Know when to say when – a little about marathon training and a bit more about life
A year ago, I turned 50 and celebrated by, among other things, jumping out of a plane. At the time, I said it seemed like a good way to celebrate every decade and that I was good until 60. That feeling lasted about a week before I realized that once a year was a much better idea. So, the plan as I turned 51 this past week was to jump again. It was an ambitious plan, as I scheduled it for Saturday afternoon following my 12-mile marathon training run. It was made more ambitious by the fact that this past week was my most tiring work week in over a year with about five hours of sleep a night for five straight nights. My thought was simply that, if I was going to burn the candle at both ends to get this all in, I couldn’t wait until it was much later into my training when rest would be even more essential. And of course, it was my birthday! (In case you forgot.) Well, as I’ve written before . . . man plans, God laughs.
Marathon training at four weeks – Sacrifices and results!
One of the mental tactics I’ve used during workouts for some time is to break them down into percentages in the middle of the grind. For example, if I’m in a 45-minute Peloton class, then 15 minutes in, I tell myself that I’m one-third through it. I continue that at various intervals throughout the workout to make it feel shorter. One of the most important ways to use that is with running. A 10-mile run is easier when I think of it in segments. After five miles, all I have to do is do that same thing once more. When I have two miles left, having only 20 percent remaining makes it feel like I am already near the finish line. But this percentage thing can apply not only to a single workout, but also to a long-term training plan such as what I’m in the middle of right now in working towards the NYC Marathon.
Marathon training – hot as (bleep)! 19 weeks to race day!
Over the course of my marathon training, I’ll be providing many updates. Sometimes, they’ll be short weekly posts and others may be longer updates of several weeks. The key is that I’ll share the space I am in at each point in this journey towards running 26.2. Over this past week, that space went a bit back and forth.
Week two of marathon training had a different feeling than week one. While the start of training felt like the marathon was getting close with only 20 weeks to go, my mindset shifted in week two to the realization that I still had 19 more weeks of this massive commitment remaining. Right now, while the marathon is the destination, my immediate goal is to give the training program everything I’ve got. This week, it set in how daunting that is – especially as New York was hit with insane heat. All I can say is that, for a couple days, it was really, really, hot. It reminded me of Eddie Vedder’s speech at this Pearl Jam concert I went to at Fenway Park in 2018. I’ll let Ed take care of the explicit language that better describes the heat . . .
Inside my “official” marathon training – 20 weeks to race day!
For those who have no idea what it is like to train for a marathon, all I can say is, “join the club!” Neither do I. But this past week marked 20 weeks until the NYC Marathon – a key milestone where training programs officially begin. Now, a week into my first ever marathon training program, I am filled with countless thoughts flowing through my head. I want to do my best to share it all as I go through this unfamiliar process. No matter whether I succeed or fail by the end of this program, I think we are all sure to learn something.