Stages of a Marathon

This is my take on the 10 stages of a marathon... If you've ever run a marathon you'll so get it... If you are considering running one, now you'll know what to expect!

Stage 1: Pre-start Anticipation

Standing (or sitting) in the Starting Corral. Sun is just peeking up over the horizon. Anticipation and excitement are high. It’s chilly, you are ready to go, and you are packed in with 1,000’s of fellow runners, all anxious to get this thing going. It’s a little boring. You’ve already been up for 3-4 hours. And you need to pee…

Stage 2: Miles 1-6, finally running

Slowly getting the kinks out, trying to warm up and not hurt anything. Lots of noise and cheering. Trying not to get too hyped up and blow energy. Gotta find a place to pee.

Stage 3: Miles 7-14, in the groove

Ok, this is what you’ve trained for. Cruising along, not too fast, trying to remember when and where to find some fuel or fluids. You are feeling pretty good. Everything is normal. Hey, this isn't so bad!

Stage 4: Miles 15-20, starting to feel kind of like work

More than half way done, less than half way to go. Keep her steady, remember fuel and fluids. You've trained for this. All good. But jeesh, this is beginning to feel like a haul.

Stage 5: Miles 20-24 – crossing the chasm

You are now running in the black hole. You’ve never run this far before (except for maybe your previous marathon…), and there is no telling what is going to happen. Training runs maxed out at 20 miles. Can you even run further than 20? Don’t think about it. Just run. You won’t get to the finish line if you don’t run. Just run. Gotta keep running. Do not stop.

Stage 6: Mile 24 – things hurt

Multiple body parts are complaining. Must keep running. Very tired. Feet say stop. Head says not yet. no way. Spectators yell “you are almost there!”, but you know that already, you just wish that it were true. Digging deep for the will to keep running. There is a vague mirage of a finish line somewhere ahead. Could it be? Gotta keep running.

Stage 7: Mile 25 – 1.2 miles to go

Oh me oh my – yes, there is a finish line up there somewhere, you can smell it, you can hear it. You are struggling, but can’t stop for nothing now. Anyone can run 1.2 miles. Anyone. C’mon baby, c’mon, dig deep.

Stage 8: Mile 26 – New Life

You can see the Finish Line… It is shimmering with all of the wonders of sweet relief and promises of untold wealth and happiness. New found strength floods your legs (where the heck was that back at mile 23?). Praise the gods, you are going to finish the marathon. Nothing short of a bolt of lightning is going to keep you from crossing that finish line. And yet those last 385 yards are like an impossible distance. Why is this not over yet? Why is there a hill here? Are you freaking kidding me? C’mon baby, c’mon!

Stage 9: Finish Line – Euphoria

Relief, disbelief, unbridled satisfaction, euphoria like you have never experienced before in your life, and so much more flood your body. It’s done. You did it. You did something that others won’t or couldn’t. You took yourself out to the edge and you brought yourself home. The feeling is indescribable. You will never be able to explain this feeling to anyone.

Stage 10: Later that day – Now what?

Ok cool – you did it. Your walking is a little stiff, but you feel good. Now what other seemingly insurmountable challenge can you conquer?

In the event of interest, here are links to my two marathons. They were hard, no stellar times, but they were great experiences:
Marine Corps Marathon 2013:  Marine Corps Marathon -2013
Chicago Marathon 2011:  Chicago Marathon - 2011

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Another 20 mile run for my log book

Pushed out another 20 mile run yesterday as part of my training plan for the Marine Corp Marathon (5 weeks to go).  My plan has been to put in at least three 20 milers, along with a couple of 18’ers, the intent being to build up and solidify my endurance.  So far I have all of my 18’ers in and two of my 20 milers – one to go.

I’ve had a long debate with myself about doing 20 mile runs (risk of injury) and asked about it on various runners forums. I asked if doing 16 miles followed by 5 the next day would yield the same benefit as doing a 20 mile run, and the prevailing thought was that doing the 20 (more or perhaps just a little bit less) was better from an endurance training perspective. The 16/5 routine appears to apply mostly to those training plans that involve A LOT of weekly miles and running 6 days per week. I’m running between 4 and 5 days per week and am limiting myself to no more than 45 miles per week – basically a nod to trying to not injure myself. As it is I’m fighting off some minor issues and I’m trying to not aggravate things.

Overall it was a great run – I ran it very conservatively, watching my fuel intake and hydration. I experimented with running with bananas, which I’ll expand on in a separate post. But I have to admit that at the end of my run I was really wondering if I had another 6 miles left in me… and to be brutally honest, yesterday I did not.

As it was, the trail that I ran on (Washington and Old Dominion Trail) intersects with roads from time to time, and although traffic is very considerate to runners and bikers that are crossing, I always come to a stop before crossing because I want to make sure that the cars/trucks are going to stop for me….  And sure enough, at mile 19.90 I had to cross a road  – I came to a stop, the driver waved me across, and it took all I had to get moving again. It required an incredible force of will to make myself start running again. For a moment I thought that the driver was going to get impatient with me and run me over.  Interestingly enough, prior to having to stop, I was grinding out that last mile kind of ok. I wasn’t a figure of elegance in motion, but I was running, perhaps somewhere between a 9:30-10:00 m/m pace. But once I stopped at that crossing, my body was not wanting to move again. But I did, and as soon as my mileage tracker said “20 miles” in my ear, I stopped in my tracks. I seriously did not think that I had another step left in me. And thus my concern.

All things being equal, I recovered pretty quick –I walked around a bit, got in my truck, went through a burger drive through for a couple of cheese burgers (yum), went home and took my dog for a mile walk, showered, a bit more food, and a nap. Then another mile and a half walk with the dog. My feet hurt from pounding the pavement and I’m a little stiff, but overall I feel pretty good.

But still, I have that nagging doubt now… can I finish the marathon?

I remember having the same thoughts two years ago for my first marathon, especially since I really struggled through my training. Two years ago I was not able to completely run a 20 mile distance; on my two attempts I had to walk at least 2 miles each time. On top of that I was struggling with cramping issues. Knock on wood, this year I have done substantially better on my long runs and have not experienced any cramping issues. I feel like I am in better shape, so why the doubts?

5 weeks to the MCM !!!

Why do we run marathons? I did a survey

It occurred to me that people that run marathons might actually be certifiable nuts...  So I did a survey few weeks ago to attempt to find out why we do it. Why do we run marathons?

As I go through my own training for my second marathon, I find that I keep asking myself the question "why am I doing this?" Not because I have doubts or lack of desire, but simply because I have become very interested in why it is that we put ourselves through what we do. There is a lot of training, lots of miles, lots of time, tons of discomfort, it costs money, injuries happen, and so on. And we do it just to run 26.2 miles with 100's if not 1,000's of other running nuts. What drives us to do it?

I hosted the survey at http://whydowerunmarathons.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-do-we-do-it.html which asked 4 basic questions:
1) an open ended question: What drives you to want to run a marathon?
2) How many have you already run (options are 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4+)
3) What is your age group,
4) and Are you Male or Female.

If would like to contribute your thoughts, just go to http://whydowerunmarathons.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-do-we-do-it.html.
  - 4 questions, totally anonymous, take you 60 seconds.

Summary of results so far:

First the demographics

• 48% of the respondents have run 4 or more marathons, 
• 15% are thinking about running their first, 
• 15% have previously only run one marathon, and 
• the remaining 12% have run between 2 & 3 marathons. 
• *What might be key here is that 60% have run two or more!! 
• 33% are in the 40-49 year old range,  25% in the 30-39 age group,   19% are 50-59,   10% are over 60 years old, and the remaining 13% are under 30.
• 62% male, 38% female  (I believe this number is a little skewed, since my personal observations is that at least half the runners in my marathons have been women, if not more)

At a very top level, it seems that we run marathons for a sense of accomplishment; it is a challenge, and we want to see if we can do it. It is a difficult enough of a challenge to not be taken casually, thus providing the sense of accomplishment upon its completion, and for some people, the need to do it again.

To paraphrase some of the general themes that I’ve received:  I want to see if I do it.  I gave birth to a child, can I run a marathon? I’m the only one in my office that will run 26.2 miles. I ran one marathon, can I do better in another one? If I run a marathon (or more than one) I will impress my friends… and so on in that vein.  

The “Can I do it?” trend was typical for first timers or it was a “bucket list” thing along the lines of “several people in my social circle have done it, therefore I need to do it too”.  But for the 15% that have only run one marathon, the phrase “I did it, I survived, I’ll never do it again” was pretty consistent.

There was also a secondary thread that was goal oriented (similar to “accomplishment”, yet different); by scheduling to run a marathon, the goal was to train and exercise accordingly with the net goal of staying fit.  In other words, the marathon itself was the reward, the party, for all of the training. By having the implied obligation to run the event, it became compulsory to train for it, and therefore lead a reasonably healthy lifestyle.  This may be what leads runners to participate in multiple marathons. It may also be that the event (the marathon itself) provides a sense of purpose in one's life.  This was implied, but not specifically stated, (I am grossly paraphrasing and reading between lines here): "I am going to run a marathon and I will surround my everyday life with those things that support achieving that goal".

Some respondents are naturally competitive (and obviously naturally athletic) and their reason for running a marathon is continuous improvement. Can they do better. This group just loves running, is good and accomplished at distance running, and in general loves the atmosphere of a marathon. One respondent wrote to me about the mystery of the event, i.e. there is no telling what is going to happen between the starting line and the finish line (and it’s true – 26.2 miles is a long enough of a distance that anything can happen, be it weather, event organization, personal fitness or injury, and so on).

Another thought that seemed to be streaming in was that everyone enjoyed the buzz and activity surrounding a marathon.  Runners all seem to like the excitement before the start of the race, the support during the event, and of course, the finish line events.  In large marathons there is a carnival atmosphere that just amps up the buzz and excitement.  Obviously, many smaller marathons have little, if any buzz, and is targeted to the serious and hard core athletes.

One response that struck home with me (because we are in the same age group and apparently share the same thought) discussed the desire to run because people that he’s known are now dead or very unhealthy due to life style choices and his goal was simply to live a healthy life right up to the day that he keels over during a run. (I know that sounds morbid, but I agree – I’d rather drop on a trail or a road during a run than in a nursing home….)

But the striking result of this survey was the number of repeat marathoners. 60% of the respondents have run two or more marathons (48% have run 4 or more!!).  This flies in the face of the fact that running a marathon is very hard and sucks so much out of your body, plus it demands so much attention to training.  Obviously, there are exceptions for those individuals who are naturally athletic and have the right genes. 

30 years ago the average finish time was 3 hrs 30 minutes. Today it is at least 60 minutes longer, if not a bit more.  Any runner that is out there hoofing it along for over 4 hours (and I am one of those) is in danger of doing damage to their body – there is so much that can go wrong.  The prevailing wisdom is that after 3 hours of running we are starting to significantly break our body down.  I suspect that those runners that are repeat marathoners are running sub 3:30 events. In hindsight, I should have asked that kind of question in the survey...

But my overall conclusion from the responses that I've received is that the key reason that so many people are drawn to running a marathon is because it is hard, but it is doable, and when you succeed and cross that finish line, there is a tremendous feeling of self accomplishment.  And apparently that leads to the wanting to run another one…

My own reasons have changed a bit, but not by much.  My first marathon was simply a personal call to a challenge.  My running level had amped up enough for me to consider that yes, I would like to attempt to run a marathon.  At a physical and mental level, a marathon is a difficult, yet reachable objective that forces me to train for it, i.e. exercise, and to eat sensibly. I get to apply a level of "mind over matter" to get through the tough spots (of which I have many) and succeeding in that, I believe, makes me a better person.

To me a marathon is a very individual event; oh sure, there are people that cheer me on towards my endeavor, run with me, and so on, but on marathon day only me, my endurance, and my legs will carry me from the starting line to the finish line - it's all me - no one else can run it for me. And being able to cross that finish line is a very personal achievement.

And guess what?  I'm going to run my second marathon on Oct 27 - the Marine Corp Marathon, and I am very excited about it! And I'm totally expecting to run a third marathon at some point after that.

(If you would like to leave a comment I've been told that it may be necessary for you to temporarily allow 3rd Party Cookies - it's not my thing... it's seems to be a Google Blogger thing... For example, if you use Chrome as a browser, go to "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and select "Show Advanced Settings", select "Content Settings" in the Privacy section, and then un-select "Block 3rd Party cookies...".   I would not recommend leaving your settings that way, so be sure to reset it back to block 3rd party cookies.)