“You can’t flirt with the Marathon, you have to marry it.” Kristen Armstrong
I was using this quote last weekend and everyone seemed to enjoy it and have a good chuckle over it, myself included. But then I really started thinking about it, and as I am in the midst of training for my fourth marathon, I gave some serious consideration to what “Married to the Marathon” means to me
1. It means being serious about my training, and fully committed to it, no matter what. My training schedule is my training schedule and as much as possible I try to stick with it, and do it as written. Especially long runs on Saturdays -those are non-negotiable in my schedule. Even on vacation as proved in July in Virginia, 8 miles on my own, in the heat, on 1.75 mile loop that seemed endless at times, but I got out there and got it done. Of course if my body says rest, I do that too.
2. It means eating well, to quote my dear friend Katia “Food is Fuel, it is not your friend” and this is no more true than in marathon training. Fruits, vegetables, and whole foods need to be more of my diet than processed junk. I try to go with a 90/10 ratio myself. 90% great stuff, 10% a little less great.
3. It means taking rest just a seriously as training, so on non-running days on the schedule, I do not run! And I take 1-2 full days off of any activity at all. Friday nights you will find me in my PJs by about 8:30 pm and definitely in bed no later than 10 if I can help it. Yes party animal right here!
4. It means long runs are long runs and not a race! My theory on long runs is any way I can get them! (The miles that is the miles). So on Saturday mornings at MIT you will find me, happily running along in my group (I adore you all) and not worrying too much about my pace, as long as it is with reason. Thinking that every single Saturday I’m going to go out and run just the same, is not going to happen. Weather, how I feel, etc, will always affect me to some degree.
5. It means having fun on this crazy ride called marathon training! I love running (most days), and I love seeing people achieve what they thought not possible. So coffee after Saturday morning runs is a treat I treasure, my friends are blessings I adore, knowing I can do something only 1% of the population has ever done is exhilarating!
I am happily married to the marathon! At least most days I am, and on those days I’m not, well my friends can remind me!
Run on Friends,
Heather
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3 comments:
I get made fun of every single week for being in bed at 8PM on Fridays. Totally worth it.
Heather! I LOVE this post!! It is SO true only I never thought of it before!
Thank you! I am going to keep all of this in mind for the Goofy - especially the 'food is fuel, not your friend!' I keep hearing this and I think someone upstairs ;0) is seriously trying to remind me of something!
Awesome, girl, you're an inspiration to me!
Great post, Heather :)Your #5 gave me warm fuzzies & chills all at once!
Marathon training is absolutely like a marriage: what you get out of it is (for the most part) proportional to what you put in ... And, in the end, it's all about heart.
Excited to run with you tomorrow, friend!
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