I ran a flat marathon yesterday morning which I'm v. proud of, in about 4:36.
I've followed no formal training plan other than running 2-4 times a week all year, ran about 700km now this year. Several half marathons and one 18 mile run / walk around Kinder.
I ran a marathon three years ago following slightly less running in the build up and I was basically on my knees every few minutes for the last 5-8km
I was expecting this marathon to be easier because I've done more running and I carried some energy bars etc. (which I didn't do last time).
The first half was a doddle, easy peasy, gave me false hope! The second half got progressively worse, aching feet bones and leg muscles, having to stop every so often and walk for a few minutes, getting cramp etc., my splits went from c. 5:30 min/km at the start to 08:40 at the end.
Had a good lie down for a couple hours after and could barely move, today feel achey but not too bad.
My question is - if I had trained more, or say, went and did another one in a few weeks - would it be easier? I assume so - since I can run a half marathon with no discomfort at all...
Also - because my splits deteriorated so much - (my average was 06:32) should I have tried to start out artificially slowly (I did try but obviously not hard enough). If I do it again should I try to start at 6:30min/km and maintain that throughout?
Thanks for any thoughts!