Have you ever watched the Boston Marathon on TV? Lightning fast Kenyan’s hauling in from Hopkinton to Boylston St in just over 2 hours?
That’s not me.
Maybe you’ve gone to the Boston Marathon and stuck around the finish line to see the “average” runners finish in 3 or three and a half hours.
Still not me.
Truth is I’ve never broken 4hours in 7 tries at the 26.2 mile distance. I’ll happily toot my own horn and point out that I have finished all 7 marathons I’ve started, and I’m damn proud of that. Not breaking 4 hours does eat away at my competitive soul though.
It takes a very unique (my wife may say “stupid’) person to even try to run a marathon. The weeks and weeks of training waste away your muscles and test every ounce of motivation one has. It’s a pain, joy, accomplishment, and hell that is only experienced by those stupid runners.
It involves racing in the rain and running in the dark. There are good days when an 8 mile run turns into a 12 miler, but there are das when a 6miler turns into a 2 mile sprint back to the house for the sweet relief of the porcelain throne (yup, I’m going there).
My end goal is the Cape Cod Marathon on October 28. This isn’t the 30,000 person Boston or NYC marathon. It’s only 1200 runners, no TV coverage, and only about a million fewer people watching around the course. It’s less about the race though. The “fun” is in the next 15 weeks of training.
I’m going to give you a day-by day perspective of what it’s like to be a 4-hour marathoner training solo for a marathon. The thoughts, the results, the sounds, the music, and just about anything else that comes up. I hope you enjoy.
Day 1: July 16, 2012 4.5 miles
Day 1 sucks. I haven’t run since a half marathon on Memorial Day. I’m not in terrible shape, but I have a very long way to go. Last night I decided to try something new and re-lace my two pairs of Brooks shoes with an orange shoelace on the right shoe. Not sure if I have a good reason for the change, but I’ll make something up eventually.
It is a rough start today. First it’s still 80+ degrees out at 6pm. Second, my diet today included 2 iced coffees, a ham sandwich, a buffalo chicken Boloco burrito, and a blue raspberry airhead. Less than ideal. Finally, I spend half an hour looking for my iPod only to learn halfway through my run that it wasn’t charged enough.
Despite the struggle I was able to get the mojo going and went out for my four and a half mile jog. I watched the Ironman Triathlon yesterday so I had that in my mind to act as my push.
I’m not going to yap about pace or strides or that boring stuff yet. Here is what I thought about in the 45 minutes on the road:
1. I need a cool t-shirt for the race. Suggestions welcome
2. I wish I wasn’t so tubby at the moment that I could run without a shirt on. Note that as a long term goal.
3. My wife isn’t home…what the hell should I have for dinner.
…ahhh, the thoughts of an “elite” athlete.
It was ugly, but I finished the run. Now I’m going to guzzle water and watch the Sox game hoping Youk hits a foul ball right into Bobby V’s face.
Tomorrow: Going to try for another 4 ½ miles. Possibly early in the morning so I don’t melt again. It’s supposed to be 100 degrees here in Boston.
Running song of the day: Coldplay – “Fix you” Great song that keeps building and building which makes me feel like I’m in my own music video.
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