In 21 days, this 5k runner will be standing on the starting line of the NY Marathon, about to run 26.2 miles for the first time in my life (as hard as I can).
Hot damn!
For these final three weeks of marathon prep, my goal is to share at least one thing every day that has come to my attention as a result of training for my first marathon (the good, bad, and the strange). It might only be a sentence or two some days, but I want to write something. I’m sure you veterans out there will let me know which things are normal and which things certify me as a Fleshmaniac.
Today’s illumination is that marathon training makes me brain dead after 8pm, making it very difficult to write a meaningful blog. But what the hell. I’m still going to try to explain how the following tweet rocked my world on Friday as I prepared for a big weekend of training:
In track and field, I feel more or less alone as I prepare for a big event. For example, in Daegu at the World Track Championships there were 23 women in the entire world on the same wavelength as me. Everyone else was on the outside, experiencing the event as a spectator. This isn’t a bad thing, its just the way it is in spectator sports.
So for the first six weeks of training for NY, I was going about my prep the same as all my other track races: with the feeling that I’m pretty much alone out there in what I’m trying to achieve. My loneliness was exacerbated by the fact that all my OTC Elite teammates were enjoying nice, long, post-season breaks, drinking margaritas and happily getting out of shape, and here I was pounding the pavement farther and faster than ever before.
But then Mary Wittenberg goes and writes that tweet and I’m practically knocked off my desk chair with a revelation: There are literally tens of thousands of people doing what I’m doing right now. They are preparing for their biggest long run before their marathon. And they have been building up to it for weeks, just like me.
This changed everything in an instant. Back when I was suffering from a week of sore quads during the beginning of my build up, when my calluses started accumulating, when my toenails started peacing out, there were thousands of people going through that same thing at that time. This might seem totally obvious to you guys, but it was revolutionary for me: this feeling that I was part of a mass movement of humans from all walks of life who randomly decided to run the NYC Marathon for a myriad of reasons.
Every day, all these strangers are trying to eat better and sleep more and talk themselves out the door on dead legs, temporarily structuring their life “like a marathoner” to accomplish a goal.
What an incredibly beautiful thing.
While I may have felt alone in what I was trying to achieve, I am not alone in the literal sense. Jesse is always there for me, willing to help however he can. This is a ridiculous photo, by the way. He’s too good looking in it. I’m losing concentration here.
Coach Rinker biked alongside me on those first few scary tempo runs and is always game to help out.
Jack fights fires with his massage techniques.
Ian Cronin has been building some base for track season so we can run together now and then.
Buddies like Nick and Craig are always game for a run, especially when pancakes are involved.
And then there is the big cheese Coach Row on the bike and his assistant Max running alongside us as we attempt the “big girl workouts” in these final weeks.
The buzz is definitely building in NYC now, which definitely makes it easier to be motivated (if you live there). The energy is incredible the weekend of the actual marathon. Its hard not to get caught up in it and waste a lot of energy on it (for those of us who tend to get freaked out)! I imagine as an elite though you will feel like a rockstar.
Jesse is really rivaling Derek Zoolander in being ridiculously good looking – maybe he can add that to his careers and take up male modeling.
Also, SOME OF US still have yet to do our longest long run. So, some of us will be doing what Mary Wittenberg said next weekend.
Good luck with the rest of your training!
I’m much earlier in the cycle than you at this point; just 6 weeks into it training for my first marathon in February. Saturday was my first 16 miler–ever! I was fairly nervous, especially since I felt a bit gimpy the night before. Welp, it ended up being “one of those runs” were I just by chance fell in with a faster pack than I normally run with, and instead of running 16 @ 1 minute slower than MGP (like my coach instructed), I ran 16 at 12 seconds faster than MGP. (No, I did NOT tell my coach about this–that’s why I’m telling you guys!)
It was definitely one of those “I know I wasn’t supposed to do that, but now I’m sure glad I did!” type of workouts. I’m running a preparatory 10 mile race in less than two weeks, so this run will be a nice confidence booster for that, too. And I certainly won’t feel any pressure to kill myself between now and then, to say the least. (Tomorrow’s hill workout has now become a basic 7 mile endurance run at a relaxed pace as I let Saturday’s run sink in.) It was also nice, mentally, to feel what it’s like to run that hard, and that far beyond the half marathon point. And most of it was on the same challenging course I’ll be running in February…
Whew, glad I got that off my chest!
Good luck in NYC, Lauren, you’re gonna do great!
I just watched some friends run the Nike Women’s Marathon yesterday, which definitely had quite a buzz (men in tuxedos handing out Tiffany’s necklaces included), so much so that I started to feel anxiety and nerves. As much as I wanted to be out there racing the 26.2 miles, I am holding out for three more weeks – as you are and tens of thousands of others – for NYC. You’re definitely not alone and though I was out on a 23-miler for three hours last weekend, I saw a few dozen others who looked like they were in the marathon zone too. Let the countdown begin and see you in NYC!
Very cool to share something each day, looking forward to it! It should be a trip to see the huge throng of runners getting ready to cover the same exact path you are about to tread, regardless of the time it may take everyone to cover it.
Also looking forward to catching you turn onto 5th Ave in Harlem. I work a couple of blocks up at the Harlem Armory, and we will be drilling that weekend so I can actually sneak out and catch you all! I may try and do a sign, but typically the military frowns on that sort of thing, and the last thing I need is someone to get a picture of me in uniform holding up a fan sign, and then for someone in charge of me seeing it! Oh well, It will still be really fun!
Do you think it’s easier to train when there are thousands of others doing the same thing, (all with different goals,) or when you’re preparing for a once in a lifetime race like the World Championships/Olympics? Does it matter?
Having watched The Spirit of the Marathon probably half a dozen times, a favorite scene of mine is hearing Paula talk about runners experiencing the same emotions as elite runners during the marathon. Like Paula said, no other sporting event comes to mind where people of all different abilities are competing on the same course at the same time. Those are a few things that make the marathon so unbelievably unique. One last cool note, also from that movie, one guy Jerry talks about how runners are motivated during the race just knowing they are following in the same foot steps as elite runners. I’m sure all of the Fleshmanmaniacs will find tremendous strength knowing that they are out there with you going through the same emotions. Great documentary if you haven’t scene it! Can’t wait
I watched it on the plane to Daegu interestingly enough! A lot of it is making more sense as I prepare for a marathon myself. Its an event that is so hard to “get” without doing one, I think.
Its so funny and so true that marathon training leaves you useless after 8pm. As my girlfriend and I make our last push towards Philly (and hopefully a pair of OTQs!), we can’t even stay awake past 830! We end up cooking massive amounts of food for dinner one night, then eating leftovers for several days in a row b/c we can hardly function after the second run of the day.
Its all so much fun and rewarding though… I think you really have to love running to really train seriously for the marathon… and you have to enjoy the process and journey as much as the end result.
We see a lot of ourselves in your blog posts, as we definitely feel like we’re going through the same things that you are on a daily basis.
Keep up the strong runner, we’ll be rooting for you in NYC!!!
Its so funny and so true that marathon training leaves you useless after 8pm. As my girlfriend and I make our last push towards Philly (and hopefully a pair of OTQs!), we can’t even stay awake past 830! We end up cooking massive amounts of food for dinner one night, then eating leftovers for several days in a row b/c we can hardly function after the second run of the day.
Its all so much fun and rewarding though… I think you really have to love running to really train seriously for the marathon… and you have to enjoy the process and journey as much as the end result.
We see a lot of ourselves in your blog posts, as we definitely feel like we’re going through the same things that you are on a daily basis.
Keep up the strong running, we’ll be rooting for you in NYC!!!
Oh boy this makes me excited to start marathon training! Haha you gotta love the daily grind. And yes, agreed, it is a beautiful thing.
Always enjoy your posts, Lauren. Best of luck!
I dig Jesse’s shirt. Rolf Prima wheels are sweet. Good luck in all 5 boroughs.
Great post Lauren! I am excited to watch you kick ass and experience your first marathon! So cool! I know I will never forget mine. Reading this reminded me of a blog entry I posted during my highest mileage week EVER before my 2nd marathon. I was especially nervous and excited because I was entered in the elite field. While I’m nowhere near your caliber, I hope you will enjoy this post and know that you are correct: You are not alone!
http://runningbums.blogspot.com/2010/05/dumb-blonde-or-mileage-brain.html
I love this post!!
You’re absolutely right. It’s awesome being in NYC … there is so much marathon energy in the air. You see people doing their long runs, there are ads for the marathon in subway stations and on the side of buses. It’s incredible!
I have my last long run (hilly 21 mi) this weekend. Hopefully I will see you at the expo
Hey Lauren the throusands preping for fall marathons such as New York, is in many ways the same as throusands of high school and college runners preping for their cross country season over the summer. We all can draw strenght and motivation from others. Keep motivating us all with your blog.