I'm in week 6 of training for the 2009 NYC Marathon! This will be my second marathon, so I at least have the slight reassurance of knowing that it can be done, since I have completed 26.2 miles once in my life before. ;)
For the 2004 Nike Women's Marathon in SF, I trained on
Hal Higdon's novice schedule, which I highly recommend for first-timers. This schedule increased the mileage in a way that was not intimidating and steadily built confidence, which was really important since I was training by myself. Not only did it help me go from ground zero to feeling mentally and physically prepared on race day, it also enabled me to finish the race in a time that was faster than what I ever expected and allowed me to recover within ~1 week post-race.
This time, I'm following a more ambitious training program, the "
First-time and Casual Marathoner" schedule on the NYC marathon website. "Casual Marathoner" is such a misnomer... there's nothing casual about 18 weeks of training. Regardless, this time around, there are definitely some key differences that have made the training process so much more enjoyable. :)
1) A training partner!! Training with Jen A has made all the difference. Every week we run together for our long run and our mid-week run. It's amazing how much more quickly the time passes, and we have a good balance between pushing each other and taking breaks when we need. I'm so glad and so grateful that she decided to run the NYC marathon for charity! Jen is raising $2500 for the Arthritis Foundation in exchange for guaranteed entry to the race. Please support her if you can at her
donation page! Every little bit counts. =)
2) The 3min run - 1min walk pattern. It's still so counterintuitive to me, but I'm quite sure that I actually log faster times overall on this pattern than with just normal running. I think the mental boost from knowing that the 1 min break is coming up inspires a significantly faster pace during the 3 minutes. Jen and I usually run continuously for the first ~20 minutes to warm up, and then do the 3 and 1 intervals for the remainder of the run (sometimes these are adjusted to 4 and 2, which helps the time pass a little more quickly). It really highlights how distorted your sense of time can be, especially by the end of the run.
3) Early morning long runs. It's amazing how much nicer and more leisurely it is to run first thing in the morning, before the heat sets in. We start our long runs at 7am, and are usually all done by 9am (so far). Of course, this means I wake up at 6am every Saturday morning, which is insane, but absolutely worth it. Can it be possible, that I'm actually becoming a morning person?
4) Energy gels. I've only used this once so far, after mile 10 on a 12 mile run, but what a difference it made! It feels like a video game power boost. One minute you're exhausted and it's hard to pick up your legs, and the next minute you're exhilarated and bouncing off the pavement. Is it the caffeine? The electrolytes? Who knows, but it works, and if you're planning to use them during the race, why not use them while training? I'm partial to the GU gels.
5) Refraining from eating like a horse after every long run! Strangely enough, the amount of food that I eat has not changed much. This is in sharp contrast to the first time I trained for a marathon, when I would return from a long run and become a carb monster. In light of John Cloud's TIME magazine cover article on "
Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin", I have to admit that although I find the article to be sensationalist and misleading, I indeed have not lost much weight. However, I do feel stronger and more toned, and I fit into my clothes better, all without giving up my Chipotle burritos and other indulgences.
And perhaps the best benefit of all- I've managed to maintain my sanity and peace of mind in a period of relative insanity and high stress at work. The best reason to train for a marathon is that it forces you take time to take care of yourself.
12 more weeks! :D
