Training - 2006 MCM

We all decided to go with the Jeff Galloway method for training. The basic gist is you don’t run obscene amounts of miles every week. You do a couple of short runs during the week, then a single long run on the weekend. The idea is to get your endurance levels up, without hurting yourself. This schedule is geared for non-runners who want to finish the marathon. That was me to a T.

The training started out exciting and fun. Olga, the coworker I was training with, invited me to run during the week with some friends. Twice a week we would go out and run three miles. It was winter, but once we got running it was plenty warm. It was great running with other people because we could talk and joke and keep our minds off the running. At this point in the training I was very optimistic about being able to finish. I decided that I would cross the finish line in less than four hours.

In the spring the training started for real. The schedule had us starting on April 3. All six of us were ahead of schedule. Our long run for that week was two miles. I was already up to six miles. Go me! Olga and I were getting together to do the long runs. We were so proud of ourselves for being able to run so far. We were happy and still optimistic. I was still confident about finishing in less than four hours.

Then the summer came. I was looking forward to the summer. In the past I really enjoyed running in the heat. I enjoyed the challenge and sweating and feeling like I was really getting in a good exercise. I have learned better now. Running in the summer sucks. There’s just no other way to say it. I don’t think it was just the oppressive heat that made summer running difficult. We were also ramping up our long runs. We hit double digits! It was a great milestone, and our legs could feel it. Mondays became elevator days for me. I started regretting having my bedroom on the third floor of my house.

In the training once we did an eleven mile long run we got a break. Instead of increasing the long run every week we started doing the long run every other week, then doing half of the long run the next weekend. So we did 10 - 11 - 6 - 12 - 6 - 14 - 7… That first 6 mile long run was heaven sent for me. I as able to keep up with the long runs, but I wasn’t really fully recovering in time for the next long run. Being able to take a break and only run 6 miles was great. That’s how we were starting to think about it. I’m just doing six mile, that’s going to be a nice break.

Summer was also the time to start experimenting with eating. Something I didn’t realize is that people eat during a marathon. Not the supper fast people, they’re too busy being fast. The regular people like me eat. I had never eaten when exercising, so I was told to work that into the training. That was difficult for me. Olga and I started out with sports gels, but we didn’t like them. It was too much in one shot. Olga experimented with making peanut butter sandwiches. She was nice enough to make me some too. They worked great for her, but not so much for me. I was having a real hard time, especially on the long runs (18+ miles).

Eventually I learned how to eat. A company makes power cubes that are kinda like gummy candy. At the suggestion of one of the other runners I started eating a cube every two miles. That worked great for me. I was getting a constant supply of energy spread out during the entire run. It was also forcing me to drink more than I was at first. I think I got dehydrated on a lot of the summer long runs. I decided that finishing in less than four hours wasn’t going to happen. I’d be happy with a sub six hour marathon.

In training we also got a chance to run on lost of different trails. One weekend we ran around BWI airport (not fun because it’s completely open to sun and car fumes). We hit a few trails around Maryland. What ended up being our ‘favorite’ trail was the Mount Vernon trail in Virginia. We liked it because there were restrooms, water fountains, well marked miles, shade, and lots of other people out running and biking. The part I didn’t like was the giant hill at the end of the run. After a few trips up the hill I learned that was Mount Vernon. Did I tell you that the longer you run the dumber you get. Try doing math in your head after running 15 miles.

Summer was also the time when we all started to get hurt. A few of us overextended our knees around our 18 mile run. Some of us had hip problems. The injuries led to the low points of the training. When we had to take a week off to recover bad thoughts started coming to us. Would I heal in enough time to finish training? Would I heal at all? Do I really want to heal? Wouldn’t this make a great excuse for quitting? I think Olga was the reason I didn’t throw in the towel. She wouldn’t let me quit or follow my natural tendencies in being a slacker.

I had shin and feet problems. I also had knee problems, but those problems came from me hitting my knee on doors and furniture. You would think I would learn after the first three or four times. At one point I ended up getting X-rays to make sure my foot didn’t have stress fractures. That was about a month before the race. I had already run 26 miles in training, so I was curious about the foot. I had already decided that no matter what the doctor said, I was running the race. It ended up I was just walking funny and stressing a ligament or something. The doctor told me to have fun in the race.

A few weeks before the marathon we had all finished at least 26 miles. That was a great feeling! We were going into the marathon having already done the majority of the distance. It was also a great feeling knowing that all six of us stuck with the training and were able to at least get to the marathon. Some of us (myself included) were a little worried about beating the single cut-off point at mile 20. We were worried, but determined to give it our best.