Jess Runs Her First Marathon - Part 1: Training (sprinkled with a little bit of pre-race nerves)

It has been forever since I've posted anything here. Do not worry...I am still running! The marathon is tomorrow and the past couple of days I have taken some time to reminisce about the past 7 months of training for the marathon.

594 miles, 28 weeks, 1 goal.

1 goal: 26 miles before I turn 26 (turned 25 in August, so tomorrow may be a goal setting day for me!)
28 weeks: Seems like a long time, but it certainly does fly by! Especially when you're running almost 600 miles during that time period
~600 miles: At an average pace of 9-10 minutes per mile is approximately 5,700 minutes = 95 hours. Breaking it down like that, proves that it is a lot of time on the pavement. Running became a part of my everyday life. Even on days I didn't run, I thought of running.

The following picture is an overview of my 28-week training period (courtesy of the ole' standby Nike+ Coach Program):

The weeks were, for the most part, tolerable. A majority of my runs were 5-12 miles. When the intensity picked up, I was running 5-6 days out of the week. With one long run at the end of each week. "Short" runs being 4 miles and the longest run was 22 miles.

The program never pushed me to run more than the actual marathon distance. I've heard mixed reviews on this approach. I am okay with not having run the marathon distance before. I have used Nike+ training in the past, with the 5K, the 10-miler, and the half marathons. I have had success and trusted these programs so I felt comfortable only running 22 miles as my farthest run. We will see how that works out for me tomorrow!

Training was a challenging experience for me. There were good weeks, some bad weeks, awesome feel-good runs, and runs where you just feel like giving up on the whole thing. My levels of motivation and confidence were all over the place.

The following are a few random things that I've learned throughout my training.

1. Sidewalks are dangerous (well in RI at least):
   The famous "Rhode Island" roll-out. Operators of cars do not realize there is someone in the sidewalk that wants to cross until they are well over the crosswalk creeping out so that they can cut someone off. I would have to run behind cars countless times. Most of the time I would make sure to make eye contact with the driver and give them a dirty look. Needless to say, I found much better luck on the road in the shoulders.
2. Children are hazardous:
   Especially on bikes. On the bikepath. Typically children drive right into the direction they are staring at. When they see a runner like me with all my gear for long runs (hydration pack, head phones, GPS watch), they look at my like I'm insane. Watch out for those kids. They'll getchya!
3. Camelbacks actually do work well: It was an idea one day. I ran out of water too soon on a hot day. I had just four 8-oz bottles on my fuelbelt. I knew I needed to do something about my hydration. I thought of a camelback. Toyed around with the idea for a bit, then finally just bought one. Best idea ever. I bought the smallest one so that I wasn't carrying too much on my back. It was still 50 ounces of pure hydration. Amazing. It never felt too heavy and I had plenty of water for my long runs (I obviously don't like circling around or stopping anywhere).
   
4. Life sometimes gets too busy:
   There were weeks where I only ran 1-2 times. I skipped some runs. It was a crazy 7 months with 5 weddings to attend, moving from Western MA back to RI, adjusting to a new work schedule (twice) and finally getting settled in. There are a lot of life things to do besides run. Unfortunately running took a back burner a few weeks out of the training. However, I was always able to get back onto track pretty easily. It's okay to take a break once in a while. I followed the training program about 80%... I would say that's still successful.
5. Getting sick sucks: I traveled to Montana in September for my cousin's wedding. Montana is not the most direct place to get to. I had to take a total of 6 different planes round trip. It was inevitable I was going to get sick. But damn. I was feeling like crap for about a week. I don't know what I had. I ran a couple of times during that week, but they were probably my worst runs ever. It being late September by this time, I was getting quite worried! Don't get sick. It will be your ultimate low in the training, lol.
   

Blood. Sweat. And yes, tears.

Blood: Simple enough. Blood from blisters and chaffing. I got a couple bruises on my pelvis area from having my fuelbelt on too tight.
Sweat: To the point that I wasn't just sweating, I was salty and gritty. Kudos to Tang for pointing out that I should have more salt/electrolytes while running. I was drinking enough water, but not replenishing the salt/electrolytes effectively.
Tears: I did get discouraged from time to time. Worried. Frustrated. How am I going to complete 26.2 miles? Am I really ready? Can I do this? It was indeed an emotional experience as well.


It's here though. Whether I am ready or not. The marathon is just hours away. Stay tuned for the race report. I'm excited to see how I do. I expect it will take me about 4 and a half hours. That's a long time but my ultimate goal is just to run the whole thing. I just want to run. Pace myself. And have a good time.

To be continued...