If distance running was a product, it would come with the following prominently written on the label: WARNING – You WILL get injured. Every runner I know who has been at it awhile has a war story - hamstring injuries, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, knee pain. True devotees to the sport seem to spend equal parts time training and trying to keep their bodies healthy. Because of this, when I started my training for Chicago I was alert to the possibility that at some point my body might call an injury timeout. What I did not expect was that the injury would come not from running, but from a game of hopscotch.
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Chicago Marathon Training: Week 1 (Human)
Growing up, I LOVED the countdown to the start of a new school year. It came with the emotional bundle of apprehension, optimism, excitement, and nervous anticipation. Fresh school supplies, a first day of school outfit, a finely tuned new organization plan, and a hopeful vision for what surely would be a perfect year. A little nerdy and unrealistic? Sure. But apparently not much has changed because my build up to the start of Chicago Marathon training played out much the same way.
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Denial and Injuries: A Very Bad Combination
In fewer than two years, I traveled the distance from relative couch potato to New York City Marathon finisher. It was not without discomfort, and there were a few minor bumps along the way, but I pretty much got through unscathed and emerged at the end of the 26.2 miles not a little bit triumphant. Feeling seriously unstoppable pretty much summed up my mood.
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NYC Marathon Training: Week 13 (The Hay Is In the Barn)
After I signed up with my marathon coach, I was given access to explore the robust NYRR training site. This also gave me the option of clicking through a week-by-week view of my personalized training plan. You know that moment when you have to decide whether to peek ahead just to see what you are in for, or just let the whole thing roll out over time? Well, I peeked. Oh why did I peek?
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NYC Marathon Training: Week 10 (Mental Toughness)
My coach’s stated goal for Week 10 marathon training was to work on mental toughness. It is self-evident, I suppose, that a runner cannot coax her body to run 26.2 miles without it. However, as the week rolled on, my initial view of the meaning of “mental toughness” changed as both my runs and life threw challenges my way.
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NYC Marathon Training: Week Seven (In It for the Long Haul)
A recent article profiled a runner who qualified for the Boston Marathon in each of the 50 states. In my imagination, I envision his buddies offhandedly asking whether he wants to run a marathon next weekend, and this runner nonchalantly replying “sure, sign me up” in the same way that I would throw in for a 5k any given day of the week. In my vision, I am sure that he does not have to prepare, because he is always prepared. Unlike that guy, my warm up to marathon day is a 16-week haul, and I am only now closing in on the halfway point.
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NYC Marathon Training: Week Four (Vacation Runs)
Week four of my marathon training was the week that I officially crossed over to the other side. It was the week that I transitioned to one of those crazy people who rearrange their vacation itineraries to make room for long runs. For fun.
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NYC Marathon Training: Week One (The Merits of "Off" Days)
Beginning official marathon training with the NYRR coaching staff embodies everything that is fresh and good about the first week of school. I have daily running homework assignments complete with tips and detailed instructions. Once I get the job done, I use the tracking system to send the details of my workout to my coach and within a day I have email feedback (my report card) from the coaching staff. In Week One, I started to learn some of the workouts and their acronyms that, no doubt, will become rote by Week Ten. Ironically, though, the most important lesson I learned the first week had nothing to do with running at all.
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Hedging My Bet by Hiring a Coach
Me committing to run the New York City Marathon and deciding to publicly write about it was the suburban-mom equivalent of playing your first game of poker at a high stakes table in Vegas, pushing your chips into the middle, standing up and declaring with conviction that you’re all-in. Yep, I’m all-in all right, and with just over 13 weeks to go, this sh*t is getting real. Which is why I hedged my bet and hired a coach.
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