As I unlocked my boy Bruiser from the bike rack this morning and hoisted his bulky aluminum frame over my shoulders, I realized something.
I’m in the best part of marathon training right now.
Gone are the weeks where my long runs are still in the single digits. Don’t get me wrong, any run is still an accomplishment, but I found it hard getting excited for an 8-mile run. It was just long enough to feel long but not long enough to feel like I was really accomplishing something.
I wasn’t looking forward to training for this marathon when I started, but I was looking forward to the marathon itself. Over the past few weeks, as I crushed half-marathons and long runs, I started seeing my strength in a way you don’t see it in single-digit runs.
I look forward to my runs now. All of them. From the short three-milers to the long 20-milers that I know are coming soon, I’m excited. Each one of these runs has a purpose, and that is to prepare me for the NYC Marathon.
I realized that this morning as I cruised (by cruise, I mean pedaled as fast I could which is still not that fast) down the Hudson River Path and back for some cross-training. While triathlon training (and I use the word “training” very loosely to describe how I prepared), I would look at the runners on the path and be so glad to be biking. Today, it was the other way around.
Or maybe I’m still riding that post-PR glow.
What is your favorite part of race training? The beginning, the middle, or the taper? (If you say taper, you’re crazy. That’s the most stressful part of any race.) Also, what’s your favorite distance to run? I’m pretty sure mine is the half-marathon distance. But you knew that. My favorite short distance is 4. It’s a nice round number.
My favorite long distance is 13.1 (short distance is 4), but right now I’m training for 26.2. It seems crazy to think “oh, I only have 10 miles to run next week” Um, it’s still 10 miles. Marathon training really screws up your perception on things. I think the best part of training is where the beginning/middle meets, just before my body starts to get really pushed to it’s limits.
I hate to be a copy cat but I also love the half marathon distance. Short enough that you don’t have to train hard or worry about hitting the wall, but long enough that you still get bragging rights! 😉
I need to catch you enthusiasm, maybe at HLS 🙂
i totally agree that its this part of training that gets exciting…especially since i’ve never done more than a half and i’m training for my first full! getting out of single digit long runs is awesssomeeee and after i run the bronx half this weekend, my long runs will all be new personal distance records for me! eeks! i’m just SO afraid of injury or burnout, so the enthusiam wavers from day to day!