The other night I sat at dinner with a few runner friends.
Over a few glasses of wine, the topic turned to marathons, as it is wont to do with a group of runner friends.
There was a lot of talking about how difficult training is, how difficult marathons are, how they’d all gotten slower while marathon training. How they weren’t sure if they had another one in the cards.
I have no idea what my post-Marine Corps race plans look like, but I can tell you I don’t think this will be my last marathon.
This will be my third marathon (first, Chicago; second, NYC!), and while I definitely agree with all of the comments about how difficult marathons are and how intense the training can be, I LOVE IT.
I love waking up on a weekend morning with a huge mileage goal in mind.
I love when I get home, and I’ve achieved that goal.
I love that somehow my body defies the odds, and that I’ve gotten faster for each marathon that I’ve trained for.
While the waking up early took a lot to get used to, I love getting to work with a 9-mile run under my belt.
I love looking at my schedule as a giant puzzle and making sure that the marathon pieces are the next pieces to be laid after the work pieces.
I love the crazy emotions I feel crossing the finish line: pride and happiness for finishing, but a little sadness that it’s all over.
I love that I can do this. I never thought I’d be able to run a half-marathon, much less a marathon, much less be training for my third marathon.
Happy Friday! I just got out of work, and I am SO excited for a long weekend.
Here’s another First Marathon Story, from another one of my gchat besties, Valerie. I will probably say this any time I post one of these, but I am SO excited for her.
I ran my first 5K in March 2011 and have been running on and off since then, but only regularly since June of this year.
Marathon training for
Walt Disney World Marathon in January 2013
Why I decided to run a marathon
Other than because I’ve lost my mind? It’s something I’d been thinking about for a few years, and becoming friends with a bunch of runners only made the voice in the back of my head stronger. I’ve never been particularly athletic, and it’s something I want to prove to myself that I can do.
My fiance Kevin and I went to Disney World with friends a couple years ago, and ever since we’ve thought it would be fun to do the marathon there if we ever made the commitment to do a long race. With the Disney marathon’s 20th anniversary in January (and my upcoming 30th birthday later this year) I figured this year was as good as any to do it!
How is marathon training measuring up to your expectations? What’s better or worse than you expected?
First of all, running is HARD. It’s just not something that comes naturally for me. I started out with a nearly 17 minute mile and over 10 weeks have gotten that down to just under 15 on a good day. Thankfully we still have 4.5 months to go for me to get stronger and faster.
One thing that’s definitely easier than I’d anticipated is just getting out there and running four times a week. We just missed our first run this past week, and that’s because we were up in New York and our feet were worn out from all the walking. It’s been really great to have Kevin as my training partner and to help keep me accountable. As for anything that’s harder than I expected, I honestly expected this to be kind of awful and, well, it hasn’t been! It’s hard during, of course, but I always feel better once I’ve finished a run. We’re only up to 5 .5 miles, though, so I expect my feelings may change once we approach double digit mileage.
Number of days running per week
Four. We’re following Hal Higdon’s Novice Supreme training plan to the letter, except that I need to get better about doing cross training.
What are you most excited about for the race?
Crossing the finish line and having the volunteers place the medal around my neck! I have several friends who are also running the marathon and half marathon that weekend, so I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone down there. We’re making a vacation out of the trip and will spend the four days after the race hobbling around the parks, and yes, I will wear my medal every single day.
What are you most terrified of?
The sweepers. Disney makes you maintain a 16 minute per mile pace, or they politely escort you to the loser van. The idea of spending 7 months training, trying your best and then not finishing makes me want to throw up.
Do you think you’ll ever run another marathon?
Let’s see how I do with the first one before deciding! I’ve heard they’ve addictive, but time will tell.
Number of black toenails so far
Zero and I hope to keep it that way! But I have an extensive nail polish collection should the need arise.
Leave Valerie some love, tips or tell me about your first time. Running a marathon, that is.
