I began really back in the summer of 2012, when I started training for the Columbus half-marathon and then the Whitney climb. After I ran the half, I continued running, and in talking with a co-worker who had experience in marathoning, I began planning a winter marathon. My initial plan was to run either the Jackson, MS or Baton Rouge/Louisiana Marathon, which were both taking place in January of 2013, I believe.
So, I found Hal Higdon’s site and began following one of his plans. The site has plans for any level and a lot of great advice. So, I started increasing my mileage, eventually doing a 22 mile run. This was all in November/December of 2012. It was cold. I can remember doing the 22-mile run, not feeling super great upon embarkation, but doing it anyhow. And I was only taking with me a water belt, with one gatorade and one water bottle, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Not enough really. So, by the end of the run, I was dead tired, leg muscles cramping, and actually had to stop and walk and few times (really no big deal, but still not what I was hoping for). I was unprepared and probably pushed my body when I wasn’t feeling it.
During this time, I did decide to join a local running group, which began it’s ‘Winter Session’ in January. This was fine as I was going to do a spring marathon anyways and my goal was (and still is) 3 marathons in 2013. Joining the Marathoners-in-training group here in Columbus, for me, has been really great. I’ve learned a ton about best training practices and regimens, proper nutrition, pacing, and I’ve met a bunch of kind, like-minded folks.
So, how I’ve trained:
I started back in January for a May race, so 4 solid months, and I had some decent fitness already. If you don’t, you may want to give yourself some more time and begin to build a stronger base.
My target pace is 8:30, which I think is doable, given my results in the half-marathon at a better pace (8:20). Now that’s not significantly better than 8:30, but I’m hoping that given my training, I can hit it. Prior to this January, I used to run at a much faster pace, 9-minute or faster. Now all my runs are usually at around 10-minute pace as it was recommended that the rule of thumb for pacing is to run most of your practice runs at 60-90 seconds slower than your goal marathon pace. One reason, I believe, for going a little slower is to build up your base.
I tried a variety of foods while running: Clif Shot Blocks, GU, Gatorade gels, Gummy Bears, Honey Stingers, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, Chews, Buddy Fruits, Powerbars, and any number of protein bars. So, my favorites for running are the Clif Shot Blocks (usually Strawberry flavor) and the Honey Stingers. The GU and Gummy bears did not sit well with me, and I think they’re just too much sugar, too quickly, even if I do try to offset with some water. I could probably drink more water with them, but I just really like the shot blocks and stingers.
I’m still struggling on finding the right pair of shoes. The primary reason is my feet are flat and so I overpronate. I’ve been using/comparing the Asics Gel Kayano and the Nike Lunar Eclipse. The real discovery for me has unfortunately come at the end of training, as now the ball of my right foot has begun to ache with the Metarsalgia I thought that I had gotten through. You can read more about it here.
So, there you go. Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments on how I could be doing this better. Thanks.
