Angela convinced me that we absolutely needed to do the marathon training team again this year. It would be difficult for me to put down in one post just how much we learned doing this last year. In short, we went from people who go jogging occasionally to runners. Here would be my top list of things I took away from last year:
- Good equipment (clothing, shoes, GPS, hydration, etc.) won’t make you a good runner, but bad equipment will make you a miserable runner.
- Training is a never-ending process. Training never ends after one race, it just peaks and then ramps down between races.
- Mental conditioning really is that important. Your mind will make you stop long before your body will.
- You have to pay attention to what you’re eating. You can’t eat too few or too many calories; you have to find the right balance.
That only scratches the surface, but there some of the key things I’m trying to keep in mind going into my second marathon. We’re signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. / Arlington, VA at the end of October. We wanted to have a change of scenery this year and give a sort of test run to the idea of running vacations. Angela and I had talked about doing marathons in other cities or even other countries, and then just a couple of weeks ago I read an article in the Christian Science Monitor about how that same thing is getting to be very popular1 Anyway, it seems like a great way to see more of a new city and meet some of the local people. Of course, Angela will tell you that I’ll stop every 100 yards to take a photo and be worthless as a result.
By joining the training team, we are also signed up to run the Richmond Marathon as well2. It’s only 12 days after the Marine Corp, so you’ll have to ask me later if I’m going to run it for sure. Right now, I’m planning on it, but there’s really no way to predict how I’ll be doing then.
Also, I’ve signed up for a free account at WeEndure.com, which is a handy way for me to log all my miles online. I’ll try and keep it going during the whole training. I’ll also add all the races on there for anyone interested. If you’re thinking about visiting us sometime, why not making it a running vacation?
- One of my new things on my life-to-do list is visit Antarctica and run a marathon there. A training team coach of mine did that last year and became the youngest women to run a marathon on all seven continents in one year. [↩]
- It’s included in the fee for the team. After you subtract out the $65 marathon registration, the $15 for the team color t‑shirt, and $20 for your marathon racing singlet, the training team only costs $30. That means that you get six months of running advice, access to physical therapists (new this year), free clinics, snacks and energy gels, and more. I mean, I used $30 in energy gels alone last year. Seriously, it’s one of the coolest things in Richmond. [↩]
Wow! Good luck on the two marathons if you feel up to it! That would be a feat.
Gracias, running chicka. Only time will tell if such a feat (feet) is possible…
Way to go! There is NOTHING better than joining a training program when you’re wanting to achieve change. I ride a bike with a long-time friend, and we go out most days into the empty country roads on the edge of this beautiful city of Christchurch. In fact today I cycled my 5,000th kilometer since April. Wouldn’t have managed that without my friend’s company, I think. This is where a good corporate teambuilding program should position us. I mean, a lot of them them do training and introduce us to new ventures, or experience ‘zones’, but then the program is over…and what do we do. Nothing. We slip back to what we WERE doing before the teambuilding. Well, I’m thinking a good team building program should include some kind of on-going training or exercises or workshops, so we can retain the benefits after the event. Anyway, I’m rambling a bit off topic here…Good luck for your next marathon!