So in the spirit of the season, I thought I would do my own rendition of the 'Days of Christmas' with a countdown to Day 1 of training by reflecting on the marathons of years past..
Olympic Gold Medalist, Frank Shorter, once said, "You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming."
To date I have run 7 marathons and each has provided its own unique experience that has enabled me to grow and improve as a runner. While I agree that you do need to forget your last race before starting another, I also believe it is important to use past experiences to build confidence. In the next week I will outline the good, the bad, the exciting, and possibly the ugly from my previous marathons.
Marathon 1: Cleveland Marathon, May 2006
I'm not exactly sure how we first decided it was time to run a marathon, but my running compadre and life long friend, Kelly and I decided it was time. We picked Cleveland because it was a spring marathon, that was relatively flat and we could stay at my parents house, so travel was limited.
We had a two prong goal. One, we wanted to qualify for Boston by running better than 3:40. Second, we were both targeting a 3:20 finish. I'm pretty sure I just randomly picked 3:20 because it was a nice round number... who knows.
What I learned: Do not attempt (and successfully complete) the Army challenge 90 (or was it 60?) second hold just to win a t-shirt the day before the marathon. My arms were SORE.
Favorie memory: Meeting Bill Rogers at the expo. He is such an enthusiastic supporter of runners and such an advocate of the sport.
Least favorite part: Mile 17. Coming up Martin Luther King Drive...and having to walk because of seering pain in my side. Seeing the men in uniform cheering for me and knowing that it was going to be a long 9 miles to the finish.
On finishing: It was cold, painful, and I needed assistance getting to the car but it was 100% worth it. I'm pretty sure I was frustrated just enough that I knew another one was coming sooner than later... Oh ya, and Kelly kicked my butt!
Time: 3:30:55
Place: 33rd woman
No comments:
Post a Comment