Guest Post: 10 Things I Discovered During my First Marathon

Today's guest post is brought to you by Will of  The Intentional Steward-blogging hubby extraordinaire and the one responsible for getting me into running.

Since losing a little over 100 lbs over the course of a couple years, I decided to run a Spartan race.  I used to be in the military before gaining all my weight and wanted to get that thrill again. The Spartan race I ran was the shortest distance of their races, a “sprint,” in which I walked about half of the 3-4 mile course. The obstacles were fun but I was beat and it took me over two hours to complete.  After the race was over, I knew I wanted more and, to do so, I had to get better at running again. So I trained for a 5k a month later. I ran the whole thing and had a decent time-around 27 minutes. I was rather happy. Not amazing but a lot better then I had been a year ago.

Then I got a crazy idea: To get myself to a point where I can run a full marathon within one year of that 5k! And just like that, under one year and over a thousand miles later, I crossed the finish line of the WDW Marathon in a time of 4 hours and 59 minutes. It wasn’t the time I wanted. Some things went well and a lot went wrong…

Here are the top 10 things I discovered during that training year and the marathon itself:

1.     You need an intentional running plan.

Seriously, get a plan. My first goal after completing the 5k was to do a half marathon. Most of those plans only took 12 weeks so that wasn’t too terrible and I was sort of amazed at how easy it was to steadily add on miles.  Now, I say “easy” and for the most part, it truly was easy but it took a lot of time and sacrifice (see #5).  After my first half marathon, I felt completely amazing. It was so great to cross that finish line but completing a marathon? Well, from what I had read, it was a completely different type of race.  I got a plan and I stuck with it perfectly.

When you have a plan, you wake up knowing exactly what you need to do. It leaves no wiggle room and keeps you accountable. Feel free to adjust it some what as necessary but the miles need to get done! There will be A LOT of running. To compare, I racked up 300 miles of my half marathon training. For my marathon? Over 700 and it took 20 weeks instead of 13. Just google “running plans” and you’ll find the best ones. Do your research on which is best for you.

2.     I lost a lot of strength.

Before I started running, I was getting pretty strong. I was doing Crossfit style workouts and general strength training. Even after my half marathon, I felt a little weak but not terribly. I scheduled a lot of strength days during that training to keep some balance. To this day, I still think the half marathon is my favorite distance. After the half marathon, I took a couple months off from running during the summer and focused hard on strength training while maintaining a 6-8 mile run.

During marathon training, however, I had to commit more time to running. I completed two more half marathons and I did some strength training because I had another (14 mile) Spartan race in December.  Needless to say, the obstacles were a lot harder on me but the running was great without issues, even on the trail.

After the full marathon was over, I started to “rebuild the temple” as we Christian athletes like to say. I was shocked with how weak I had become. For a reference, I lost about 50 lbs on my bench press max and close to 75 lbs on my squat. Running itself can do a number on our muscle mass. That, on top of less time in the gym lifting, will result in a severe lack of strength “gains”. Be sure to have at least 1-2 good strength days during your training if you want to attempt to maintain your strength.

3.     I gained weight.

Wait, what? Yep. I totally gained weight. Not much, only about 5-10 lbs but considering how much muscle mass I lost it was significant. How did this happen? A few things:

• I went from a pretty healthy high fat low carb diet to eating… everything. I was burning so many calories that I was having a hard time keeping track of them and how many I put in. I foolishly said that “I’m on the, ‘I’m running 30-50 miles a week diet’ so I eat whatever I want.”  Wrong. There is some truth to this but I’m guessing eating three dozen cookies over 6 days probably wasn't the best idea.  It was the holidays but still… too much.
• Keto to carbs. Carbs are not bad and not the enemy, but I went from eating high fats to eating  A LOT of carbs. Too many carbs. Sure, I burned through most of them but not all of them. There are a lot of high fat diet endurance runners out there that I was following and what do I do? I changed my diet up half way through my training.  Not smart.

To summarize this point, make sure your nutrition is on point. Yes, you can and probably should eat a lot more if training for a marathon but that doesn’t mean you can eat anything however much you want to. This came back to really bit me during the race.

4.     Running shoes.

Pay the extra money to get fitted for a good running shoe! Most shoes have a 300-600 mile lifespan. That means you’ll need at least two, if not three pairs of shoes, if you do what I did and run 1,000 miles in a year.  Go to a local running store (NOT A CHEAP RETAIL SHOE STORE) but an actual running store that will fit you. They will look at how your foot strikes, see if your arch collapses and if you pronate to determine if you need a neutral, support or motion control shoe. I am personally a fan of Brooks and love the Ghost 11’s. I also like Altra’s as well but they are both completely different shoes. Read reviews and see how much there is to learn about them. Be ready to spend $100+.

5.     It takes a lot of sacrifice.

Aside from losing strength there was a lot more I had to sacrifice:

• Time. It simply takes a lot of time to run all these miles. My longest training run was 21 miles and it took about 3.5 hours. Plus I had to run 3-4 other times that week.
• Social life. If you work, you also have to get your runs done earlier in the day (usually) forcing you to get to bed early which will hurt your social life. You’ll also not have much else to talk about when you do go social gatherings:

“So what did you do this weekend?”.  “Me? Oh, I went running and did 20 miles.” *Blank stare* “Oh cool,” they finally reply. “What are  you doing next weekend?” they continue. “Next weekend is fun! I’m in a recovery week so I only have to run thirteen miles.” *Deeper blank stare as the awkwardness sets in*

• Money. You already read what I had to say about shoes but these races are usually not cheap and a lot of training plans have you running shorter races to prepare for the longer ones. And if you’re doing Disney races… well… be sure to have a budget! Shoes, races, gear, clothes…  it can add up.

6.   Have no expectations other than to finish.

When I started my marathon I had set goals.  4:15, 4:20 or a 4:30. If I got later than that then something must be going wrong.  This was a mistake going into my first marathon. You can’t simply double your half time and add some minutes. Temperature, terrain and training all play a huge part.  My training was PERFECT. Seriously, I think I missed one day but I had actually added some mileage to my long runs. I was totally ready and had a time in mind; unfortunately, I let my ego get in the way and had it determine what was a good run for me or not. It was a mistake. I thought it would motivate me but ended up hurting me instead.
           
If you’re doing a marathon you’re doing something incredibly difficult! If this is your first one, the goal should be to FINISH. If you get a decent time (what is a decent time anyways?) then that’s just icing on the cake. If something goes wrong, it will mess up with your time expectation which will play games with your head which leads us to number six…

7.     A lot can and probably will go wrong.

Murphy's law. It’s a terrible thing but 26.2 miles is a long distance for something to not go wrong. During my run, I started cramping at mile 13. Instead of going away, they got worse. It was terrible and I had some serious mind games torturing me during that run. I mentioned my goal times? Ha… I barely got under five hours, but I finished and finished strong.

Cramping is just one thing though-blisters, dehydration, stomach problems, sore joints, illness, headaches, etc. Be ready for anything.

8.     Have someone there to support you.

           

There were some seriously dark times during my marathon. I don’t want to be overdramatic but it’s true. I was able to text my wife, Stephanie, during points of my run and she always replied back with some amazing and well needed encouragement. During the marathon, I also got to see her alongside the course and at the finish line. That was truly a sight and a huge uplifting moment.  She could have been sleeping, but no, she got up after already waking up early and running a half marathon the day before just to see me for a couple seconds. That is true support. Be sure to find that person that will be there for you during the training and for race day!

9.     Never forget why you’re doing this.

I can’t say I had what I would say is a high calling to run the marathon. I literally just wanted to see if I could do it but it turned into something much more during the race. Some people race for individuals or run to raise money for charities. Doing it for yourself though is also a good reason but it needs to be meaningful. It has to be your drive. It could just be for the thrill of running in general. It could also be something far deeper and even spiritual. Whatever it is that causes you to put one step in front of the other, always keep it there in the front of your mind.

10.     It can be beyond emotional.

For a guy, I can pretty emotional and passionate. Despite that fact, what I experienced during the marathon was far more of a mental and emotional exercise than I thought it would be.  The first half was pure bliss and a complete adrenaline rush. My body failed me half way through the race, though, and, for the last 13 miles, I was in completely new territory with a challenge I had never experienced before while running. It didn’t seem fair and I was angry about it, almost as if the last year of training was wasted. The ending, however, was a clash of pain, numbness, resolve, satisfaction and happiness.

Conclusion:  It’s not about the race or distance

When I realized how far off I’d be from my goal time during my the marathon, I really started to cave in on myself and I felt completely defeated. The truth is, though, I knew I could run a marathon but I was still dealing with an insane mental game. I had done a 21 mile training run just three weeks before and had enough energy to keep going and time would have been around a 4:15 assuming the same pace. On race day though, the challenge for me wasn’t completing the 26.2 miles. It was about completing it through the adversity. Life isn’t fair so why should the race be? If I was in a competition, it may have been a different story but I wasn’t.  I was competing against myself alone. I needed to complete the race but I also needed to complete with a much better attitude and had to defeat myself to win, if that makes sense.

            Your first marathon is not about the race itself. Its about seeing how you overcome adversity. The distance is just one obstacle that your body, mind and soul have to face.

Hopefully these ten things will be of benefit to anyone thinking about running their first marathon. If you can run a 5k you absolutely can train to do a marathon within in a year. You just need to apply yourself and get it done!  Good luck!