I've heard people say that running a marathon is a metaphor for life, or that completing a marathon let's you know you can accomplish anything. Really?!?! I don't get it. Granted I never thought I'd complete a marathon. Here I am, less than 2 months out, having run 20 miles, and confident that I'll be able to complete a marathon. But let's be honest here. I can say with confidence that I'll never climb Mt. Everest.... or will I? Hmmmm.
I ran a sprint triathlon last Fall with the other women in my family and even though I completed it, I don't consider myself a triathlete. My training consisted of biking a few miles to the train station a couple times a week, running 4 or 5 times total, and swimming a couple laps in a farm pond about a month prior to the race. It took me 2 hours to finish. I pretty much walked the entire run portion and didn't feel in any better shape after the race, than I did 6 months prior. Because I know myself, I was concerned that I would apply the same (in)diligent training technique to the marathon and would find myself completing 26.2 miles and still not feeling like a marathoner. I am no longer concerned about this.
I can complete a dozen 5Ks in a summer and never consider myself a runner. Or a half dozen sprint tris and never consider myself a triathlete. But I can complete one marathon and consider myself a marathoner. It seems to be all about the training.
Up until last Thursday I was dreading the thought of running 20 miles. Then I read an article about how much of a difference a positive vs. negative mental attitude can have on running performance. Because I couldn't quite figure out how to be positive about 20 miles, I chose instead to block out the negative thoughts and just focus on preparation. I ate well throughout the week, I carb loaded Thursday night, stayed away from too much booze and drank a lot of water. Saturday morning I continued to go through the motions. While everyone else was talking about their 20 mile jitters, I was feeling calm and slightly removed from the situation.
View the 20 mile route we ran here.
The run itself was long, but the change of scenery kept my interest. For training purposes, and to avoid injury, they also had us slow our pace by 2 min per mile and change our run:walk intervals to 2:2. So we ran 20 miles at a 15:30 mile pace. Although it was difficult to keep such a slow pace at the beginning, walking more and running less helped us stay slower. I think the run:walk ratio was key to our success. Around the 15 mile mark my left knee began to ache, but it was relieved by the walking. However, for the last couple miles the walking started to hurt my joints more than the running. I read a little bit today about shuffling instead, so I might try that too.
Finally, we made it to the end. I still had enough energy left over that I was able to sprint in the last 10th of a mile. It was actually a relief to let my legs stretch and it felt great.
This is getting pretty long, so I want to sum it up with some quick notes:
- Running with new shoes helped tremendously
- I felt better after 20 than I did after 17!
- I have switched exclusively to the Luna Moon shaped energy chews and try to eat an entire package every hour (I split half every 30 min)
- I watched Spirit of the Marathon last night and am inspired to run multiple marathons and hope to someday run the Chicago Marathon
- I need to book my flight to Hawaii soon!
- A week ago I wasn't so sure I could complete 26.2 miles, but after completing 20 miles, I'm sure that all I have to do is keep running and walking and running and walking.
Less than 2 months to go - please
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