I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the One City Marathon is almost here. I’ve been thinking about this and planning for almost a year (a drastic departure from the LAST time I ran the marathon!), and the training has been intense and hard…but fun in so many ways. I’ve had a LOT of time to think and listen to podcasts over the last few months, so I’ve done a bit of self-reflection in the midst of all my training. I have, of course, many thoughts on the subject.
First, I can honestly say I have done everything I possibly can to reach the qualifying time of 3:30 for the Boston Marathon. I’ve had long runs and easy days, speed work and strength workouts, gym time and foam rolling and everything in between. I’ve changed my diet, I’ve slept a lot more, and I’ve done everything I can to stay healthy. If I don’t make the qualifying time, it won’t be for lack of trying!
Second, running and training for a marathon is incredibly hard on the body. I knew this before, but going through it has been a whole different experience. I have random aches and pains all the time, even though I haven’t actually gotten injured. In this blog, the professional runner Drew Hunter puts it perfectly: “Runners are so often walking on thin ice balancing an extremely high level of fitness while managing the aches, pains, and flare ups that come with that territory.” Of course, I’m not running at the level of a professional runner, but that also means I’m not able to recover in the same way…and I don’t know the long-term viability of continuing to train as hard as I have.
Third, my discipline and commitment has been tested in new ways. Getting up at 5am for an easy 4-mile jog is SO much different than a 13-mile tempo run that I have to finish before Nathan goes to work. It’s been exhausting and mentally difficult. I’ve started trying to talk myself OUT of getting up to run, which is completely opposite from the past when I woke up excited to run. Once I get out there I’m good to go, but getting out there has gotten to be much more challenging than I’ve imagined. I’ve never skipped a run or workout (except those few days when I had the flu), but I’ve gotten much closer than I thought I would.
Finally, I’ve never loved running more. I know, I know…after all the aches and pains and getting up early and doing things I didn’t think I could do, you would think I hate it by now. But I don’t. Even when it’s hard to get up and get going, once I’m there I’m in love (unless it’s windy!). Some days I turn off everything and just breathe in the air. A lot of days I pull up my regular rotation of podcasts, and everyone from Ali on the Run to Preet Bharara to Mario Fraoli have kept me in good company.
And I’ve gotten better. I’ve gotten faster. I’ve run times I never thought I’d see in my wildest dreams. I distinctly remember being frustrated for months last spring that I could never seem to get beyond 8 miles in a run. Now, 8 miles is an easy day and I rarely run for less than that. Hitting 16-mile long weekend runs was something I never thought I could do and while I honestly still don’t love long runs, my definition of ‘long’ has changed dramatically.
So what’s the conclusion? To be frank, I don’t know yet. I still need to actually run the marathon, and my goal right now is to get there healthy. I know that no matter what, I’m a runner to the core, whether I’m training for 26.2 miles or just enjoying the air outside. That will never change, even if my training does…
