Yesterday, I ran my first marathon!
To be completely honest, as weird as is it was, I enjoyed the training 10x more than the actual race. With the combination of the freezing temperature, and 30mph winds it was t.o.u.g.h. I also am fighting a cold, so I had taken Sudafed before running, which left me feeling awfully dizzy at some (OK most) miles (note: don’t ever do that!!).
Despite the unplanned resistance training (credz to @h3ath3rf3ath3r for the term) and my body not cooperating, I am beyond happy for the experience and beyond glad I did it. And I would be amiss if I didn’t mention how blessed I am to have met so many amazing, like-minded individuals… peep Heather and Caroline!
I can truly say that I have grown to love the sport of running, and this definitely won’t be my last marathon. Congratulations to all the runners of the Philly Marathon, especially my friends Ron, Heather, Asja, Ross, Heather, and Caroline!
Finish line!
Now, since I am sure you don’t want a full mile-by-mile recap (and since I spent mile 8-18 thinking about this yesterday), here are a few things that nobody tells you about training for a marathon:
It hurts.
It hurts in weird ways. Parts of your body that you didn’t even know existed will hurt. You may even get a sexy sports bra rash. But, that’s OK, if it didn’t hurt, you would be a super human.
picture not appropro –> chest completely torn up from sports bra
There will come days, where you will have to hop on a treadmill and run massive amounts of miles.
When I left school to work for a weekend in Baltimore, I ran 15 miles on a treadmill, watched the news loop 3 full times, and had to restart the treadmill 4 times. It will be rough. But, when you are done you will feel like you can conquer anything, and you CAN.
On the same note, there will be days that you have to wake up or go to bed at ungodly hours in order to get your miles in.
But, that’s the price we are willing to pay. You’re whole body and soul needs to be in it.
Life doesn’t put itself on hold.
Yeah, maybe you ran 18 miles that morning, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to go to school, or work, and be on your feet all day. But, that’s OK, running a marathon is meant to add to your life, not take away.
You will know everything there is to know about your area, and all the ~cool~ trails, roads, and sites there are to see.
The second day is the worst.
Sure, you may be sore and tired after that long run, but the next day…. that’s when it gets ya. Beware of ~the steps~. But that’s OK, sore means you pushed yourself.
Your phone, or your ipod, will most likely die at one point when you need it most.
But, that is also when you will grow the most. There is something beautiful in being so immersed in the world.
The hunger is real.
When you rev your metabolism that hard that frequently, you’re going to be hungry, ravenous maybe. It’s kind of a struggle but at the same time wonderful because your body needs all that good food.
There is a point when the issue isn’t your cardiovascular system being tired, but your mind being tired.
You will experience some of the mentally toughest hours you ever have, but nothing worth having comes easy. I wrote an article on how to get through those tough long runs if you are interested.
There are times you are going to want to cry and times that you are going to be on top of the world.
It is a roller coaster, but one worth waiting in line for.
But, this is all OK, it is not meant to be easy.
It is meant to change you and to challenge you. It is meant to give you a new perspective on life and your body.
This is all OK, because the moment you cross that finish line will be one of the best moments of your entire life, and NOTHING can take that away from you.
YOU MAKE YOU xoox,
Colby
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