Marathon Thoughts

I know it's been a while since the ING NYC Marathon drew to a close and I should have written about it before now.

The time just didn't seem right.

When the marathon ended I didn't event want to think about running, let alone talk or write about it. (Although I am a twitter follower of many elite runner.)

I needed a break.

Recently I received my marathon finisher's certificate in the mail. I also need to decide if I am going to qualify for the 2013 ING NYC Marathon.

While I am deciding what to do next here are my thoughts . . .

If you have ever wanted to run a marathon than you must run the ING NYC Marathon. It is an experience that will be hard to match. The neighborhoods, crowds of people cheering you on (if you write your name on your shirt), the camaraderie of your fellow runners and a sense of accomplishment like no other.

Knowing that you have done something that most people wouldn't even dare to attempt does give one's self a certain swagger, a certain sense of "I am superhuman."

Of course with everyone running marathons and ultra-marathons and triathlons and the Iron Man, well it does water down one's sense of self importance.

And no matter what anyone will ever say, it is a group effort. I could not have run it without the support and love of my girlfriend Mandy, the support and patience of my manager Cyd and my sister Sue.

All that being said here is what I learned about running and training for my first marathon.

1.) Don't fly across the country a bunch of times the week before the race.

2.) Stay off your feet the day before the race. (Even if you want to hang with your sister at the expo.)

3.) On race day don't pace around the starting village, lay down and put your feet up no matter how nervous you are.

4.) There are two pacers. Follow the correct one. One pacer runs the first half way fast and then slows down, the other keeps a steady pace. I thought my Garmin was broke since I was running 8:15-8:30 miles when I wanted to run 9's. (But hey I was following the 4 hour pacer!) Only when I started slowing down did I see the other pacer who was running how I trained. (Ugh, you live and learn.)

5.) Carbo loading means carbo loading. Don't think you can cheat it. I tried. That's why at mile 18 I realized I had no glycogen left in my muscles. I still plowed through but life would have been a lot easier if I had really increased my carbs that last week.

6.)Work for negative splits on half marathons during your training. It will make you stronger.

7.) Hills. You don't need to run steep, hard, fast hills. For my next marathon I will run a fast 10K then jump on the treadmill and do mile long hill repeats with the incline on 6 or 7. I ran steep, hard hills and lots of stairs. It's not the same. The bridges are long slow inclines. So hill train the way you need to for your race. (Of course I will still do really hard steep hills as well.)

8.) Don't stop lifting until 2-3 weeks before. (It will make a huge difference.)

9.) Foam rolling and yoga are your friends. Make them a part of your daily life in some fashion, even a little bit.

10.) Drop weight. Cut 10-20 pounds during your base or speed phase of marathon training. (It will be easier during that time. That way when you are doing 20 mile runs (and longer) and need more recovery time etc., you don't have to worry about losing weight or keeping it off, all you have to do is maintain. And quite frankly losing the 10-20 pounds (If you have it to lose) will make your body a lot happier after 26.2 miles.

11.) Marathon distance is a b$t&h to train for. It will consume all of your time and you have to be willing to give up a lot of your life. I prefer the half-marathon distance. I can still run long and train hard, but no run has to be longer than 2 hours. It means I still get to keep my Sundays.

12.) Taper. No really taper. Taper smart. Did I mention you should take tapering seriously?

Until next time true believers.