Finishing Prairie State

I had tried to run the Prairie State Marathon a few years ago. I remember it was a warm sunny day. And the course has this peculiarity - at mile 18, with 8 miles to go, you run right next to the finish line.

On that day, I was having a bad running day, and the temptation was overwhelming. I felt sure I could finish - but at a very slow pace. And I just wasn't looking forward to it. So I stopped, got back in my car, and drove home.

This time I had steeled myself in advance against the Mile 18 Temptation.

My big worry during the race was a sense, about half way through, that my left quadriceps was working up to a cramp. It happened in a big way right at the end of my 2012 marathon. It came close to happening during my 20-mile training run a few weeks ago. And I didn't want it to happen again.

So... I tried changing how I was running. I lengthened my gait, on the theory that the muscle was more likely to cramp if it was allowed to get tight. And I began to switch between running and walking. This involved running faster than I otherwise would have, in order to average-out to the same speed. To a first approximation, I would walk for half-a-minute every half-mile. Apparently it worked. I never did cramp up.

Nowadays, you see a lot of non-champion marathoners following some kind of run/walk regimen. There's a theory that you can get a better time that way:

"The continuous use of running muscles produces much more fatigue, aches and pains than running at the same pace while taking walk breaks."

Of course, the setters of marathon world records do NOT use this method.

But fearing the Quadriceps Cramp,
I was happy to revamp.