why a marathon

It is difficult for me to explain to non-runners why I'm running a marathon. I'm not even sure I have a logical reason for wanting to do one, but I can trace the thinking process that got me here. I always ran for exercise, and I've never been into biking or swimming. In 2002, when my husband and I lived in New York, we went to watch the New York City marathon, which was thrilling. Although tons of spectators line the course, we had a fairly easy time getting a good spot on 59th Street to watch the first runners come in. We ambled around Central Park and 5th Avenue as more and more runners neared the end of their races, cheering for the ones who wore nametags and marveling at how some of them looked like they were in tremendous pain.

I started browsing the New York City Road Runners website and found a running partner who lived in my neighborhood, an amazingly athletic Austrian woman who had just run the NYC marathon herself. She was "recovering" and content to run a 9-9:30 minute pace with me, but sometimes we ran faster. We ran up unbelievably steep hills, in unbearably cold weather, through desolate, tree-covered parks on the uppermost tip of Manhattan where we lived, with views of the Hudson River below us. She pushed me in a good way, and I'd never run as hard in my life. Hearing her talk about planning to run the Paris marathon (or was it somewhere in Italy?) sounded incredibly exciting.

I started running races the next year, and that was fun, too. I was afraid I'd be too slow or that my competitive instinct would get the better of me, and that it would somehow ruin running for me. This hasn't happened too much-- I can sometimes place in my age group for small town races, but in big cities there is too much competition, so I just focus on doing it for myself and for the sheer thrill of physical exertion.

The idea of deciding to run a marathon this year dawned on me slowly, but I was having a hard time training in the Florida heat. I was getting in a rut with my running routine. Three hurricanes later, I joined up with Team In Training, two months after they had begun their training sessions. My longest run was about 6 miles at that point, with three milers during the week, and I jumped in at 9 miles, which was where the beginner group was. That may have gone against the whole 10% rule, but oh well. For the first several weeks of training I felt great. I had a few bad runs, especially the 16 miler where I hit the wall, but overall it has been pretty fun to train with other people, and the whole Leukemia Society deal has added an increased urgency and sense of purpose to the goal.

What's really interesting is observing how your body responds to the new intensity of the running. There are all kinds of things to figure out nutrition-wise (I still am not sure why I gained weight through all this), and in terms of what to eat to keep up glycogen stores during long runs. (I highly recommend Gu and Snickers Marathon Bars). Each week brings some new type of ailment-- chafing, blisters, and for me the dreaded Achilles tendonitis and shin splints. Those were fairly disheartening, but facing injury also taught me to be very, very careful with my body, and to respect the stress of running these unbelievable distances in a single run.

Currently I'm in the taper phase, and I really do have unbelievable amounts of energy these days. I'm thrilled because the shin splints and Achilles tendon have been quiet lately. I can't wait to actually run the marathon itself-- to me it has become one of those rites of passage that is filled with mystery and wonder, and if all goes well I'll actually get to experience it. Ten days and counting...

cold...

Although the recent wave of cold weather that hit most of the country only affected Florida with some temperatures in the 40s, I had the strange experience yesterday of a 25 degree drop in temperatures that happened while I was running. I got up at 5 to go for a 10 mile run, checked the internet weather, noted that temperatures in Orlando were around 67 degrees, and dressed accordingly-- shorts and a tank top, with an extra long-sleeve to put on after the run. By 5:45 I was in my car, headed to the trails that are thirty minutes from where I live and where the Leukemia Society has been training us for the marathon. It began raining on the way and by the time I got out of my car, still in the dark, the wind was fierce and there was a driving rain. I put on that extra long-sleeved top.

Only 4 of my teammates showed up, for which I was grateful, because if nobody had been there, I don't think I could have faced running in the dark in the rain on a deserted trail. But as we started running, the wind and the rain got worse. I ran with two other people, and we had very little to say to each other because it was so uncomfortable to talk with the sheets of rain hitting our faces. The only sound was the clop-clop of our feet on the asphalt, reminding me of horses. The first five miles were entirely into the wind, which was tough. At the five mile marker I stopped under a pavillion and felt my legs, which were as cold as ice. Coming back was better because the wind was at our backs, but I was happy to get to my warm car at the end, when I noticed the temperatures had fallen from 67 to 42.

This is nothing to complain about, because I'm lucky to be able to run year-round here in Florida, unlike others who have to venture out when it's only 4 degrees. But it's a very disconcerting feeling to have the temperatures drop dramatically and without warning. On the bright side, ten miles was a breeze! I'm so thrilled I can run this far without any soreness or tiredness afterward. I felt even more of a sense of accomplishment because I'd forced myself to get up so early and did it all in bad weather. My reward was thinking about the jacuzzi I'd take once I got home.

recovery runs

I definitely believe it takes me almost a week to fully recover from very long runs, primarily in terms of my (slightly) injured areas (achilles tendonitis and shin splints). After taking a break from running from Saturday through Wednesday, I went for a three mile run, and I was disheartened that I could feel some soreness and discomfort. But today, with misting weather and temperatures in the 60s, I felt like I was soaring. I was running faster and my legs felt light and capable. This has put me in the best mood all day, carrying me through a potentially stressful round of last minute Christmas shopping and a pleasurable round of holiday baking that culimnated in my devouring an entire plate of Snickerdoodles. Sunday's scheduled run is a 10 miler, part of the taper prior to the marathon, although it will be hard to get out of bed after a weekend of decadent eating and holiday merry making. Happy holidays!

20 miles!

I ran twenty miles yesterday, my last long run before the Disney marathon. It was difficult toward the end, but not as bad as I had anticipated. I never hit the wall; I carbo-loaded three days prior to the run, and I took lots of gels and drank Gatorade along the way. At least twenty other Team In Training runners were out for the last long run, and our coach had put out Gatorade and energy snacks every few miles on the trail where we run. At one point we ran by an orange grove and picked an orange to eat as we ran along. The orange was so sweet and so good that I was thrilled to be living in a place where oranges actually grow. I ran with Susan, who ran with me for the half marathon, and we seem to hit it off well as running buddies, encouraging each other along the way and wanting to run a similar pace.

There are three people doing Team In Training who are pretty fast and ran 26 miles yesterday for their last long run, doing it in about 3:40. One is an older man whose wife died of leukemia, and he has raised about $7,000 for the cause and seems to have immersed himself in running. The other two fast ones are a man and woman in their twenties who are very tall and lean. The rest of us range in pace; some of us are serious about running and others just seem motivated by the Leukemia fundraising. It's fun to come in from the long runs and record our times in the logbook and congratulate the other runners who are coming in. It's a great support team.

I went to a podiatrist on Friday about shin splints and the Achilles problem, and he seemed to think they were not such a big deal. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory, told me to cut back on the mileage, and suggested wrapping my leg before runs. I wrapped my leg for the first time yesterday, and I never even felt my shin splints. I didn't take the anti-inflammatory until after the run, though, because I wanted to be aware if there was any pain. He also seemed to think my problems might not be from the increased mileage but from changing the type of shoe. I wore my new Mizuno Mercury's for all twenty miles and was really pleased with them-- they didn't give me any of the trouble I've been experiencing with the Mizuno Alchemy's.

So, feeling good, some soreness in my quads today, but that's to be expected. Now I'll begin tapering.

a bad day for running

I was excited to go running today after getting a new pair of Mizuno Mercury's. Back in early November, my beloved pair of Mizuno Mercury's was getting worn out, and the local running store convinced me to buy a pair of Mizuno Alchemy, which have been nothing but trouble since I first wore them for runs longer than 5 miles. Blisters, foot pain, you name it. So despite the expense, I broke down and got the new model of the old Mercury's.

I was trying to cross-train and rest after Saturday's 12-miler, thinking that two days without running should have been enough of a break. And still the same problem-- despite walking beforehand, stretching carefully, and starting off with a slow jog, I could feel what I think is a shin splint on the muscle slightly to the outside of my shin-- that "heavy legs" feeling again. I'm so upset about this-- no Achilles tendon problems now, but shin splints? With the marathon less than a month away, and our last 20 miler this weekend... Someone told me about an exercise that involves leaning your back against a wall and lifting your toes up toward your knees, but aside from that, I don't know what to do. Does RICE really work?

I have been in a funk about this all day.

early Christmas arrival

Yesterday my Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS arrived in the mail. I couldn't wait for today's 12 mile "recovery" run to try it out. I met the other Team in Training people at 6:30 at a local trail with somewhat monotonous scenery. My running buddy from last week's half marathon was there, and she was up for running together. For the first two miles again, I had that "heavy legs" feeling, which is actually in the front of my shin, so I wonder if it's shin splints. It went away eventually, though, and I felt OK for the rest of the run. No incredible soreness anymore after 12 miles, which is a great feeling-- I think my body is actually used to the distances of the recovery runs.

The GPS seemed to fluctuate widely in terms of pace. There were moments when it told me I was running 8:30 miles, when I was certain from my pace that I was going slower. At other times it would give readings of 11:30 when I was sure we were going faster. I'm not quite sure what that was about-- I just turned it on and ran with it. Sometimes I would hit the lap button at the mile markers to see how we were doing, because at the end of a "lap" it flashes up the time. In one wooded development it was having trouble detecting satellites. However, at the end of the run, it neatly summarized my data for me and filed it under History, even letting me know how many calories I burned. Cool. I'm not sure why the pace readings were so disparate, though.

heavy legs no more

Strange... I went for a run today and felt great. No heaviness in the legs, no problems with the Achilles. Maybe I still hadn't quite recovered from the weekend as of yesterday, even though I gave it a few days. After my run today I did my achilles exercises and stretched carefully. This weekend is a recovery -- 12 miles-- and then our Team in Training coach is leading a stretching clinic.

I'm also eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Forerunner GPS... following the package tracking information in Amazon every few hours!

Christmas season eating has also begun... a holiday dinner for work two nights ago at a "family-style" Italian place, which meant huge, decadent portions of eggplant parmesan, lasagna, etc. I was careful but still felt stuffed. Last night we had guests for dinner and I made artichoke dip, horseradish-crusted beef tenderloin (a recipe from Cooking Light), potato gratin, and molten chocolate cakes. The gratin was a "gratin savoyard" with beef broth rather than cream, and I used lowfat sour cream in the artichoke dip, but still... stuffed again. Oh well. No problem as long as the few days before a long run are good in terms of nutrition...

heavy legs

I have a little ritual now after the very long runs (this weekend, half marathon plus five). I rest the day after, cross train on a bike the day after that, attend strength training class the day after that, and then save my first run for Wednesday. I do this because I'm nervous now about the achilles tendon, and I want to make it through the first marathon without injury. Yesterday when I went for my Wednesday run, my legs felt very, very heavy. Almost like they had lactic acid in them, but it was all in the front of the legs. I walked beforehand, stretched, and started running, but for the first 2 miles they did not feel good at all. The feeling then went away, but it was still odd. I'm looking forward to going out this morning to find out if I'll have the same problem.

first half marathon

I ran my first half marathon today - it was really a lot of fun. The half marathon wound its way through the city and some smaller neighborhoods, some of which did not look very urban at all. There were almost 1500 people running, and the weather was perfect-- about 60 degrees when we started out. I found one of my Leukemia & Lymphoma Society teammates and we decided to run together, which was great, because we talked the whole time. We ended up running faster than I'd planned, but I couldn't help it-- I had so much energy, carbo-loading really worked, and the weather was terrific. I tried gels for the first time too and was amazed at how much energy they gave me. So much easier than trying to chew a Snickers Marathon bar. Having Gatorade stops every two miles also seemed to help-- on our practice runs, the water stops are further apart.

My time was 2:03:15, after which I did another five miles to complete the 18 miles I was supposed to run today for marathon training. I didn't hit the wall this time, although my legs are pretty sore and tired. Not the achilles tendon, yet, although usually it doesn't hurt until the next day. I'm icing it just in case. Afterward, there was a beer garden with low carb beer, which struck me as funny. Distance runners are the last people who should be worried about their carb intakes.

The best thing about this race was the camaraderie I felt with the other runners. I had a great time running with someone I knew and motivating each other during the course of the run. I moved to Florida several months ago, and I remember doing a huge 5K this summer and realizing that I knew absolutely no one. Now I know several new runners through the Leukemia Society, and I expect that many of them will continue to race after we do our first marathon. I've also met a few other local runners, and a friend from work even came down to offer support.

I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment when I think about how 7 miles was the furthest I'd ever run, up until about two months ago. And now I have my first participation medal, and of course a new souvenir race t-shirt.

half marathons

I decided to run a local half marathon this weekend. It seems to be a pretty big deal locally, and all the other people I've been training with are going to be there as well, so there will hardly be anyone running our planned 18 mile run. Our coach has suggested we run the half marathon and then turn around and run what we'll need to make up 18 miles. At first I thought I wouldn't do it, because from my other 5K and 10K experiences I know how hard it is to hold back in races. But although I also seem to be able to do 10-12 miles comfortably at a 9:30 pace, something happens after that point and I can't run any faster than 10 minute miles. Since at this point, marathon training is more important than being fast for a race on the way, I'm going to try to run 10 minute miles.

I was telling this to another runner and he suggested getting a GPS. I've seen these and been impressed by the way they allow you to create a virtual "buddy" to run with, also helping to control your pace if you want to run a certain way. They seem like the ultimate in runner's gear, and suddenly I want one...

I did a bake sale for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society this week and made several hundred dollars, enough to put me over my goal for fundraising. I've heard some runners disparage the Team in Training program, but I wanted the extra training, support, and camaraderie for my first marathon. I have always loved running but been apprehensive of doing the first marathon with very little guidance. Also it's nice to feel like I'm doing something indirectly to help my friend S, who will hopefully get a bone marrow transplant after the new year...