First Time Marathoner's Diary

In the stretch run, gratitude

Tomorrow, I go on the longest run of my training for the Marine Corps Marathon – 19 miles. I’m working today, and it’s all I can think about.

A few months ago, this distance wouldn’t have been even remotely feasible, at least in my own mind. I knew it was in the plan, way out there in the future, almost too scary to contemplate. But here I sit, today, at the end of the 13^th week of training, and it beckons. “You can do this.”

My plan is to do tomorrow’s run with a group. A local chain of running shoe stores organizes a long social run every Saturday. I did the 17-miler a couple of weeks ago alone, but that was about as long as I want to go by myself. Tomorrow’s run is expected to last nearly three and a half hours, which is a long time to run alone, even for someone like me who doesn’t mind solitude. I did the 13-miler last week with the running group, and it made everything go by much faster. And I made some new friends!

This group sets up the course in concentric loops, so while we all start together, you can do your own thing. If you want to do 6 miles, you can turn around at Roosevelt Island. Or, if you want to do 13, you go further, and turn back at 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac. Runners of all speeds are welcome, and they naturally cluster into groups of people of roughly equal pace. One thing about running: No matter how much you improve, there’s always someone who will run faster than you! And that’s OK.

Sometimes you just need a little encouragement, and the group provides that. I also get it from my excellent online training program, which was developed by New York Road Runners. Earlier this week, it delivered something that had me reflect on what I’m doing:

“Remember to enjoy the training; once you start overanalyzing, the fun diminishes. You’re at the culmination of 13 weeks of work, this plan is working, and you’re ready to achieve your goals! Enjoy being the fittest you’ve ever been in your lifetime.”

Certainly, I want to do well tomorrow – keep my pace, and not burn myself out. But more important, I want to appreciate what I’ve already achieved. And to express the gratitude I feel for my wonderful family’s forbearance that allows me to do this.

The weather tomorrow morning will cooperate: 50 degrees, sunny and dry. After that, just three weeks to go. I can’t wait, and I know I will miss it!

24 Hours Later: A Postcript

The run was a success! I went 19.25 miles at a pace of 10:33 per mile, which was squarely in the midpoint of the range prescribed by my training program. I ran almost all of it with another first-time marathoner who was not only running 19 miles like me, but was also planning to go at the same pace as me. The perfect running partner!

The morning was so chilly I wore my cold weather gear . The air stayed cool, so I kept it on throughout the run. We ran from Roosevelt Island on the Potomac in Arlington, northward on Capital Crescent Trail through Bethesda, reaching the outskirts of Silver Spring before turning back. I kept my pace under control throughout the whole thing, which was great practice for the race itself. The only time I struggled was during miles 16 and 17, when the accumulating miles were starting to take a toll on my legs, and my mind was fighting me.

But it was all good, and even though my legs are little heavy, it didn’t break me down.

And, I got to see a beautiful sunrise!

Running, the Problem-Solver

Running is one of the best problem-solving tools that I know. When I’m stuck on something – a problem to solve, a crucial work conversation to get just right – a good run will produce a better answer than the one I already have.

A few years ago, I was applying for a big job, and a major part of the interview was a presentation on an assigned topic. With a week to go before the interview, I still wasn’t close to nailing it, despite working on it for hours. After a relatively short run, the answer came to me, and it was a good answer. I got the job.

Why does this happen? I don’t know HOW it works, but I just know that a mile or two into a run, I’m in a steady rhythm, just listening to my breathing, monitoring how my legs and body feels, and solutions start to present themselves.

Unless like many runners, I don’t listen to music when I run. It doesn’t work for me. It throws off my pace, and I’m not truly monitoring how I feel. So I’m alone with my thoughts. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the clichéd “runner’s high.” But I do know that in many runs, I have zoned out enough so that I will “wake up” and not remember how I got from there to here. It makes the run go faster, and quite often, I have a problem solved.

My last couple of weeks

I did SEVENTEEN miles today! It was my longest run ever, and I did it in 2 hours and 54 minutes – much faster than my goal of finishing between 2:58 and 3:02.

I really did not know how it would go. Ten days ago, I got the second dose of the shingles vaccine, and I felt run down for three days – two more than the last time. Still, I was able to run four straight days, pursuant to my training plan, kicking off with a relatively easy 11-miler.

However, after those four days (which coincided with four especially long days at work), I was feeling run down, and felt really tired for the next four days, almost as if I was fighting a cold. This has happened before – three of my four half-marathon training periods were marked by mild breakdowns like this. This week, for recovery, I had two scheduled off days, skipped another scheduled workout, and deferred the 17-miler by a day, to see if I could get myself together.

Sunday morning dawned and I felt pretty good, so I decided to give it a go. The temperature was 68, and not too muggy. I had no idea if I would wear down after 10 miles, 15 miles, or even 5 miles. This FORCED me to start off slowly.

I saw a lot of interesting things today. I started around 6:45 a.m., early enough to see a light blanket of mist settle over some soccer fields. I saw a deer bounding down the road, a female cardinal darting across the path, and a squirrel collide with a bicyclist. Poor squirrel!

Around Mile 4, I fell into a good rhythm, knocking off 10:15 miles where the goal was 10:30-10:45. By Mile 8, I knew I could do it. I was SO happy when I finished it – not only beating the goal, but beating the cold, too.

Next week is a recovery week, with the long run dropping back down to 13. Then in two weeks, the BIG long run – 19 miles! Then taper time starts.

The big day – the Marine Corps Marathon – is coming!

A success, and a failure

The Washington & Old Dominion Trail,
between Falls Church and Vienna, VA

A few days ago, I passed the halfway mark of my training program for the Marine Corps Marathon. Eight weeks down, eight weeks to go.

This is where the real work begins. Before today, the plan was mostly familiar – things I had done while training for the four half-marathons I’ve already run. But starting today, it’s uncharted territory.

The plan for today was to go 15 miles, which I had never, ever run in a single day before. The previous week, I did 15 miles spanning two consecutive days, but this was obviously different. I was actually I little nervous this morning getting my stuff together to go out for it. Could I actually do it at all? How would it feel?

This is a familiar pattern – new things make me both nervous and excited. If I’m on top of my game, I’ll push through the nerves, knowing that the sense of satisfaction will be all the better. If I’m not, I’ll hate myself for it.

For today’s run, my goal was not only to finish it, but do it at the same pace that I’m targeting for my marathon, which is between 10:24 and 10:42 per mile. See, that’s the rub. If I’m feeling strong, I typically want to go much faster than that, and see what happens. That’s OK for a shorter race, but potentially disastrous for a marathon.

Training for, and running, a marathon requires discipline. Plan your work, and work your plan. There’s no escape hatch.

So this morning, I both succeeded and failed.

I succeeded because I did the 15 miles without a mishap: Two hours, 27 minutes on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, on a sunny, mild, dry morning. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I had plenty of company on the trail. I traveled parts I’d never seen before: new hills, new vistas, new experiences. That was great.

And I did 15 miles! Woohoo!

But I also failed because I did not hold my target pace throughout the run. I averaged 9:48, which would be much too fast for a full 26.2 miles. And, the last mile was a grind, which is not a good sign. There is little chance that I would be able to keep that up for my entire race – I would probably bonk. Today, there were some stretches where I hit the sweet zone, but it was on uphill segments, so it doesn’t really count. Mostly, I struggled to stay above a 10-minute pace.

This is something I’ll have to work on. And it will be key to completing the 26.2-mile course on October 27.

Around Mile 10, looking none the worse for wear.

Track Work is the Best

I absolutely love track work. There may be runners who think I’m out of my mind, but I do love it, and I cannot lie.

Why is there speed work in the training plan of a marathon runner? Because it works.

The best marathon training plans go to work on all aspects of the endeavor – fast running, slow running, hills running, flats running, you name it. In my training plan, one run every week is for speed work. This morning, it required a trip to the local high school track to do seven repeats of 1000 meters at a faster-than-normal pace, each separated by 45 seconds of walking. The last interval had to be same pace as the first one.

I got my start running competitively during the indoor track season of my sophomore year of high school in Providence, R.I. The indoor “track” was an old, stately National Guard armory in the heart of the city. The surface was a flat, one-tenth mile oval painted on an unforgiving hardwood floor. The air in that place seemed intent on sucking every drop of moisture from your lungs.

No matter. I loved it, and my times were quickly improving. I was ALL IN.

When it came time for outdoor season, we ran on the streets until the cinder tracks could dry from the winter snow and mud. But the hard surfaces and my bad shoes punished me, and I hurt my foot. I could barely walk pain-free. Every time I felt better, I would try to run, and the pain would return. I had to stop. I thought it was a muscle strain, but in retrospect, it must have been a stress fracture. I didn’t go back to running until I was done with college.

I missed that outdoor season – perhaps more than I realized at the time.

So this morning, while it was still dark, I did an easy mile and a half jog to the local track to warm up. The school parking lots were still empty, the gates were open, and it was just me, my watch, and my training plan.

A thousand meters is two and half times around the track. My plan prescribed each interval at between 5:35 and 5:47, with very little variation. Faster would be OK, if I could handle it and stay there. And on every other interval, practice drinking water while running.

I did the first 1k within the prescribed range, and then snapped off all the rest at BELOW the range. That’s what felt right. And it forced me to concentrate! Get the distance right, keep the same pace, drink my water, and most important, keep an accurate count of how many intervals I had done. As #5 and #6 approached, I was working harder, but that was exactly the point. I was doing fine.

By the time interval #7 was complete, 45 minutes later, the sky was brighter, my legs were heavier, and I had crushed the workout. Time had flown by, and I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. I was where I was meant to be.

And as a bonus, I didn’t choke when I tried to drink and run at the same time.

The rest of the week

Last Saturday, the long run was a 12-miler. I chose a paved trail in Fairfax County that I had run only once before – the Washington & Old Dominion, a rehabilitated railroad right-of-way. A heat wave had finally broken. At 7 a.m. it was sunny, only 62 degrees, and the dew point was in the 50s. Heaven!

And the trail was busy! Runners, walkers, bikers, people with strollers, and all combinations thereof. I saw one guy pushing a stroller containing a crying infant, a whiny toddler, while dragging a small dog on a leash. He deserved a medal.

The run was quite successful, though I’m a little uncertain about the precise time and distance because of operator error with my watch. (Ugh.)

So far, so good. Next weekend – another 11 miler.

The honesty of running

Running is an honest sport. To get better in running, there’s only one way to do it – to run. No pills, no magical foods, no hocus pocus.

Just run.

Putting in the mileage doesn’t guarantee success. You can have good days and bad days, and the reason for it is sometimes a mystery. But if you want to get better, you have to put in the mileage. There’s no such thing in running as a lucky swing, or a lucky shot.

I’m not saying people don’t cheat in track events or in marathons – it happens all too often. But take a look at a typical training plan – like this one from one of the sport’s training gurus, Hal Higdon. It’s a half-marathon plan for a first-timer. What do you notice?

You might see that are no shortcuts. There is a gradual buildup from the first week all the way through Week 12. No more than a 10% increase in mileage from week to week, to minimize the risk of injury. Lots of recovery time, with some variety thrown in. Even a basic Couch to 5k plan follows the same principle. Impatience puts you on the sideline.

The good news? You don’t need to be an athletic freak to do it. If you’re reasonably healthy and fit, it’s achievable. Listen to the coach, and follow the plan.

Plan your work, and work your plan.

A good principle for life, too.

My training this past week

Week 7 has been a good one. It started with an 11-miler while visiting relatives in Rhode Island, following a coastline road in Narragansett on a cool, but muggy and foggy morning. It was an out-and-back, and the only surprise was that the run back included a long, gradual, unrelenting uphill from miles 7-10. Somehow, I didn’t notice it was downhill on the way out! I really should pay more attention. Still, I finished it in 1:42, well ahead of my plan’s recommended 1:48.

Then there were two regular runs of 5 and 6 miles on the weekdays, back here in Virginia, at a good pace. Warm, muggy early mornings on my hilly home course. This morning I saw a fox dart across the road in front of me, the second one I’ve seen in the past month. A few weeks earlier, I saw a small red fox, carrying a dead mouse in its mouth, stop at my traffic light and crosswalk, look both ways, then scamper across the road. Smart fox! I don’t run with my phone, but those were times I wish I did.

The things you might see, when no else is one around, can make that 5:30 wakeup call very rewarding.

This coming Saturday, I have a 12-miler in Fairfax County. Maybe this time I’ll figure out how to use that Camelbak that I struggled with last week.

Starting the journey

So why is this guy, of reasonably good health, well into his middle age, training for his first marathon? Is he playing with a full deck?

Five weeks ago, I began training for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC, which is this coming October 27. This, despite swearing up and down for years that I was satisfied with the handful of half-marathons I’ve been running, and denying I had any interest in putting myself through the ordeal.

So what happened? All I can give you are the facts.

In January of this year, I got an email from the New York Road Runners, inviting me to put my name in for the lottery for their marathon in Nov. 2019. So I did, fully expecting I wouldn’t get in. The chances of successfully entering via the straight lottery for NY are about 1 in 12 – in other words, harder than getting admitted to all but the most elite colleges in the country. As Laureen, a friend of mine who also runs said, it must have been right after a good run. She was right.

The law of averages being what they are, of course I didn’t get in – and to my shock, I was sorely disappointed! I got a nice note – digital pat on the back, and that was it.

Right? No.

I realized that I had started thinking of myself as a marathon runner. The mind plays funny tricks, right? Especially on mine.

I started asking around – what race should I enter? My friends, mostly through Facebook, said:

Boston! (yeah, right. Even the people who meet the brutal time qualifying time aren’t guaranteed an entry.)
New York! (they weren’t paying attention)
Chicago! (OK, maybe … )
Berlin! (because it’s fast – nope, too far)
One of the Rock ‘n Roll marathons (Nah – I’ve heard mixed reviews)
Baltimore! (Seriously, Charm City! I ran the half marathon in 2018 and it was a great time. So maybe…)
Disney! (too flat, and it’s so early in the day there are few spectators on the course)
Marine Corps Marathon in Washington! (Getting warmer … )

The Marine Corps Marathon is just a few miles from my home in Northern Virginia. I had heard great things about its spirit, its energy, the course, the inspirational finish line at the Iwo Jima Memorial … AND I would get to sleep in my own bed the night before.

There was only one catch – another lottery! But the odds weren’t so difficult. So I entered my name, paid the provisional entry fee … and I got in.

Great – now I really have to do this! I bought a subscription to the New York Road Runner online training program, which I had used for my half marathons, and hasn’t steer me wrong once. My plan would start in early July.

So for four months, I thought about it, not actively training for it, aside from keeping up my general running fitness, running about every other day for 4-5 miles. For a while, I would say I’m “entered” in the MCM.

Note the subtle back door I was giving myself. Not actually “running” in it, just “entered” in it. Finally, as July approached, I had to choose – close the back door and go all in, or remain a weasel and leave it open. I shut that sucker dead tight.

All in, baby! So on July 8, the day after returning from a vacation, at 5:45 am, I set out for my first training run – an easy 4-miler.

So now I’m really all in. I want to record what happens to me, at least for my own sake. This is going to be an interesting ride – ups and downs, and sideways journeys too. What will the next two and half months bring? What will follow is my journal of what I’m doing, thinking and feeling.

I know, I know, what’s the deal starting a running diary so late in the game? Really, I was thinking about this all during June, and didn’t commit. So maybe you can see what I’m working on – following through on my plans. No more bullshit. Ideas are cheap; the gold is in the doing.

And, I want to share with it you all. Perhaps you’ll enjoy it, too! Hop on board – the next one’s coming in a day or two.