Do You.
Running marathons, is who I am, and what I happen to do in life vocationally. Runner is a title that I have from time to time, something I happen to do well; not a big deal yet a big deal to me. My dear friend, really wanted to run a marathon, because he spent years watching me run them. However, this turned into a sensitive issue, because although he tried so hard to run the 26.2 mile distance, it was not for him. I do not want him to be upset, that the distance was not for him. I think that one day if marathon running is all he wants in the world, they can try again a different way, but I do not want them to worry about it. Secretly, I think the main issues were being at a high altitude instead of sea level trying to run the marathon distance for the first time, the hills, air, the training program, and being patient with a long enough training program. I would say it takes three years to train for a marathon the correct healthy way, it is okay not to be a marathon runner like me, just because I do something does not mean they have to do it too. Marathon running is not all that. I sort of felt like a monster, wondering what exactly I inspired him to do to himself?! Even if you run for your job, it is okay to drop out of a race if it’s not your day, be safe, be healthy, know that nothing is worth dying over; they have already proven themself as an athlete in other ways. Also, in the competitive end, everyone has their day at some point, and you have to be happy for everyone along the way, even if you had a horrible day. When you do have your day, you need to be gracious and shake everyones hand. The marathon is hard. My friend is more into body building, lifting and other types of impressive endurace such as sprinting or doing tons of push-ups, hiking a lot. I could not emphasize with him more, not to feel upset that the marathon distance was not right for him, because he already does so much very well athletically; amazing athlete, he is in such good shape now that he finished all of that hard work. If he wants to try again, we will try again together. You never want to be alone in a race, it’s better to run together and have a support system; running something hard alone is never the best way.
You have to communicate with your training partner exactly what you want to do, because sometimes they can help you a lot along the way. I had no idea that he was trying so hard to run the marathon distance, I wish they said something to me, because marathons are one of the only things I can do! Like, ‘oh hi!’ Trying to surprise me, which is an impressive feat in itself. I feel like if we connected more, none of that would have ever happened to him. :) In a conversation, he asked "Does it hurt too much?” I told him no, but that is the reason we only run two marathons a year with very specific plans, and very special coaches. There are ways to do marathons, but you cannot just go for it without specific training plans and working towards it a certain way, it’s a sport.
Thinking about the NY mentality, my cross country coach Oscar B Jensen… He can be a little cold and socially not aware perhaps may be the right word, can come off the wrong way expressing emotions, alternating between business meeting to social hour with friendly human beings. A tough coach, but insightful and nice once you got into a few seasons. My cross country coach grew up in NYC, he was an olympic weightlifter, and told our team about how hard it was to get into Brooklyn Tech and he did it. We heard all of his Olympic Center stories, about meeting all of the athletes, and his training. Later in life, he loved to coach running, even though he never ran, telling us all of his stories for hours before having us run during practice was very cool. It’s funny, one day after his very long inspirational speech, he pulled me aside to give me another more personalized speech. He told me not to add extra workouts that were not given to me on our ginormous weekly schedule, always have a cool down, I’m a ‘tiger’ and never to stop playing string instruments because he thought it was very nice. Sometimes, you just need someone to call you a ‘tiger’, hahah he probably said it to all of us. I have had a lot of run coches, but OBJ is the only one who ever had a very long inspirational speech to kick off practice, all the speeches were worth listening to.
A new sport that I briefly tried, was a curling league going on at the local ice rink a while ago. I have to say, I had a great time, once someone taught me how to do all the moves. Next winter, I would enjoy being in a curling league for fun every week. Molly Yeh on Girl Meets Farm, had an episode where they went curling, an she made curling themed desserts. Curling must be on a hobby trend, everyone loves to play games! You never know when you’ll actually like something new. My sister is in a bocce ball league during summers, which is fun.
This is my favorite book to read for running advice, it’s like the running bible. I highly recommend, Runner's World Big Book of Marathon and Half-Marathon Training. Everyone should read this before running a long distance race, and follow any of these training plans for a base to work off of and improve. This is truly the greatest run book to read for guidance and reassurance, everything you need to succeed as a runner is written within these pages.
https://www.amazon.com/Runners-World-Marathon-Half-Marathon-Training/dp/1609616847#ace-g6002737843
I would also recommend reading the story of Pheidippides! One day, I want to name a dog Pheidippides. :)
https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a20836761/the-real-pheidippides-story/
