I really did it and entered a Marathon, which is taking place on October 26. This will be my first, so I’m more excited than I really ought to be. I thought I’d start a thread about training and post every so often, probably more as fall approaches.
I did do track and field in high school, although I was mostly a field (weights and broad/triple jump) guy till my last two years, when I started sprinting. In college my primary sports were volleyball and basketball, but I had to give these up at the age of 19 due to multiple shoulder dislocations. Running was basically the only good exercise left to me that I really enjoyed, and one really doesn’t go out and sprint, so I’d run a couple of miles on occasion.
I started doing a little more distance in my 20’s, but developed this swelling on my knee, so I took a year off. I started cycling, which didn’t do the swelling any good, but I found that moderate cycling and running in conjunction were bearable. Then, several years later, I tore some cartilage and saw an orthopedist about it. He said don’t sweat the cartilage (I had my knee scoped six months later), but the knee with the swelling on it needed attention, which was physical therapy.
The PT was a miracle – I was suddenly able to run waaaay more than I ever had before. Over the next couple of years, I built up to maybe 20 miles a week, always taking a month or so off in the winter to let the knees recover. They’re an issue, and I go to PT every couple of years to get the inflammation down, but as my doctor said, it’s irritating, not debilitating.
So I’ve done a couple of half-marathons and 10-milers in the last couple of years, and decided, at the tender age of 47, to do a marathon this year. One thing I did last year, when I started adding a long weekend run to my weekly training, was start cycling 2-3 days a week. My knees were balking at 30-35 mile weeks, so I scaled back the weekday running to 2 days and added in 12 mile rides 2-3 times a week. I make sure not to do two days in a row of cycling or running as long as it’s biking (>70 degrees) weather. That way I was able to build up to runs of 10-14 miles on the weekend, and last October my knees felt better than they had for a couple of years.
So I started to do long runs and started biking this spring in preparation for the marathon. I built up to about 18 miles a few weeks ago, before the hot weather hit. I figure this will make it easier to build up in the late summer/fall. I’ve talked to lots of people, who have said anything between “You have to do runs of 24-25 miles” to “Ah, you can run 14, you’ll be fine” when giving marathon training advice. I will really really d my best to do at least 20 before the race, preferably 22 also.
As an aside, I remember seeing Rita Rudner many years ago, talking about her friends’ stories of their labors. One woman had been in labor something like 20 hours, on which Rita remarked, “I don’t even want to do anything that feels GOOD for 20 hours.” 18 miles for me is about 3 hours; I suspect most people find it absolutely insane that anyone would do something grueling like running for 3 hours. I certainly question my sanity in that third hour. OTOH, after running 3 hours I went out and did a bunch of yard work, which made me feel really good about the marathon.
Oh, and as I had mentioned before, I’ll be trying to drop a few pounds – I’ve dropped 5, and my body can tell already. I absolutely need to drop 5 more, preferably 10.
So that’s my ramble for today. If anyone has read the whole thing, you have my thanks and apologies for going on and on.
Edited for cross-cultural compatibility.
