Running a marathon is a last frontier, a great unknown. As the saying goes, it "owes you nothing." Rather, you are just along for the race. Although I have run for probably close to 15 years now, completing dozens of 5Ks, two half-marathons, and quite a few 10Ks, many things about the process of training for a marathon caught me by surprise:
My Diet:
Whole grains and produce have formed the foundation of my diet for some time. I have never had to change my diet for running, except during the carb load I did for my half-marathon. During this training cycle, though, I had to back off those "good for me" things, as they created GI distress more often than not. Switching to "white" breads (especially sourdough, which I sadly discovered very late in the training cycle) and refined pasta actually helped me. There was no way I was intra-run fueling with fruit pouches either. Give me the refined sugar all the way!
On that note, fueling and hydration made a big difference in my running. I used to get away with running fasted, or running on a few bites of something I snatched before I ran out the door. No longer. Extensive fueling before and during my workouts really helped my energy. Towards the end of training, I found myself getting up at 3 am to eat a bagel before going out the door at 6 am. I never expected that! I needed to eat more to run more, but that also meant I needed more time to digest, so 3 am to eat a bagel and skulk back to bed it was. The days I failed to fuel well, I felt awful for most of the rest of the day, and that is no way to live life!
Hunger:
I expected to be more hungry as I ran more, but that looked a little different than I expected. I seemed to effortlessly gain weight when I started this training cycle, despite not eating much differently. Despite eating what seemed like the whole house during peak week miles, I struggled to keep weight on (and this even as my Apple watch said that my resting metabolism dropped--I guess this is a sign of the body becoming more efficient as the miles crept up). I was as hungry, or more so, during the taper weeks than I was during peak week. One week post-marathon, the hunger still has yet to wear off. I tell myself that my body is rebuilding. I don't want to lose any of what I worked for, so let it take all the fuel it needs to keep it!
Pain:
My knees hurt after I ran my first half-marathon. I have experienced some hamstring pain on and off while training for shorter distances. This time, what I think is metatarsalgia came back in my left foot. (This first arose during my most recent half-marathon training cycle.) I experienced tendon pain in my left foot (extensor tendonitis?), followed by calf pain. After the race, not only did my quads hurt, but also my left hip flexor. I am thankful that I am not injured so much as to be unable to walk, but I did schedule an appointment at a sports physical therapy clinic, just to check things out. I know that most runners experience injuries, but I guess maybe I thought I was immune, until now. I want to keep running, so surprised or not, time to give my body some extra attention.
Psychology:
I had heard about post-marathon blues, but nothing about post long-run blues. The first few long runs I did, I woke up the next morning with a sense of dread, like there was a thick gray cloud hanging over my head. I eventually concluded that is was post-run blues, probably due to the drop in dopamine. It subsided the more I did long runs, but maybe I just expected it?
I didn't have taper crazies like some people say they have, but I got intensely anxious after my longest long run of 20 miles. That is when my right foot started hurting, and I was somewhat convinced I had a stress fracture. I spent hours and hours googling and could barely keep my mind off it. In the end, God helped it heal well enough, but was that intense anxiety pain-caused or maraonoia? I think the latter!
Training costs:
I knew that training would take time. I did not expect the steep financial costs, however. I did find what I bought worthwhile. I just need to account for that next time. When I broke down and bought partially carbon-plated shoes, I did find that they improved my speed. They also felt better under foot. I guess you get what you pay for....
The Race Itself:
Post Race:
Running a marathon was a big deal to me, and the people who watched me train for it (close family and friends) saw that. It has been weird to me to tell others that I ran a marathon and not have them blink twice, however. Do they even know what a marathon is, I ask myself? I am guessing not. It was my "last frontier," to explore, not theirs.
I put my water packs, running shorts, and other gear away after I washed them. I left my running shoes out on the shoe rack, however. Seeing them there day after day caused me to feel sad, as I knew I could not use them for a while. I therefore ended up tucking them away down lower on the shoe rack. That way, at least, they are not the source of daily mourning.
I realize now how much of my life, our lives, I built around marathon training. While it is nice to have a break, it is also not that great. I need to take care of myself. I need to eat well, go to bed early, use care. I am more motivated to do that when training, and less when not training. There is a season for everything, and this is marathon training off-season, but man, I already crave the structure!
In conclusion:
There is probably much, much I could write about running a marathon, but it has been two weeks of posting, and that is probably enough. If you have questions, though, please post them and I will try to answer. For those of you readers (I know there are some of you!) who have run marathons, what surprised you about your first training cycle? Please share in the comment section below!
Thank you all for supporting me in this journey. Near and far, you know who you are. I did run the race, but you all have put a smile on my face over and over again as I have shared about the process it took to get here. Thank you! Thank you!
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