April 26, 2015
3 years ago I said I would never run a half-marathon. Then I ran one.
I said I wouldn't run another half marathon. Then I ran 3 more.
I guess I'm not very good at achieving my goals of not doing something.
Even so, with 100% certainty, I said would NEVER EVER run a marathon. N-E-V-E-R.
Then, in a moment of weakness, I signed up for the 2015 Orlen Warsaw Marathon. My first thought: doh!
One of the reasons I "never" planned to do an Ironman triathlon is that I didn't want to run the marathon (besides the other two reasons I don't want to do an IM: the 3.8 km swim and 180 km bike). I agreed with myself that I'd not even consider an IM until I survived a marathon (which I thought I would never do).
Well, now I've done it. I ran a marathon. Writing this now is a bit funny for me, thinking I ran "only" a marathon, considering a couple friends recently competed in a 250km team bike/run race around Warsaw, which I was supposed to do with them, but more on that later.
I wouldn't say the marathon was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done, as the half-Ironman distance triathlon in 95 degree weather was definitely harder. But in many ways a marathon is mentally harder. At least in a triathlon you get to change exercises a couple times during the race, and take a short break in the transition zone, which keeps it interesting. But in a marathon, you only get to run. For 4 hours, if you're lucky. 4 freakin long hours. One foot in front of the other. 10 billion times in a row. You have to be mentally strong for that.
Why is a marathon 42.195 km anyway? A lot of people think it's because of the original distance the Greek messenger ran 2500 years ago from Marathon to Athens...but actually, the officials re-checked his Garmin GPS watch and it showed he only ran 40km. So why the the extra 2.195 km? Who likes to torture people by making them run further? It turns out that in the 1908 Olympics, the Queen of England wanted the marathon to start at Windsor Castle and ended in front of the royal box in the Olympic Stadium. And the Queen gets what the Queen wants. This route measured out to 42.195 km and the distance stuck. Those pesky Brits. I think next time I will just run 40km out of protest, and recognition to the original Marathoner.
As you noticed, I managed to survive the race. I don't have any clever race story, but I do have a "step by step" guide to completing your first (and obviously only) marathon.
Preparation for the race
1. Sign up well in advance so you can forget about it for a couple months (and possibly completely forget that you ever signed up in the first place). You can also tell people you are planning to do it, and they get impressed and say things like "oh I would never run a marathon, I admire you". Then if you decide to drop out of the race, it's OK because you've already collected the praise. #freepraise #noshame #norefunds
2. Complete a half marathon as a training run, slowly, preferably with a fun cause like Spartanie Dzieciom #forthekids #nakedrunning
3. Start training, slowing building up the weekly long runs to 30-35 kms. Remember it's not about the speed, it's about the distance. You gotta do it. #what30km?
4. Learn how not to be bored out of your mind during the 30-35 km runs. Seriously, they are super boring. Sometimes it's nice to run with a friend so you can chat, but let's be honest, talking to the same person for 3 hours gets boring. So the next best thing is to listen to podcasts. And a lot of them. This American Life, Adam Corolla, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Stuff You Should Know, and The Barbershop 206 kept me company. I actually started looking forward to long training runs, just to have time to listen to the podcasts. #podcasts #antisocial #runningisboring
5. Don't bring more food and drink than you need, because it's heavy - you can buy stuff at the shops along the way. During training I was carrying water bottles, gels, sandwiches, vaseline and bandaids for blisters, a headlamp, phone, ipod, money, keys and most importantly my bus pass in case I couldn't run home. Sometimes it felt like I was running with an entire Oregon Trail supply kit. #heavypockets #wheresmywagonaxle #dysentery #fordtheriver
6. A peanut butter and honey sandwich, with salt and a mashed banana inside make for a good long run snack. Don't underestimate the need for salt on a long run, especially if it's hot. I even added some salt to my water (with honey), and made sure my isotonic drinks had a good amount of sodium. I used to cramp after about an hour of running, but after I paid attention to salt, cramps have been non-existent #hungry #saltynuts #saynotocramps
During the race:
7. A patellar tendon strap can relieve knee pain. During training runs without it, my knee would kill me after 20 km, but with the strap during the actual race, I barely felt any knee pain #kneesaregood
8. The first 10km is a warm-up, so force yourself to go slow. Otherwise you risk going too fast due to the adrenaline and burning out too soon. I didn't allow myself music during the first 10km, on one hand to enjoy the sounds of the crowd and atmosphere, but also to make sure I didn't get too pumped up listening to "Roar" by Katy Perry. It turned out that the first 10km was my slowest 10, while my second 10km, when I got excited and finally felt like I could run, was fastest. #slowitdown #katyperryisonmyplaylist
9. Keep a comfortable pace to finish with a smile on your face (that should be a song lyric) - rather than pushing too hard and being miserable the whole time. Breathing during the long, slow race wasn't a problem...leg and back pain was more of an issue, so don't push yourself to the point of heavy breathing from the start, or your legs will really not be happy. #nohashtag
10. Kilometer 31 sucks. During this particular km, you will feel extreme pain and will think to finish is impossible. I hated kilomter 31. I guess everyone has a different "kilometer 31", but definitely everyone has it. #km31cansuckit #overcome
11. Just like any other difficult race, the friends and fans cheering you on makes it all worth it. Especially in that last 2.195 km when you are cursing out the Queen of England under your breath. #thankyoufans
12. 4 hours is a reasonable goal for a first time. I was very pleased with 3:48. #under4hours
After the race:
13. For a couple days after an intense race, if you have to walk down any stairs, do it backwards. This is OK even if it's in the busy metro. You just grab the handrail, turn your body so you're facing the people impatiently walking behind you (you should ignore their looks that say "you're weird"), start stepping backwards gingerly, careful not to tumble down, and look them in the eyes as if to say "no, actually you're the weird one for not walking backwards". It becomes a battle of wits as you silently try to convince them with your eyes that you are the normal one. Even if you can't convince them, the pain is much easier to manage and it's only weirdly uncomfortable the first few times. #imserious #dontbeshy
14. Take a break from your job if you're a foot model. Blisters may appear all over your feet, and your nails may turn black and fall off. You should just hide your feet from everyone for a few weeks. #handmodel
15. Don't train for the Bloody Loop (a 250km race with 4 guys and 3 bikes, which takes over 24 hours) only 5 days after the marathon. We tried a short training run (45 km mountain bike and 15 km trail running in about 6 hours), and it destroyed me. For the next month, I couldn't even run 1 km. This has been an on-going situation, and it took 2 months before I could run 5km again without any pain. This past Sunday, I managed a 1/8 IM distance triathlon, and am relieved I managed it relatively pain-free #wtf #legsareback
Although I didn't get to race in the Bloody Loop with my friends, I don't think my body regrets it. I managed to finish the marathon in under 4 hours, and as long as my knee will heal soon, it was worth it...but I can "safely" say I'm not considering doing another one in the near future.
But we all know I've said that before... #brokenrecord
3 years ago I said I would never run a half-marathon. Then I ran one.
I said I wouldn't run another half marathon. Then I ran 3 more.
I guess I'm not very good at achieving my goals of not doing something.
Even so, with 100% certainty, I said would NEVER EVER run a marathon. N-E-V-E-R.
One of the reasons I "never" planned to do an Ironman triathlon is that I didn't want to run the marathon (besides the other two reasons I don't want to do an IM: the 3.8 km swim and 180 km bike). I agreed with myself that I'd not even consider an IM until I survived a marathon (which I thought I would never do).
Well, now I've done it. I ran a marathon. Writing this now is a bit funny for me, thinking I ran "only" a marathon, considering a couple friends recently competed in a 250km team bike/run race around Warsaw, which I was supposed to do with them, but more on that later.
I wouldn't say the marathon was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done, as the half-Ironman distance triathlon in 95 degree weather was definitely harder. But in many ways a marathon is mentally harder. At least in a triathlon you get to change exercises a couple times during the race, and take a short break in the transition zone, which keeps it interesting. But in a marathon, you only get to run. For 4 hours, if you're lucky. 4 freakin long hours. One foot in front of the other. 10 billion times in a row. You have to be mentally strong for that.
Why is a marathon 42.195 km anyway? A lot of people think it's because of the original distance the Greek messenger ran 2500 years ago from Marathon to Athens...but actually, the officials re-checked his Garmin GPS watch and it showed he only ran 40km. So why the the extra 2.195 km? Who likes to torture people by making them run further? It turns out that in the 1908 Olympics, the Queen of England wanted the marathon to start at Windsor Castle and ended in front of the royal box in the Olympic Stadium. And the Queen gets what the Queen wants. This route measured out to 42.195 km and the distance stuck. Those pesky Brits. I think next time I will just run 40km out of protest, and recognition to the original Marathoner.
This one is over 42 thousand km - quite further than expected (#punctuationmatters)
As you noticed, I managed to survive the race. I don't have any clever race story, but I do have a "step by step" guide to completing your first (and obviously only) marathon.
Preparation for the race
1. Sign up well in advance so you can forget about it for a couple months (and possibly completely forget that you ever signed up in the first place). You can also tell people you are planning to do it, and they get impressed and say things like "oh I would never run a marathon, I admire you". Then if you decide to drop out of the race, it's OK because you've already collected the praise. #freepraise #noshame #norefunds
2. Complete a half marathon as a training run, slowly, preferably with a fun cause like Spartanie Dzieciom #forthekids #nakedrunning
3. Start training, slowing building up the weekly long runs to 30-35 kms. Remember it's not about the speed, it's about the distance. You gotta do it. #what30km?
4. Learn how not to be bored out of your mind during the 30-35 km runs. Seriously, they are super boring. Sometimes it's nice to run with a friend so you can chat, but let's be honest, talking to the same person for 3 hours gets boring. So the next best thing is to listen to podcasts. And a lot of them. This American Life, Adam Corolla, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Stuff You Should Know, and The Barbershop 206 kept me company. I actually started looking forward to long training runs, just to have time to listen to the podcasts. #podcasts #antisocial #runningisboring
5. Don't bring more food and drink than you need, because it's heavy - you can buy stuff at the shops along the way. During training I was carrying water bottles, gels, sandwiches, vaseline and bandaids for blisters, a headlamp, phone, ipod, money, keys and most importantly my bus pass in case I couldn't run home. Sometimes it felt like I was running with an entire Oregon Trail supply kit. #heavypockets #wheresmywagonaxle #dysentery #fordtheriver
6. A peanut butter and honey sandwich, with salt and a mashed banana inside make for a good long run snack. Don't underestimate the need for salt on a long run, especially if it's hot. I even added some salt to my water (with honey), and made sure my isotonic drinks had a good amount of sodium. I used to cramp after about an hour of running, but after I paid attention to salt, cramps have been non-existent #hungry #saltynuts #saynotocramps
WITC before the race
During the race:
7. A patellar tendon strap can relieve knee pain. During training runs without it, my knee would kill me after 20 km, but with the strap during the actual race, I barely felt any knee pain #kneesaregood
8. The first 10km is a warm-up, so force yourself to go slow. Otherwise you risk going too fast due to the adrenaline and burning out too soon. I didn't allow myself music during the first 10km, on one hand to enjoy the sounds of the crowd and atmosphere, but also to make sure I didn't get too pumped up listening to "Roar" by Katy Perry. It turned out that the first 10km was my slowest 10, while my second 10km, when I got excited and finally felt like I could run, was fastest. #slowitdown #katyperryisonmyplaylist
9. Keep a comfortable pace to finish with a smile on your face (that should be a song lyric) - rather than pushing too hard and being miserable the whole time. Breathing during the long, slow race wasn't a problem...leg and back pain was more of an issue, so don't push yourself to the point of heavy breathing from the start, or your legs will really not be happy. #nohashtag
10. Kilometer 31 sucks. During this particular km, you will feel extreme pain and will think to finish is impossible. I hated kilomter 31. I guess everyone has a different "kilometer 31", but definitely everyone has it. #km31cansuckit #overcome
11. Just like any other difficult race, the friends and fans cheering you on makes it all worth it. Especially in that last 2.195 km when you are cursing out the Queen of England under your breath. #thankyoufans
12. 4 hours is a reasonable goal for a first time. I was very pleased with 3:48. #under4hours
Feeling good!
The camera caught me as I was landing from my jumping finish
After the race:
13. For a couple days after an intense race, if you have to walk down any stairs, do it backwards. This is OK even if it's in the busy metro. You just grab the handrail, turn your body so you're facing the people impatiently walking behind you (you should ignore their looks that say "you're weird"), start stepping backwards gingerly, careful not to tumble down, and look them in the eyes as if to say "no, actually you're the weird one for not walking backwards". It becomes a battle of wits as you silently try to convince them with your eyes that you are the normal one. Even if you can't convince them, the pain is much easier to manage and it's only weirdly uncomfortable the first few times. #imserious #dontbeshy
14. Take a break from your job if you're a foot model. Blisters may appear all over your feet, and your nails may turn black and fall off. You should just hide your feet from everyone for a few weeks. #handmodel
15. Don't train for the Bloody Loop (a 250km race with 4 guys and 3 bikes, which takes over 24 hours) only 5 days after the marathon. We tried a short training run (45 km mountain bike and 15 km trail running in about 6 hours), and it destroyed me. For the next month, I couldn't even run 1 km. This has been an on-going situation, and it took 2 months before I could run 5km again without any pain. This past Sunday, I managed a 1/8 IM distance triathlon, and am relieved I managed it relatively pain-free #wtf #legsareback
A couple pics from Bloody Loop "training"
It's not exactly easy going
But there was some peaceful running
Although I didn't get to race in the Bloody Loop with my friends, I don't think my body regrets it. I managed to finish the marathon in under 4 hours, and as long as my knee will heal soon, it was worth it...but I can "safely" say I'm not considering doing another one in the near future.
But we all know I've said that before... #brokenrecord
