Chicago Marathon Val

(First of all, I was irritated to find very few Google Images of female runners crossing a finish line… it was about 90% male! What the heck?!?)

Fun Factoids:

* According to Hal Higdon, when running we move our feet up and down nearly 5,000 times per hour!!

* Hal says, “The long run serves to increase the number of mitochondria, as well as capillaries in the active muscles, thereby improving those muscles’ ability to remove and utilize available oxygen.  In addition, the long run recruits muscle fibers that would otherwise go unused.  This recruitment insures a greater pool of conditioned fibers that may be called upon during the later stages of the race.  There are certain psychological barriers and adjustments to central nervous system fatigue that are also affected by the long run”.

* For non-elite runners, running over 30 miles a week seems to be the “peak” point where you began to drastically increase your risk of injury

My personal tips for marathon day:

* Write your name on your shirt – spectators really will cheer for you by name, which really helps push you along especially during those last miles!

* Body glide works wonders!!

* When dumping water on yourself to cool down at water stations, throw it down your back instead of down your front, and try to avoid your shoes or else you will get insane blisters!

* Find YOUR REASON for running, and a mantra, if possible!  When I was training for my first marathon I found a Starbucks cup that had a great quote about running.  I kept the cup on top of my fridge, and made sure to glance at it before every run for inspiration!  This year, my mantra is the quote on my Road ID:  “Do what you think you can’t”. I run for many reasons, but one of the most prominent reasons is to prove to myself that I can do whatever I put my mind to!  Running never came naturally to me, and there is no better sense of accomplishment than doing something that you previously though impossible!

* Something I sorta did during my first marathon:  dedicate each mile, or a portion of the race, to a different person, charity, etc.

* Kinda silly, but during my first marathon I was extremely panicked that I would have a difficult time, especially during miles 20-26.  I had my friends and family email Mike short quotes or inspirational messages to me, and he printed them and put them in a small ziploc bag.  When I needed a boost, I pulled one out!  Sounds dorky but it worked! (It was a bit cumbersome to carry the bag during the race, but now that I have a SpiBelt it would be a piece of cake – if you want a SpiBelt of your own, don’t forget to enter my giveaway here!)

Great running resources:

* Runner’s World! I love reading fitness mags like Self and Shape even though most of the time they spout out the same info – it’s never anything knew.  Runner’s World, however, it the complete opposite.  Every article is filled with interesting interviews, surprising new facts and advice, product reviews, recipes, and just overall a ton of motivation! It’s super cheap too… I think it’s less than $10 a year.

* Marathoning for Mortals, by John Bingham (“The Penguin”).  As you can read here, I actually bought this book quite a few years before I ever ran my first 1/2 marathon, let alone my first full.  But it is a great book for beginners and covers all the bases – building up your base, fuel, what to wear, etc.

* While I was training for my first marathon, another great book I checked out from the library was called First Marathons, by Gail Kislevitz. There is also a second edition (and there might be more now – I was reading the super oldies from the 90s since my library was a bit behind the times!)

These books are AWESOME.  Seriously, this is the kind of book that a  non-runner would faint with boredom thinking about, but if you are training for your first marathon this is a must read! The stories are astonishing. Basically each chapter is told from a different runner from all ages, backgrounds, and ability levels.

I will never forget one of the most moving chapters, about a couple in their 80s.  The wife wanted to push his wife across a famous bridge (forget what city they were in), but he could hardly walk.  So, he learned to walk…. which took a while.  Then he learned to run… which took years.  Then finally… he not only ran his first marathon, but pushed his wife in a wheelchair the entire time, including across the bridge!!!

* Mapmyrun.com – I assume many of you already use this site, but if you don’t, you should!  It has a ton of features if you want to get “fancified”, but I don’t and I just use the basic feature, where you can input an address and it helps you map out your run, regardless of where you are in the world!  You can easily save your runs, compare your runs, look up other local runners’ runs, etc.

* YouTube. When I was training for my first marathon, I obsessively watched YouTube videos of previous marathons.  It’s especially fun to watch the end of the marathon, and to see the runners crying, grinning, and showing every possible emotion after finishing such an accomplishment!

* I haven’t seen this playing anywhere, but when the night before my first marathon, there was a sneak preview of an indie film called The Spirit of the Marathon. This movie chronicled about 5 different people while they trained for the 2008 Chicago Marathon – from Deena Kastor to a newbie amateur who had just recently begun to run. If you can find this anywhere on the internet or in a theatre, trust me, it is definitely worth the watch!!

***

Happy running!!

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.