Marathon part Deux

Even though I only recently published the Marathon Training blog about my first two weeks running, that actually happened back in October. A lot has happened since then, both good and bad.

I realized pretty early on that I knew absolutely nothing about running a marathon, so I started looking into it. The Internet is a powerful resource. As it turns out, a lot of experienced marathoners recommend that you have been already running steadily for about a year before attempting a marathon. You should be comfortable running between 3 and 6 miles, and averaging 10-15 miles a week. That bothered me a little bit. Not only did I despise running at my very core, I also wasn't good at it. I started to doubt the possibility of running this thing.

When I was first thinking about running this marathon, I couldn't help but look toward the end of the training schedule. I was seeing numbers like 16, 18, and 20 and was thinking "MILES!?"

I spoke with a friend about it, and she told that there's an old proverb that asks: How do you eat an elephant? The answer: one bite at a time…touché.

I realized that I don't need to worry about what will happen in week 15 of training. I only need to worry about today...and today was 3 miles...not 20.

So I began eating this elephant one bite at a time. I'd run 3 miles, and then look forward to another 3 mile run tomorrow. 5 miles on Saturday wasn't thrilling, but I knew I could do it...I had already done it accidentally the week before (see previous blog).

In the midst of this, I spoke with one of the teachers at Training Ground, because he is quite the marathon veteran. He has given me some really sound advice. One of the things he said was, instead of worry about exactly how many miles you run, just run for time. If you run about a 10 minute mile and you're supposed to run 3 miles, just run for 30 minutes. Sometimes you'll run a little bit more, sometimes a little bit less, but none of that matters, because running a marathon is all about running for an extended period of time. I thought that was amazing. Previously I had been tracking my exact miles and exact times to see exactly how fast I was running per mile. I needed to let that go and just run.

It got to the point where running eventually became, dare I say it, enjoyable. I remember running a particular 7 mile run, and coming back with a "runner's high". Before this day, I didn't know that this was a real thing. I was acting like I had it all together on the outside, but on the inside my body was having a party! I wondered if I should be driving home in this condition...seriously. I'll admit, it was pretty awesome.

So I continued. 3 miles, 6 miles, 3 miles, rest, 8 miles, cross train, rest, 3 miles, etc.

I was still a pretty slow runner. I would average 9.5-10.5 minute miles, but I could go longer distances. And then, I visited my parents in FL for Christmas.

This altitude thing is no joke. The air is pretty thin up here at 7300 feet. I didn't realize how much I was really affected by going back to sea level. I remember being shocked when I would go out for an "easy" 3.5 mile run and finish in less than 30 minutes. All of a sudden I was averaging 8.5 minute miles...even on 9 and 10 mile runs. The improvement was incredible.

After I got back to Colorado Springs, I was surprised that I actually wasn't doing so shabby up here as well. My first two runs back in Colorado, I averaged 9-9.5 minute miles. I was thoroughly proud of myself...and then it happened.

(to be continued)