En Route to a Marathon

With one week left before my first full marathon, I find myself reflecting on the training process, and how I got here. 

I suppose the process began back in 2012 when I started to race triathlon again, after returning from several years of traveling overseas. My running primarily consisted of 5km sprints at that point.  However, after two seasons of running sprint distance triathlons I wanted to challenge myself with some longer courses, which meant training for longer runs.  In the spring of 2014, I did my first 10km road race, the Yonge St 10km, loved it, and thereafter decided to go up a longer distance category each year, as a personal challenge: the half-marathon in 2015, and finally the full marathon in 2016.  So really it took me four years to get to this point.  But the actual training time for this marathon was probably about four months, starting in Jan 2016. 

You learn a lot about yourself when training for a marathon in the middle of a Canadian winter.  When I laid out a training plan for myself, which involved doing most of my long runs on Sunday mornings from Jan-April, I knew it would be hard. But I learned that I was extremely dedicated, determined, mentally tough and well organized. And those were so important for successful marathon training.  You don’t need to be an amazing athlete to train for a marathon, but you have to be dedicated. Very dedicated. Not easily deterred by wind or snow or sleep-ins. 

I also learned how different foods affected my running ability.  Days when I had to do my longer runs I found that meat was much more difficult to digest.  I had to give up meats for dinner the night before a long run and for breakfast that morning.  Not that I was a big breakfast meat eater, but I had become fond of smoked salmon on a bagel.  But after having to take a couple emergency bathroom breaks during my long runs (thank goodness Tommy Thompson Park has 2 strategically placed port-a-potties!), I decided I’d be sticking to jam on my bagel on the long run mornings. Coffee and a banana is still my tried and true life fuel.  A few GU gel packs help too.   

I’ve also learned that people will always criticize what you eat no matter what you’re eating. For instance, I was at a friends Mexican themed party one evening and I was enjoying a chicken fajita when a guy I knew through a sports league came up to me and shrieked ‘You’re training for a marathon and you’re eating that?!’.  I’m not sure what’s wrong with a whole wheat wrap, grilled chicken, peppers, tomato and salsa, but apparently this guy thinks marathoners shouldn’t be eating them.  Perhaps I should have told him that I burned over 1400 cal in the 20km training run I had just finished earlier that day.  I now regret not asking him what I should be eating, just out of curiosity, to see what he would have suggested as appropriate.  Its funny how that incident still sticks out in my mind through the entire training process. 

Alas, I now find myself in the taper phase of my training (a period of training shortly before race day where you reduce your training mileage, but keep up your intensity; and ensure you rest, recover, eat and hydrate properly).  Lately I’ve been doing some taper runs at the pace I want to hold for the marathon (ideally 5min/km).  Checking the long range forecast for what the weather might be race day (right now its calling for a mix of sun/cloud with temps ranging from 5-12C), trying to pick out a race day outfit, and thinking about getting my pre-race nutrition and rest right. 

I’ve also been thinking about my playlist for the 4 hour long run. With the route map laid out in front of me (actually its been stuck to the front of my fridge for the last 4 months so I could visualize it every morning), I thought about what music I’d like to be hearing as I’d be running through that section.  I’ve selected a range of music to reflect how I expect my mood and energy to be at each point. The first 15km (on a slight decline slope) will be The Flavr Blue (an upbeat happy electronic band that makes me feel like I’m happy and flying), when the course starts to level out I’ve selected two Metallica albums (Ride the Lightening & Master of Puppets), which have gotten me through my last half-marathon with their driving hard intense beats, and then for the last 10-12km stretch when I expect I’ll need the most inspiration, I’ve selected some of Eminem’s most motivating tunes, e.g. Til I Collapse, Survival of the Fittest, etc.  Finally, at the end of the playlist I placed The Rocky theme song, it seemed fitting.  

A few people have asked me what my expected finishing time will be.  And to be honest I’m not sure what to tell them, because I’ve never done this distance before.  If I can hold my half-marathon pace of 5min/km, then I could do it as fast as 3h30m, but I think that may be overly optimistic.  I do feel confident that I can run a sub 4 hour marathon, so that’s all I can say at this point, never having actually run the full 42.2km (26.2miles) before. 

I do have a good feeling going into the event at this point.  A bit of healthy nerves, a respect for the distance I suppose, but I do feel prepared.  I was a little worried I’d be tired of running by this point, but I think I’ve fallen I love with running even more in this process. Its truly become a lifestyle, a part of me needs this it seems.  

Well that’s about all for now. I’m en route to a marathon! Wish me luck for this Sunday @ 7:30am. I’ll blog all about it I promise.