Is Marathon Training Overrated?

Well, well, well... It has certainly been a while since there was any action on this blog!

After a period of very sporadic running, I am trying to cram 16 weeks of marathon training into 4 in order to run the Philadelphia Marathon this month. My goal originally was to run just the half, but I figured that if I'm going to fly all the way to Philadelphia, I might as well crank it up and run the full. I don't expect it to be easy and I don't expect to do it very fast, but (here come the famous last words)--how hard can it be?

HA!

Truth is, it will probably be pretty tough, but hopefully not impossible. Why do I think I can pull this off? For a few reasons...

1. I ran 17 miles recently and that felt pretty good. I wasn't even sore the next day (except for my knees, but what else is new?).

2. I pounded out 10 miles on the treadmill on a whim at a pretty decent pace

3. I've gone on a few hilly tempo runs in my hood with a new running group

4. I've been running a few days a week for the past few weeks

5. I am insane

...I'll stop right here because I'm realizing how little that is compared to the kind of training I've done in the past. Oh man. What am I getting myself into? For the record, I do NOT recommend running a marathon with almost no training. This will be an experiment of sorts, because I love racing, but I hate the ultra-disciplined consistent training that it requires (my knees are not a fan either).

Still, it's too late to back off now. I'm doing this no matter what. My fiancé, inspired me by running the Detroit Marathon this year (his first!). So proud of my man!

I am REALLY looking forward to going back to Philly and seeing my friends and running buddies. It will also be a special trip because I'll be looking at and hopefully booking our wedding venue!

17 days till the marathon... Philly, here I come!

In Other News...

So I think it's about time that I set some goals and get back to training again. I just read an article on Runners World about qualifying for Boston and let myself stop focusing on the pain of training and start thinking about the thrill of realizing this longtime dream. PS: shoutout to Rodale for reading my whiney blog post about not getting my magazines and graciously extending my subscription. Never underestimate the power of social media!

Of course, this dream just got slightly less realistic now that the Boston qualifying times have changed. Ugh. I now have to finish a marathon in 3:35:00 or less (and not a second over that) in order to qualify. Just thinking of that makes me too tired to even calculate what kind of pace that is... but whatever it is, it's pretty darn fast.

Reading Kara Goucher's blog has only added fuel to the fire. That woman is a machine and such an inspiration. I can't wait to read her book.

Anyhow, I digress...

The first step will be to start physical therapy and get this knee working again.

Step two will be to find a running program I can manage and set some short-term goals (maybe train for a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon? yes, actually train for it, and not wing it because it's "just a half"!). I'm seriously considering the program in the book Run Less, Run Faster because it only has me running 3 days a week (= awesome).

And finally, I better join a running group because there's no way I can do this alone! I'm setting my sights on the Detroit Marathon in October, but will also be doing the Philadelphia Marathon--or at least the half--in November (the amazing race organizers let me defer after I wrote them a letter explaining my injury last year - with a note from my doctor, of course).

So it's time to get cracking. No more procrastinating: my first physical therapy appointment is tomorrow!

The good news is that I will be able to train with my fiance for the Detroit Marathon. ;)

That's right, we're engaged!

Oh boy, here we go again…

The Dallas Half Marathon is barely history, and already I am thinking about other races. As feared, the Martens seems to have caught the racing bug and has set his sights on the Detroit Marathon this fall. There are a lot of pluses for signing up...

First, it's only $75! What a bargain! Second, the course is actually pretty cool, going into Canada (gotta figure out where to pin my passport) and back. Third, I am always happy to have a reason to go to the Great State of Pure Michigan and hang out with Jeff's fam. And fourth, as superficial as it sounds--the medal and race shirt look AWESOME.

I’ve always wanted to run a marathon with my man, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to take on another marathon yet…

Just the thought of having to get up before the sun and do 14, 15, 16, 18, 20-mile runs in the Texas summer heat makes me want to take a nap immediately. And when you add to that the physical therapy, running in pain, having to run when I’m exhausted, overworked and sleep deprived, having to run while on business trips, plus just HAVING to run, period.... Yeah, it adds up into a deadly combination pretty quickly.

Then again, if I managed to do a somewhat respectable half-marathon without training, I should at least be able to finish a full with very little training, right?

It’s not the race that I fear, I freakin’ love racing. It’s the long training runs, the commitment, and yes, actually, the 5lbs I usually gain when I’m training for a marathon (still haven’t figured that one out!).

This time around, I am thinking of following a schedule from the book Run Less, Run Faster (both concepts are extremely appealing to me). And I must say, running 3 days a week sounds a hell of a lot better than the 6-day training program I was on before...

Dallas Half Marathon

We headed to Dallas this past weekend to run the Rock n' Roll Dallas Half Marathon. It was Jeff's first race, so despite my complete lack of training, I was pretty excited!

On Saturday, we headed to the Expo to pick up our race packets and stuff our faces with free samples. Then we spent some time touring Dallas, and I got a history lesson from the Jeffers when we visited the Grassy Knoll.

We met up with Jason—Jeff’s bff from college, who is the reason we signed up for the race—and spent most of the afternoon lounging by the W pool. Considering that I haven’t worn a bathing suit since our trip to Hawaii a lifetime ago, I was a pretty happy camper to be out in the sun. Check out these two characters with their matching sunglasses:

I took a long nap while Jeff went to the JFK museum (I’d had my share of history for the day), and then we headed out to carbo load and eat some serious pasta.

Sunday morning, we got up at 6:00AM and despite being tired, I got up right away—too jittery to stay in bed when my mind was screaming “RACE DAY!!!!”

I’m a little nervous before every race because there’s always an element of uncertainty… Even when you’ve trained well and hard, you never know what is going to happen. Cramps can come out of nowhere, muscles can get pulled, stomachs get upset, alarm clocks malfunction, headphones stop working, racing bibs get forgotten—and even after the most careful, meticulous planning, sh*t still happens.

I try to minimize the risks as much as I possibly can by setting two alarms, getting to the start line with time to spare, making a list of items to bring, packing in advance—and most importantly, by following the golden rule of racing:

NEVER.CHANGE.ANYTHING.ON.RACE.DAY.

By now, I have my pre-race ritual down to a science—from what I can or can’t eat, to making sure all my gadgets are charged, to what running clothes will be most comfortable. It may sound a little over the top, but every time I’ve changed something last minute, I’ve regretted it. Race day is not the time to experiment with different/new products, stretches, foods, etc. That’s what training runs are for.

But I digress…

The race went really well! I was 6-mins off my PR, but felt pretty good about finishing well under 2-hrs considering the amount of training I had done (zero).

But most of all, I was so proud of my man! He finished in 1:50 and felt good the whole time. Before the race, he said that his would be his "first and last," but I think he may have caught the running bug because I'm already hearing talk about signing up for the Detroit Marathon this year! I know only too well how addictive this can get.. especially for competitive people like us, who are always trying to improve our time.

It felt really good to do a race without the pressure of having a strict time goal. I listened to my body and settled into a pace that felt comfortable--and it was actually faster than I had predicted! My knee bothered me, as usual, but by mile 10 I had done a pretty good job of ignoring it. This was actually the first race where I managed to do negative splits so I was really proud of myself. I finished sprinting and my last mile was actually my fastest.

So now I may have caught the running bug too (again). Detroit doesn't sound that bad after all... Now I just need to get this knee fixed!

A few more pictures....

Freezing at the start line... It was close to 90 degrees the day before and temps dropped to low 50's on race day

Check out the poor girl on the left...

Adventures in Fishing

Since I am barely doing any running, I decided it was time to take on another sport. Of course I chose what could arguably be considered the most sedentary sport of all time--if a sport at all: Fishing. Oh, yes, you heard me.

Of course, my initial thought was to sunbathe with a good novel while Jeff caught all the fish, then cleaned them for our dinner. Alas, the reality of it was very different…

On Sunday, we headed to Dick's Sporting Goods to load up on all kinds of fishing equipment - rods, hooks, line, and of course, bait aka. disgusting squirmy live worms.

After watching the Michigan basketball game at Sushi Zushi (all that fishing talk made me crave sashimi), we headed to Brushy Creek in Cedar Park.

Getting there took a little longer than predicted because we got lost due to bad directions, but we still had a few hours of sunshine left.

Unfortunately, we had a rough start… Once we opened the can of worms (prophetic) we realized that they were all dead. Not just dead, but melted together and shriveled up to the size of toothpicks—soggy, rotten toothpicks, actually. As if those things weren’t gross enough already.

So we had no worms and were forced to fish with the little sparkly gummy worm-type fake fish we got at Dicks. Fine with me!

But as it turns out, my sparkly pink fishing rod was not the best quality (shocker). The line got all tangled up pretty much immediately, and when it wasn’t getting tangled on its own, I would of course manage to get it wrapped around some kind of branch while attempting to cast it (in my defense, it was really windy!).

So, two hours, a multitude of mosquito bites, and no fish later, we were getting pretty discouraged. The last drop was when a gigantic bug flew directly into Jeff’s eye, which promptly began to swell. We decided to call it a day.

***

The next day, I called Dick’s from my desk at work, and treated my co-workers to what must have sounded like a very interesting conversation starting with “Hi! Do y’all have any live worms?”

I learned that apparently all the worms in their fridge had perished and it would be another week till they had live ones. Not to be deterred, I headed to a specialty bait shop after work. When the owner - a very nice guy names Joe - learned that we were going to Brushy Creek, he insisted on giving me some live minnows from his huge tank.

He then demonstrated how I was to pierce the poor lil fishy’s head with the hook (“It ain’t gonna kill it; he’ll keep flappin’ around to attract the big fish”). I had to hide my horror the entire time and just nodded as if, yep, no problem, that sounded like a plan.

Yuck.

We decided to try Emma Long Park this time, but still no luck.

All we managed to catch was this little sunfish Jeff is holding.

Still, we are not giving up!

A few lessons learned:

- Fish don’t eat chicken, so use worms.

- Don’t attempt to hold a worm with a leaf as you try to put it on a hook. Sadly, there’s no way to do it without touching the little monsters.

- Worms BLEED. Yes, they bleed red gooey blood… GROSS!

- Don’t attempt to clean off the gooey worm blood from your hands with scented wet wipes. Apparently, the fish don’t like the smell of lavender and vanilla. Who knew?

The Good, the Bad... and the Slowly

This weekend I went out for a 10-mile run with Jeff in preparation for the race (2 weeks from now—yikes!). It was my one and only long-ish training run. Although it was great to have a running buddy (a shirtless, handsome one to boot!)—I am undeniably out of shape. My knee started hurting after mile 2 and the pain only got worse as the run progressed, and I got progressively slower...

Gone are the days when I could do a 10-mile run and keep my average pace close to 8-minutes. Gone are the days when I was actually happy that was doing ONLY 10 miles, when that was considered an “easy” run.

Not so much right now.

The Dallas Half Marathon is only a few weeks away and I am yet to stick to any kind of training plan. All I’ve managed to get in is a few miles here and there, plus some lifting. A few sad realizations:

- My knee is destroyed.

- I know that I need to start physical therapy.

- I know that I need to be stretching, foam rolling, etc.

- I know that I am going to regret not being prepared…

But is that enough to get my butt on that treadmill or running outside consistently? Ah, no.

So we're wingin' this one.

After the race, I plan on focusing on overall conditioning: lifting more and doing more circuit training. Still, I think I can manage shorter, fun, spontaneous runs. You know, when you decide last minute that it's too beautiful a day to stay indoors, impulsively change into your running clothes and head out the door--no Garmin, no plan, no goal. Just you and your own natural pace. I need more of those moments, and luckily had one a week ago:

Last Saturday was a beautiful spring day here in Austin. The sun was shining, temperatures were in the high 60’s… it would be a sin to run indoors.

I quickly debated the pros and cons of running outside vs. just going to the gym. The gym definitely sounded more convenient: I knew how to get there without getting lost (um, yea, still learning my way around Austin). I could just pound out a few miles and come home--no sunscreen required... But then I looked outside again and my decision was made.

The goal was to run at least five miles (ideally ten) at any comfortable pace.

I made it downtown in one piece, found my exit, and even managed to find the perfect parking spot—no need to parallel park! I stretched for a few minutes and started running... Past people fishing, past little kids rolling down grassy hills, past the UT crew team gliding across the lake. I felt my heart expand with happiness.

What a blessing to be living in this great city. I felt so lucky to be alive, to be breathing in this beautiful day, to feel the sun against my bare shoulders, to be outside... It was one of those rare moments when everything just fell into place and I couldn't help but think "Now this is why I love running."

Stagnation

I’ve been terrible about updating the blog recently. And terrible about running (the two usually go hand in hand). A few quick updates…

- I have signed up for the Dallas Half Marathon next month. Yup. No turning back now. Am I ready for it? Not at all. Am I training for it? Nope. Am I still gonna do it and pray for the best? You bet! The Jeffers will be doing it with me and we will also be meeting up with his buddy Jason and his girlfriend Kyleen. So although it will definitely not be my best race, it should be a fun weekend!

- I just found out that my running team placed first in our division at the San Francisco Marathon last year! Go Team No Beer Left Behind! I even got an awesome shirt in the mail.

- I am yet to join a running group here in Austin, but am thinking of starting one at Google and seeing if I can get my co-workers to come out once a week for a few miles... Hmmm…

I’m not sure what I can do to get excited about long distance running again. I’m kind of in a slump. I was starting to get back on a schedule and then a few things happened to ruin my good intentions… 1) I got really sick with the flu, 2) I was traveling for 3 weeks for work, 3) I was working my butt off and had no energy for anything else, 4) It was really cold outside (yes, I live in Texas but it snowed here, and temps were in the 20’s!), 5) WHY AM I NOT GETTING MY RUNNERS WORLD AND RUNNING TIMES MAGAZINES IN THE MAIL ANYMORE? I moved to Austin in October and since then I’ve only gotten one issue in the mail, despite numerous calls to Rodale. Must be a sign...

Okay, excuses excuses, I know. Time to get moving again and be disciplined. And since I only have about a month until the race, it’s crunch time! What do you to stay motivated during running limbo? Time to do some research and see what I come up with…

Once a Runner

Run to remember, run to forget.

Run to escape the thoughts, to gather the fragments.

Run to ponder questions, to find answers, to clear the mind.

Run to exhaust the spirit, to clear the mind.

Run to rebuild, release, resist, refresh, renew, rewind, rewire.

Run to embrace the feelings, to numb, to let go.

Run to fall in love, to heal the heart, to soothe.

Run to inspire, to honor, to respect.

Run to admire the power and the fragility of the body and mind.

Run to understand, to accept, to gather strength and resolve.

Run to feel more acutely, to live more intensely, to be humbled.

Run to say goodbye, run to discover, run to uncover with each run

a new beginning.

A few months ago, one of my running buddies recommended a book called Once a Runner, by John L. Parker, Jr. It took me a few months to get through it (mainly due to my bad habit of reading at least 3 books simultaneously and always having to finish a book once I start it, no matter what). Once a Runner is inspirational and describes perfectly, lyrically the "Trials of Miles and Miles of Trials" that the distance runner must contend with on a consistent basis.

It seems that part of the title is deliberately missing. Once a Runner... Always a Runner? Is that true? Once you catch the running "bug," does it ever go away? Or does it just lie dormant for a while--during an injury, a harsh winter, a period of life changes and tribulations?

I haven't gone for a "serious" run in what seems to be a long, long time, but in actuality, it has only been a few months. I look back at the impact that running has made in my life, and it becomes clear how ingrained it is into the fabric of who I am... So many memories, so much of my past revolved around running--it is part of my identity now...

The memories are countless. Running along the beach in Brazil every day after school; running in Houston in oppressing heat and humidity--using an overpass for my hill workouts; running in the woods in France; my first run around the snow-covered Mount Holyoke Campus, past all the beautiful ivy-covered brick building and frozen lakes; running with the realization that my father was dying; running in the Aeolian Island of Panarea, up the steep slope leading to a prehistoric village dating back to the Bronze Age and awaiting the sun; running along the river in Seville and getting so thirsty in the 110 degree heat that I begged a stranger to "donate" his bottle of water; running ankle-deep in snow around the Haverford Campus; running in the pouring rain with a heavy heart in Washington D.C.; running through the streets of Philadelphia; running with my friend Amber in Guatemala; running with my team from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; running with my track team, waiting for my lungs to explode; running over the Golden Gate Bridge after finding out my friend Leon had died; running the Dublin Marathon in memory of my father; running the San Diego Marathon in honor of my friend Denise; running the Silicon Valley Marathon to surpass my own limits...

In my previous blog post, I listed 10 reasons NOT to run and why taking a break is a good thing. But the truth is, that no matter how long I go without running, once a runner...

Note: The picture is of Boa Viagem Beach, close to where I grew up, and where I went on my first solo runs.