Why run a marathon?
The ups and downs of deciding to go for the big 26.2
I signed up to run a marathon Easter weekend. How did I get to the point where that was even a possibility? What went into making the decision, and ultimately, why did I choose to run 26.2 miles? Read On.
Wait, how far?
If you would have told me just a few years ago that I would be training for a marathon I would have been shocked. Five years ago, I would have said you were crazy to even suggest such a thing. Heck just last year there were times where I was dead set against it. And yet, in less than ten weeks I will be running the Carmel Marathon (!).
What happened?
Getting Comfortable with the Idea of 4+ Hours of Running
Although I have improved a great deal in terms of focus, form, endurance, etc. I still get easily bored and uncomfortable while running. When I first started running I HAD to have some upbeat music to keep my legs moving. Now, I can run five miles without music or podcasts and just be alone with my thoughts. I prefer music (and am always greatly annoyed when I forget my Bluetooth speaker) but I don’t have to have it.
And this is the background to one of my hang-ups as I began to run longer distances: do I want to spend X minutes/hours running? Moving up in smaller increments makes this question less critical at the early stages. Going from 3 to 5 to 6.2 does not require that much of commitment or mental adjustment.
I eased my way into half marathons by doing my first using a run walk approach (Couch to 10K app to be exact). But when I looked to run 13.1 miles, I realized that was a bigger commitment. This meant over two hours of running. In my mind that was a lot of time on the legs. I started using Nike Run Club (NRC) to actually train for a half-marathon. Despite some technical issues with my Apple watch, I enjoy NRC. It was like having a coach for your runs.
The very first time I recall having the thought that maybe I could run a marathon was my first actual half-marathon race, the Nationwide Children’s in Columbus in 2023. Having done of few informal halves with the Granville Running Club, I was mentally ready. I raised money as a Children’s Champion and so got to hang out in a special tent with my family pre-race. It was a nice fall day (high forties or low fifties as I recall) and there was a lot of energy.
I have a tendency to start too fast in races and I had struggled with running out of energy at the end of my previous races. The good thing was that Columbus was flat (there is an infamous hill around ten and a half miles in the club run). And despite my NRC app not working right away, I got comfortable and really enjoyed all the energy, the crowds and music, just the sense of being a part of something.
My fear of dying at the end probably caused me to be to overly cautious in the middle part of the race, but I recall thinking about mile 11: “Hmm, maybe I could run a marathon…” When I finished I felt good and was soaking it all in. It didn’t feel like a struggle.
I finished with a time of 2:05:20 and a pace of 9:34 minute/mile.
Getting Race Ready
In November of 2023 I ran the Hot Chocolate (10K) in Columbus at a pace of 8:48 and was feeling good. The marathon question was lingering in my head. I ran a 10K and 15K as part of the March 2024 Scioto Miles series and felt pretty good (even if frustrated at the difference between my Strava/Apple SE watch time and official time).
I was determined to get under two hours for a half marathon and set my sights on the Cap City Half-Marathon in Columbus in April. All I had to do was keep a 9:09 pace. I knew I could do it for a 10K and was very close for the 15K. I ran the club half right around two hours; my fastest pace yet. I was ready! I wanted that official time under 2:00:00.
But running has a way of not following a straight line [groan]. After training in forty degree weather and looking for low fifties for the race, suddenly the temps jumped and on race day it was supposed to be in the sixties!
My wife was supposed to drive me into Columbus, a forty minute drive, drop me off so I could participate in some group phots and then get situated for the race. But my wife wasn’t feeling well so had to back out. This resulted in me being rushed. I didn’t eat a good breakfast and was nervous. The porta potty lines were enormous so I just found my corral and waited. Luckily I waited with a friend who was looking for a similar pace. We were right behind the 2 hour pace group.
As I noted, I tend to start too fast and this race was no exception. According to both my phone, and later official time, we ran the first three miles at 8:49, well under the two hour pace of 9:09. Plus, my shoe came untied and I was worried about hydration given the rising temps.
I was already worried by mile five or six, and at mile eight I was dragging. Even so, I was at a 9:04 pace at mile seven. But I just ran out of gas around mile ten and really struggled the last couple miles, alternating walking and running. The last mile or so was right into the wind stirred up by the sudden heat. Completely different feeling than the one the previous October even though my finish time was less than five minutes slower.
This really bugged me. I had a hard time letting it go. Why had I just died at the end? Was it mental or physical? Was it hydration or fueling? People commiserated and told me that many people struggled that day. In fact, the friend I started with didn’t finish.
At that time I was not in a position where committing to a marathon felt exciting or challenging. I told myself I would think about a marathon when I could get under two hours.
Just Keep Running (& Training)
It seems like a cliché but I learned so much from that failure. I learned that fueling and training for fueling is key. I had run for so long on an empty stomach (at 4pm most days) that I was not good at eating before early morning races. And when I am running out of energy my brain gets foggy. I had a GU in my pocket for the Cap City race and didn’t use it. It might not have prevented my bad finish but it couldn’t have hurt.
I started training with fueling in mind. After a tip at run club, I started fueling every 45 minutes or so whether I needed it or not on long runs. This made fueling a habit rather than something I would have to figure out on the run. I also committed to eating a more substantive breakfast on race day two hours before start time.
The consistency in my training began to pay off. My 5K time got faster and I felt more comfortable on long runs.
And the running gods were with me this time. I had committed to the Grandview Yard Half Marathon in August. I was a little worried about the heat and my experience with Cap City, but the weather was not too hot and overcast. I had my carbon plated shoes, a new Garmin watch and a fueling plan. I was not going to worry about the pace group but stick to my own pacing.
And it went like a dream. I started out around 8:53 and kept it between that and around 9:00 per mile. I got into the groove and felt good. I was even fortunate that around mile ten, where I often struggle and which happened to be a little hilly, a friend was working the race and shouted out some encouragement. 1:56:57!
What a great feeling to know that you had pushed through adversity and achieved a goal that seemed crazy not that long ago.
And just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, I ran the Zanesville Half Marathon in September and, despite some serious hills, still got under two hours [1:59:02 ;-)].
One More Test
As is typical for this newsletter, that is a meandering and long introduction to deciding to run a marathon. I had run two half marathons under two hours, was I ready to commit to 26.2? I decided to apply one more test. I decided to run father than I had ever run before: fifteen miles.
My long runs are on Saturdays with folks from the run club, so I decided to do 15 miles and see how I felt. Luckily it was not super cold. It went remarkably well. I started out around a 9 minute a mile pace, slowed down with some rise in elevation and then picked it up again at the end. Fifteen miles at a 9:21 pace. I was definitely thinking about a marathon now!
Pulling the Trigger for 2025
I started searching for marathons to run. Should I go all out and do a major (silly looking back)? Should I do a run-cation with the family? Should I do Columbus in October? I wanted flat but was open to almost anything else.
The funny thing was that it really came down to schedule. My son is very busy with high school music and theater. I couldn’t do the Flying Pig in May as that is the weekend of the high school musical. I couldn’t make the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach work as there was a music competition the Friday before the race. Annoyingly, my son and daughter’s spring breaks didn’t even line up (she is in college).
In the end, the Carmel Marathon outside Indianapolis worked best. My son had no school the Friday before the race so we could stay in a hotel as a family. It was a flat race and had a unique figure eight course so my family could see me at the start, halfway and at the end. It was a race with a nice expo and after party but not so massive and expensive as to be intimidating. I wanted energy and fun but not the stress of something like Chicago or Houston or the “on your own” feeling of small races.
So in December I pulled the trigger and registered. Woah, I am going to run a marathon!
Why?
So why did I choose to run a marathon? In many ways it felt like a natural extension of what I had already done. I always joke that if you hang around the wrong sort of people next thing you know you are planning your life around races and training. Run club acclimatized me to the idea of running a marathon and offered a support group for my goals.
And as I got physically and mentally stronger, I felt comfortable with exploring the idea. The real question was am I ready to commit to the time it would take to train and physically ready. My longest run gave me confidence that I was ready and could commit to the training. And I felt I had the time to do the training and the flexibility at work and at home.
What ultimately made me want to run a marathon was the challenge. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that running a marathon was such a crazy idea just a few years ago and now I was in a place physically that I could actually do it. I was also in a place where I needed a spark in my life. I needed something to challenge me and force me to overcome obstacles and find motivation, etc. I wanted to accomplish something besides showing up for work five days a week. I wanted something I could say: “Hey, I did that.”
Next time I will talk about my approach to training. Ten weeks out and the first test is on Sunday when I will be running a 22K race with conditions likely to be cold, wet and hilly. An hour into that race we should know whether I am happy with my choices or not…