Lehigh Valley River Marathon

724 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Nettie, Sep 14, 2007

kruss

Discussion Starter · Sep 12, 2007

Most imporant things: 
I did it-I ran the whole thing 
I'm still alive 
I had a great time 
It really was a lot of fun. My time was slower then I had hoped (4.19) but with the combination of nerves and the humidity I'm happy with that. The course was beautiful-from Allentown to Easton, PA mostly on the canal towpath which is probably why I was not sore afterwards. The canal path was dirt/gravel which is easier on my legs. I met up with a great girl from Philly running her first marathon and we ran together almost the whole way. The leaves were changing and except for the humidity it was a beautiful day. One HUGE hill at mile 14 but otherwise pretty flat. Yeah, I know race reports are supposed to have splits and things in them but I kind of didn't pay attention to that. So I have two questions for the experts here: 
1) The only bad thing. Right after I finished I got dizzy and had to sit for about 25 mins. After I ate/drank I was fine the rest of the day and I felt fine the whole time running. I drank a lot of gatorade and ate a few packs of swedish fish along the way. Any idea what that was? I would really like to avoid it next time. 
2) This might sound crazy but could I possibly get ready to run another one (Harrisburg/Philly) in the middle of Nov? 
Most important part of this report is to thank everyone here for their advice and encouragement. There are a lot of great people on this board and I've enjoyed virtually meeting everyone. I also got to run with another Kickster for a 20 mile training run (runningINnyc) which was so great and another one (Jill) came to cheer me on at the finish line on Sunday. What a great experience this has been.

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sistergoldenhair

· #9 · Sep 13, 2007

Congratulations Marathoner kruss! It's so great you enjoyed the day and it sounds like you felt good out there, too. What a lovely course you had. 
Sometimes if you suddenly stop exercising after intense effort (such as, I don't know, finishing a marathon!!) blood can "pool" (circulation slows too rapidly) in your lower extremities, and you can have a sudden drop in blood pressure. It just takes your circulatory system a little bit of time to get the message that "hey, I ain't workin' anymore" and adjust cardiac output. Dehydration and low blood sugar can also cause lightheadedness. 
Do you have a recovery plan you'll follow? I'd think if you're feeling good after that, you could then ramp back up and tackle another one, absolutely. Philly is a lot of fun!

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