In the spirit of sharing in 2014, Matt wanted to write about his experience running the Full Marathon this weekend. It is easy to see that he had a much more positive one than I did, but he did a lot more to prepare than I did. Interesting read for you aspiring runners and proof that anyone can run.
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So I ran the Goofy Challenge this last weekend, which is a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday. 39.3 Miles in two days. We run through all four Disney parks and the ESPN Sports Complex, but there's a lot of road in between, and don't forget the water treatment plant (which is lovely at dawn).The marathon worked out really well for me (Bek tells the story of the half). I actually finished in the top 20% of the 20,000 people who ran with a time of 4:28. This will strike some of you as not a great time, and others as enviable, but I am happy with it. It was 37 minutes faster than last year on the same course so it feels very much like a victory. Although, honestly, getting my shoes off my feet at the end felt like just as big a victory.
Some people have asked about why it was better. I'm a little reluctant to say much about it because truth be told, I don't feel like a great runner who can give advice. And this race is pretty fun and casual and not known for speed, but I was a little more focused than most. (The costumes are great and include every traditional character and many weird ones. I saw a guy running while dribbling two basketballs, a man dressed as Richard Simmons complete with wig and short shorts, and another guy wearing nothing but a Speedo.) I also don't have a lot of experience, but I like to think I've learned from some failures. I am a great example of the fact that anyone who wants to can train to run a marathon, and get better at it. So with the successes and failures in mind, and to express my firm belief that when you run you only compete against yourself, I'll mention a few of the things I've learned as I've gotten better at it and finally finished one in a way that makes me happy even if I'm not completely satisfied.
There is an enormous amount of good general advice out there, so I won't bore you with too much with that, I'll just specify what I've learned that is important for me.
Physical do's: (mostly boring and obvious)
Eat and drink good stuff, in general and before a race because it sucks to run when you have no energy; and hydrate 'cause cramps hurt.
Train. Put a good plan together, and follow it. There's a ton out there. It doesn't have to be crazy either. I followed this one pretty good, running nearly 400 miles in training and it definitely helped. I haven't been so good in the past. And outside is best for long runs;13 miles on a treadmill is torture.
Develop and test a fuel strategy. Without it I always run out of energy and end up walking feeling very frustrated and depressed at the end. Boo. And if I wait until I start to droop to fuel, then it's waaaaaay too late.
Chaffing will destroy you. I'm serious. Skin that you didn't think could touch will rub, and it's not trivial. The pain will slow you down, make you want to weep in the shower afterwards, hurt longer than than your sore muscles, and make you not want try again. I don't know if this affects everyone but it's a big deal for me. Don't let it happen.
Bio-freeze. This was a new one for me, and I'm going to attribute its effects to Disney magic. At some point your legs start to burn. I put this stuff on my legs starting about mile 14, and it felt like I bought another 4 miles out of them. Reapplied at 18 - same effect. Awesome sauce. My pace didn't really start to lag in this one until mile 25.
Elevation. Train at 4200 ft. Run at sea level. 'Nuff said.
I have found that this business is as much, if not more, mental than physical so here are some mental do's that work for me:
A positive attitude. I'm generally pretty positive, but mile 22 can be a VERY dark place. Forget about the bad training runs, the bad nights sleep, that tingling Achilles and just remember the successes.
New shoes (but not brand new). New kicks, especially colorful ones from a trusted brand make me feel good, but put a few miles on them first so you don't discover the dreaded rubbing in the race.
Get your mind off of it. For most this means a good playlist. I have found this to be VERY difficult because there's only so many songs I can listen to over and over again on repeated long runs. The first 20 minutes are hardest for me but once I settle in music bores me. Shuffle helps but I am a nerd so I listen to Podcasts. TED is my current favorite. Some topics that came up during the race: overcoming, beauty, charity. Awesome. Funny is good too.
Start at the back. I happened to start towards the back on this one, which irritated me at first, but then I noticed that I was doing a lot of passing. I don't know if it's the competitor in me, even though I don't feel like I'm competing against anyone else there, but it made me feel like I was doing well. It was that positive seed I could plant and lean on, when it got tough.
Smile. Enjoy yourself or fake it until you do. This is easier at a big international race through Disney parks, but I can do it just as well in the mountains at home. I read that this helps and it really does for me.
There's evidence that a few other thing might help but I haven't been able to try them yet. Getting more than 5 hours of sleep the night before. I've never done that. Losing some weight. This is primarily why I took up running and it has been an abysmal failure. Evidently tattoos must help because there are loads of them on runners. I just haven't been able to resolve the moral ambiguity of my design choice: an Angel Moroni. Good weather, which I had on Sunday, also really helps if you can sway Mother Nature. Last year was about 20 degrees hotter and more humid. Longer legs would help too, but I've been dreaming of that to no effect since I was a kid.
Most of all, a supportive family and friends make it work. I'm lucky to have more support for runs, questions, companionship or whatever from so many sources. Thanks to my wife who puts up with my time away and all the rest of you who cheer me on. Now on to Ironman?
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