Post Chicago Marathon…

Now that the marathon is over I’m going over thoughts of “what did I learn” and “what am I going to do now”.  With regards to the “what am I going to do now”, the weird thing is that I almost feel compelled to find another race/event to run near term, but my choices, unless I am ok with traveling, are somewhat sparse.  Regarding “what did I learn”:  lots.

One of the biggest things I learned was that doubt was ok and that once in the moment I have tremendous reserves for reaching my goal.  Doubt just made me think more about how to accomplish the objective.  And perhaps “doubt” is the wrong word; perhaps “concern” or “anticipation” might be more appropriate.  I never assumed that I could accomplish the goal, although I was always confident that I could. At the starting line at Chicago I was certainly confident that I would finish the race, but was also aware that there were at least two things that could derail my attempt (cramps and my hamstring issue) – plus there was always the unknowns things that might happen, none of which I will mention for fear of bad karma….  I did not “doubt” that I would finish, but I might have been concerned or held some level of anticipation.

Another big thing was that strength and endurance are critical.  I wish that I had been able to get at least one more 20+ mile run in along with several 16-18 milers.  I’m beginning to believe that the (limited?) conditioning of my calf, hams, and quads were part of my cramping issues.  I’ve done a lot of reading and asking experienced runners regarding cramping and I’m reaching the conclusion that, at least in my case, that my cramping is due to both electrolyte imbalances and muscle conditioning.  The net result of that is that: a) I have to pay very careful attention to my nutrient intake on long runs, b) I need to super-condition my legs (put more long distance runs in prior to a long event), and c) make sure that I vary my stride during a run.   That last item was insight from a 55+ woman, a multi-marathoner, who happened to mention that she varied her stride during long runs in order to fully stretch out her calves, hams, and quads.  Not doing so, she noted, tended to cause her muscles over time in the run to tighten up – which is exactly what was happening to me.

So my next order of business is to work on strengthening my legs (hills, stairs, maybe even weights), and build endurance (more longer runs and maybe do more of the Plyometrics on P90X).

I’m wanting to run more events next year, preferably half marathons, and I would love to run another full marathon if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I can do the full distance without cramping.  I’m drawn to HM’s because they are a respectable distance and I wouldn’t be tempted to run as hard as I would for say, a 10K (which I think can be really hard if you are running for a Personal Best).  We’ll see….  It’s also really weird that I don’t see HM’s as being that long.  A HM is a long way, 13.1 miles, but the effort required to run that far pales in comparison to that required for a 20+miler or a marathon.  Amazing.