On June 1, I completed the San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon in 4 hours 50 minutes and 23 seconds. This was my first marathon that I have ever run. I started training for the race in late January 2008 and continued for the next 5 months. I wanted to share 5 lessons that I learned while I was training for the race...
1. Less is more...I started out with a training program that called for running 5 days a week. I was able to maintain this program for the first 8 weeks of the 20 week program. I gradually realized that I was becoming exhausted at the end of the week and would start skipping runs because my body was too tired from the runs earlier in the week. Eventually I switched to a program that called for running 3 days a week. Not only did this reduce the amount of times I was running, it also gave me the added flexibility of moving the runs to different days when I had other obligations going on. If I were to do it again, I would use the same 3 day a week program. You can generate the 3 day a week program at http://www.runnersworld.com/.
2. Walking is acceptable...Before I started training for the marathon, I received a book that detailed how to train for a marathon. One of the themes of this book was that it was OK to walk during a marathon. The author, Jeff Galloway, an expert marathon runner, has done numerous marathons over the past 30 years and coached others to run in them. His basic premise was that by taking walk breaks, you are able to rest the muscles that you use when running. He also says that if you take the right amount of walk breaks, you will have more energy at the end of the race. His observation was that people slow down at the end of the race. I followed a somewhat modified Galloway style race. Instead of walking say every 10 minutes or every mile, I walked through each aid station to make sure I drank enough water throughout the race. I did this because the course was supposed to be relatively flat (more on this in a minute) and each station was about every 1.5 miles. I will say that I agree with him on slowing down at the end of the race. However, I feel the reason I slowed down was not because I didn't do enough walking, but due to all the hills during the last 5 miles of the run. Next time, I wish the organizers would be a little more kinder in their race design and put the hills in the beginning!
3. Prepare to eat and eat and eat...I thought I was going to lose some additional weight by training for a marathon. I didn't realize how much food my body would be demanding from all the running I was doing (especially early on). I think I ate somewhere around 18-20 pounds of spaghetti over the course of 5 months. The problem is you are burning so many calories that you need to keep eating in order to keep running. I'm glad I can go back to running shorter distances, lifting weights, and eating less!
4. Training is easier with a friend...Ok, so I was insane enough to agree to run a marathon, but was I up to the task of training by myself during the height of the cold Minnesota winter? For the most part, yes. I did long runs of 15,16,18,and 20 miles by myself. The 15 and 18 mile runs were on a treadmill. The 16 and 20 mile runs were done outside. There were severl 10-12 mile runs that I did outside as well. The last two weeks of training I found someone to run with me. Those last two weeks were 10 mile runs each and they went by easier with someone else running with me. This also gets me to the actual race itself. I'm really glad I had a friend there who ran with me. Not only was it nice to be able to run with someone I know, but this person was able to keep me going and push me forward. If you'd ask my friend the same question, he'd answer the same way I have.
5. Finishing feels great...The moment I crossed the finish line, I knew that the last 5 months of training were not wasted. I joined an elite group of individuals that can say they have completed a marathon. It was really a sense of great accomplishment once I crossed the finish line. Will I do it again? Probably, but not this year. Preparing for a marathon takes a great deal of time and I have some other goals I would like to work on this year. I will continue running and staying fit - I'm running a 10K at the end of June.
If and when I do train for my next marathon, I will try to remember these lessons and strategize accordingly. I leave you with a picture of me running to the finish line. Whatever your goal that you have in mind, may you succeed in reaching it.
Note: I am the white guy on the far left of the picture.
