I'm entirely sure why, but last night I decided I really wanted to run a marathon. I think in part this is because I've watched several friends successfully complete their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in the past few weeks. This blog might also be partly to 'blame'--Ever since I started it a couple weeks ago, I've felt more in control, proud, and excited about my running.
This desire to run a marathon is so strong I'm looking to possibly run Vermont City in 2009 which is in May. This means that I'd have to buckle into marathon training starting at the beginning of February. I think it's doable but is it something that I should even be considering right now? I haven't run 26.2 miles in a week since college. Should instead I be focusing on getting consistent? Should training be my goal for now, not a race? I'm not sure I know the answer. In the past I've tried to use races to motivate me to train but that almost never worked. This actually happened when I signed up to do my first marathon. I thought shelling out the big dollars (50-something dollars for registration!) would motivate me to train for my first 26.2. Nope. But was that situational? Did my move cross-country make it harder to train rather than a lack of motivation?
I think I will do a marathon next year but I'm not so sure aiming for Vermont City is a good idea. My next thought was Cape Cod in late October 2009 which I think would be more feasible. But do I want to wait that long? Maybe I'll do both.
3 comments:
Hi Chelsea,
Good to see you getting 'back into running', although I didn't know you were out of running to begin with :-)
VCM was my first marathon and my favorite. Nice course, well organized, spectator friendly, easy in/easy out parking, etc...
I wouldn't call it an easy course (none are, I mean they're all 26.2 miles you know...)but it's not a hard or challenging course either.
It's very popular and has a history of filling up early which forces you to commit waaaaay before you're smart enough to think it totally through. How's that for an endorsement!
Just a reminder: in order to successfully run VCM, you're going to have to train in the winter, and winter running isn't for everyone. The good news is there's lots of nice warm up races in the Jan-Mar time frame to test your training. Races from 5k to 20 miles.
The decision to run a marathon is all yours so I'm not going to tell you to do it or not to do it. As a card carrying member of the Steamed Muscles, I'm here to support your decision so let me know what you decide.
Keep up the good work!
Steve
Chelsea,
I'm torn between joining Steve in wishing you well and supporting whatever you decide versus the coach in me, who is saying "let's work on some interim goals first". I guess it all depends on what motivates you. And on what has worked in the past. From the coach's perspective, I'd want to bring you along a lot more slowly for the next year or so, and I would not set a marathon goal. I would set some goals for acheiving first a steady diet of base miles, then some tempo running, and perhaps a 5k or 10k race after a few months ... then a re-evaluation with a new set of goals. Running is fantastic, but it can also be pretty humbling. I'd hate to see you aim for a marathon only to get discouraged quickly if you can't whip yourself into that kind of shape. As a coach, I'd say give it a year and then let's talk marathon. As a supportive fellow Steamed Muscle, I can also of course say "hey, do you own thing, and I'll root for you all the way".
Good luck, and keep plugging away.
- Douglas
Thanks to both of you! I agree, Douglas. This has actually always been a problem of mine: I aim too high only to get discouraged which keeps the vicious cycle of inconsistency going. While Steve, you almost had me on doing the VCM next year, I think I'll have to wait because I think the goal of a marathon might be a little unreachable right now. You also made a good point, Steve, with regards to winter running. Training in the winter has always been a problem for me because I have the added issue of exercise induced asthma. That means most of my winter running is done indoors and I'm afraid running the long runs on a treadmill would drive me insane. That being said, I am looking towards the Cape Cod Marathon (October 25, 2009) or the Manchester City Marathon (November 1, 2009) as races to aim for instead of the VCM. This way there's the added bonus of more racing in the summer, which I love!
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