done several half-marathons in the past, but training for the full was a different beast. The 80/20 level 1 marathon plan was perfect for getting me there in a sustainable, injury-free way.
It was a cool, clear fall morning, which was absolutely perfect for the race. I was very cognizant of my pacing early on – the first half is shared with the half-marathon course, which has more participants, so I wanted to be sure not to burn out by getting caught up in the atmosphere. But I kept my pace in check and actually had a slightly negative split for the second half. Nutrition was another huge component, and I feel like I was pretty successful here. I never really hit a wall (advice from Matt’s “The New Rules…” was a huge influence on my nutrition plan), where I saw a lot of others dropping off to walk between miles 17 and the finish.
Since this was my first marathon, my goals were to finish and to not walk at all, both of which I was able to accomplish. My time was 4:35:04, which I was very happy with for a first effort. I wasn’t sure if this was something I would do just once or would come back to, but now that I’ve done it, I feel like another one is probably in the cards somewhere down the road.
Thanks to 80/20 for the plan and for this community’s advice along the way!
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