I thought I was in great shape and I went out very aggressively for someone attacking 13.1 miles for the first time. I hit the midway point in 52:31, an 8:01 pace. Then, about eight miles into my first half marathon back in May ’10, the Cap City in Columbus, OH, I remember thinking, “I’m never going to run again.” My tank was on empty and I knocked out the latter half of the race in 63:04, a 9:37 clip that consisted mostly of run/walking.
Out of gas with five miles to go at the Cap City Half Marathon.Instead of being proud of my accomplishment, I drove home sad, miserable, demoralized. I spent four months preparing for that day, and in my mind this was the only race in the world that mattered. I crashed and burned on the course that day because I ignored some very simple advice about how to handle a long distance run for the first time.
After a day of feeling like a failure, I woke up the next morning and decided to move on with my life. It wasn’t long before I was planning my next race, and then the next, and then the next…Fast forward to April 3, 2011, when I crossed the finish line at the 44th Annual Athens Marathon in Athens, OH in 3:47:59.
Fresh as a daisy at finish line of the Athens Marathon.Just one year prior, the thought of running 26 miles and 385 yards was incomprehensible. But I basically went from “Couch to Marathon” in less than a year and a half. And so can you, as long as you program these basic tenets into your brain:
Run for a year–You’ve heard the term, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” This applies not only to the race itself, but also to the training regimen. Unless you are a freak of nature, you can’t get off the couch tomorrow and run a marathon three months from today. Respect the process. Your body needs to gradually build up to 26.2. You should be sustaining 25-30 miles per week for the better part of a year before even starting a marathon program. Otherwise, you are asking for injuries.Get professionally fitted for shoes–I can’t emphasize this enough. The right shoes will get you on a course for success. The wrong shoes can spell all kinds of trouble and send you right back to the couch. Running 40-50 miles per week, as you will with any well designed marathon training program, puts an incredible amount of stress on your body. Protect yourself. Running shoes are more complicated than you might think. For good info on this, check out Peter Rumford’s post“Running Shoes: Maximize Your Training with These Tips”.Learn about nutrition and hydration–In addition to logging the miles, you have to commit to taking great care of yourself BEFORE, DURING, & AFTER your workouts. Check out this post from The Running Advisor for basic nutritional information. You will learn what works best for you through a lot of trial and error. Read up on what happens to your body during long, sustained runs and it will help you become a smarter, more efficient runner.Establish realistic goals–Many resources suggest that you shouldn’t have any goals for your first marathon other than to FINISH. But chances are, if you are driven enough to attack the marathon, you have some level of competitiveness that makes it hard to accept “just finishing” as your only goal. I like to tier my goals. The first goal is something I fully expect to achieve, like finishing the race. My second goal is something I am pretty sure I will achieve, barring unforeseen circumstances. My third goal is my “if the stars are aligned” goal. It’s okay to aim high. But also recognize that finishing a marathon is a fantastic accomplishment without any time considerations attached to it.Respect easy training days–This was difficult for me to accept when I first started training. I felt like i needed to exert maximum effort every time out if I wanted to make gains. This is completely false. Any good training plan will have a lot of easy runs built in. These help you build on your base mileage, aide in recovery, and help you develop the slow-twitch muscle fibers required to complete a marathon. When in doubt, slower is better, especially on your super long weekend runs (LSDs).Seek advice from more experienced runners–People in the running community are highly supportive of one another, regardless of ability level. Find a mentor or a group of mentors. Join a local running group if you’re the social type. Don’t let running become a chore. Make it part of your lifestyle and it will be so much more rewarding.Have fun–It sounds cliché, but it’s easy to lose sight of this during a training regimen. Aside from performance goals and the feeling of accomplishment you get from completing a marathon, the primary goal should always be to have fun. I don’t enjoy cooking. So I’m not enrolling in culinary school to become a master chef. If you don’t enjoy running, don’t train for a marathon. There are other fitness options out there.There is something special about finishing your first race at any given distance. But the marathon is really the ultimate achievement in running. You will learn a lot about yourself and what you are capable of accomplishing, you will become as fit as you’ve ever been, and you will cross paths with dozens of inspirational people throughout the process. Put in the time and effort, train intelligently, and you will experience something truly special.
“You can’t fool a marathon.”–Unknown Origin
Kenon graduated from Ohio University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Sport Science. After 13 years of smoking cigarettes, he finally kicked the habit in 2008. Shortly thereafter, a new addiction emerged--distance running. After countless 5k, 10k, and half marathon races, he completed his first full marathon in Athens, OH on April 3, 2011. He is committed to a notion that fitness is not about weight loss, muscle gain, or fast race times. Fitness is a permanent lifestyle choice. Incorporate healthy behaviors into your everyday schedule and you will experience the benefits in every aspect of your life.
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