Ok, I have a confession. I’m a little hesitant to share this with the interwebs…but here we go.
I’m running a marathon!
I have never done one before. The longest distance I’ve raced is 10 miles. And the longest distance I’ve run is 18 miles (once, for funsies, with my mama).I know, I know, given my injury history it’s probably a terrible idea but I’m doing it anyways. If this goes horrendously wrong you can tell me I told you so a million times while I cry in the corner. (No actually please don’t do that, send me consolation cookies instead.)
Here’s how this came about:
In the fall I was feeling pretty great, winning races, and running high (-ish for me) mileage. In mid-November my running friend said, Hey, let’s do the Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon! And being my say-yes-to-everything self, I immediately said, OK I’m in!
I discussed the idea with my running-coach dad (YES! This is so exciting! You’ll be great!), and Coach George (Mollie this is the worst idea ever and I strongly encourage you not to do this. I'll help you, but I want a signed and notarized waiver form stating that I warned you how dangerous this would be).
At the end of the day, I do what I want, so with outside opinions duly noted, I decided that I still wanted to try it. I have no doubt that I can run 26.2 miles; I’m more concerned with the speed at which I do it and the training leading up to it. (Competitive much? Yes.)
As of the week before Thanksgiving, I had a plan, I had a goal, and was super-psyched. And then three days later, before I even started “training,” a little problem that became a bigger problem hit (same old same old) and I was out for all of December. Womp womp.It was not looking good for a while there. At home over Christmas I did yoga every day. And early this month there was a lot of pooling, combined with some deep dark I’m-never-going-to-run-again days.
But as of a couple weeks ago, I’m running again, feeling pretty good, and if all continues to go well, I think I’ll be fine! I’m putting myself on a low-mileage plan – i.e. my normal mileage, plus some extra pool time, plus long runs (because I’m pretty sure that me + 80-mile weeks = express trail to injurytown).
I’m not doing track workouts (sigh), just long runs and strides and tempo runs and maybe a few hills thrown in there for good measure. I’m going to take days off, and do doubles (run+pool) on occasion.
Also, I'm going to remember all the hard lessons I've learned:
- For Runners: Strengthen and Activate Your Glutes
- IT Band Knee Pain (Foam Rolling, Stretching, and Strengthening)
- Hip Flexor and Piriformis Stretching and Strengthening
So my friends, there you have it. Wish me luck, we’ll see how this goes!
