The plot twist in my marathon journey
Before my career as a lawyer, I was an aspiring screenwriter. The rest of that story is for another day, except to say that, if I was scripting a story of someone running a marathon, it would probably go something like this. The protagonist of the story is someone who overcame significant obstacles to be able to try to achieve a long-held dream of running a marathon. Upon seemingly overcoming every hurdle in his way, he trained hard for race day and continued to improve day after day as the race approached. It appeared that not only would his dream of running a marathon happen, but he would run it faster than he ever imagined. But, naturally, a plot-twist occurs, and the protagonist faces a big setback – one that puts the marathon in jeopardy. Then, the ending can go several different ways . . .
If this is a Rocky-like movie, then the end is about going the distance. It was hard to realize that Rocky lost the fight with Apollo Creed at the end because his goal was to go the distance, and he did.
If this is like The Natural, then, just as that final game seemed hopeless, Roy Hobbs left his hospital bed to return for one last game where he struggled but ultimately came through in a heroic moment at the end.
Or, if this is a lesser-known sports movie, American Flyers, then Kevin Costner’s character, a cyclist training for a big race, is unable to finish it because of an aneurysm he experienced while in the lead, but he inspires another (his brother) to finish it and win.
Surely, there are so many other endings to this movie, and the ending of my marathon journey is not yet written. But the plot twist is . . .
In the script about my marathon journey, some of the key obstacles I’ve had to overcome are being overweight, out of shape, unmotivated, and unable to withstand the pounding that running put on my body. After years of changing my habits, my fitness, and my mindset, I believed last year that I was ready to take on the marathon. I’ve lost weight, become fit, am focused, and can run longer distances than ever before. I thought I overcame it all and was eager to begin the actual training program.
Left: October 2015. Right: November 2024
The program was a shock to my system – both in good and bad ways. First the good. It completely changed up the fitness routine I had been building for so long. One where I varied my workouts from day to day based on my own desires and my recovery data. It got me out of my comfort zone. It challenged me to follow a schedule that pushed through low recovery days and had me running far more than I ever had. It also made me fall in love with running.
My desire to run a marathon does not come from a love of running. I always wanted to love it, but the marathon was about doing something that once seemed impossible. The first time I gave up on this dream, it was because my body couldn’t handle the sport. I was fine with that, as I was on a journey to improve my fitness, and running was getting in the way. It hurt, and I would often have to take time off to recover. What happened after I gave it up, was that I achieved more success as to my body, my fitness, and my mind than I ever imagined. I became a new person. And I had a new body that might just be able to handle running. So, I took it up again and each time I ran farther, I felt like I could go on. And with each new barrier I broke while running, I fell in love with it. Even the pain felt good. It was a different pain than years before. I recovered quickly, and I felt stronger afterwards.
Finishing the Brooklyn Half Marathon. May, 2025.
But where the training program was not so good, was that it took me too far away from myself. The routine I had kept my body fresh and strong, and mixing up my workouts kept my mind balanced. The constant push through an aggressive program pounded my body. My mind was all about the race – even as I did some of my other favorite activities outside of the training program. With each benefit I got from it, I could feel the added risk I was taking. I became too focused on trying to keep up with the program and less aware of what was best for my body. Enter the plot twist . . .
If you read last week’s blog, you know I sat out my long run due to groin pain. And while I thought it might be improving after resting it last Saturday, I listened to the advice of friends and family and saw a doctor. The likely diagnosis is a torn labrum in my hip. I’ll be getting an MRI this week to confirm the extent of it and will further discuss treatment options with my doctor. She did not give me any assurances that I can run the marathon, but she said there are some injections that might keep it in play. In the meantime, she said I could do other workouts so long as I am careful to avoid any that appear to aggravate it – which I had been doing since Saturday.
That said, after receiving the news that my injury was more serious than I had expected, there was a lot that my mind had to deal with. I went through every emotion from thinking that I may never run a marathon to thinking I can just push through anything for one day to cross the finish line. I could be like Rocky and go the distance no matter how long it takes or how much pain I am in. But thankfully, my mind was able to put it all in perspective. In that moment, there really was only one thing to think about . . . what’s next?
That seems like an easy one to answer. Up until this point in my training, “what’s next” was simply the next step in the program towards race day. Now, the program is out the window. The target for determining what’s next is less clear. Part of me felt like succumbing to the possibility that training is over and just returning to my previous routine of doing mostly what I feel like doing. I have built up a genuine need to remain active, so I wasn’t worried about shutting down entirely, but just being active won’t always help get me to race day. So, I ultimately answered what’s next by focusing on what it would take to be as ready as I can if, and when, running begins again. The past week I’ve done swimming, Peloton, strength training, and some indoor climbing. Peloton was the only one that felt afterwards like it aggravated the injury a bit. Amazingly, swimming makes it feel better. So, until I find out otherwise, most of my cardio workouts, long and short, will be in the pool. Just as I had to do with running, I’ll need to adjust to doing longer and longer swims, as most of mine have only ever been 40 minutes or less – and usually are less.
Swimming more often this week reminded me that it was originally part of my plan to swim more and run a bit less while training. I didn’t end up doing that, as sticking to the training program became a mission. For a while, it was my goal to hit every workout in the plan for all 20 weeks. Then I realized that was not the right goal. That wasn’t right for my body or my mind – particularly when it made it so hard to continue to be me and do the other things in life that I enjoy – and need – like climbing. So, I learned to be a bit more flexible and to make the training program my own. I learned that recently, and perhaps a bit late. I knew from the beginning that swimming more and running less would keep my body fresh. Right now, swimming is pretty much all I can do.
After last week’s blog, several people reached out either to check in or to let me know I did the right thing by skipping the 17-mile run. This was all before my presumed diagnosis of a torn labrum, but one message from a friend who has run six marathons especially helped put me in the right frame of mind. First, he said that, at our age, recovery is more important than the actual training. That’s an easy one, as you all know my extensive recovery routines. Still, to put it into perspective and weigh it even higher than the training was helpful. Second, he said, so long as I get one 20-ish mile run in before the race, I’ll be able to gut it out. That one seemed encouraging at the time since I assumed it would just take another week or so of rest to fully heal. Yet, now knowing there’s likely a tear in my hip, my running future is less clear. What I do know, and what determines what’s next, is that I’ll do whatever I can do to be ready to run that 20-ish mile training run when I get the chance. I won’t do anything I’m told not to do. I’ll listen to whatever my doctor says in terms of whether I can run on November 2 or not. Part of that is in the hands of fate. But another part of it is about taking my fate into my own hands. It’s about making sure I stay ready in the event this year’s marathon is possible.
Last week, in a moment of vulnerability, I wrote that the marathon feels so far from inevitable. Ironically, getting this diagnosis and knowing that is this another bump in the road, I am now back to believing it’s going to happen. Whether it is this November, or the next, or even the one after that, this is merely another obstacle to face. Surely, there will be other plot twists along the way. But as someone who truly understands that the best part of my entire journey has been overcoming everything that I have, facing this, or any other setback, is something I embrace.
I noted earlier in this post that the ending of this movie is not yet written. That’s true in many ways, but in one way, it already is. Whatever the outcome, this story will end with the protagonist having gotten everything he could from giving it his all. Whether in the glory of finishing the race or in the agony of failing each time I try, the reward is the process. It’s in the journey and it always has been.
Aaron
Total miles run per week of training:
Week before training began: 15.2 miles
Week 1: 23 miles
Week 2: 20.7 miles
Week 3: 23.2 miles
Week 4: 20.6 miles
Week 5: 25.75 miles
Week 6: 24.2 miles
Week 7: 27.8 miles
Week 8: 22.4 miles
Week 9: 29.2 miles
Week 10: 24.0 miles
Week 11: 9.95 miles
Week 12: 0 miles
See the links below for the other posts in my marathon training series:
Inside my “official” marathon training – 20 weeks to race day!
Know when to say when – a little about marathon training and a bit more about life