I have officially finished with my 4 months of marathon training! (Well, I finished it a couple weeks ago, but better late than never) I had previously posted (here) my game plan for training along with possible set backs I might comes across, and of course my goals. Training started off really well, but didn't continue that way. My training pretty much had two phases, marked by everything going well and then getting hurt.
To start, everything was going perfectly. I had no problem making long run routes and finishing them fairly quickly. No matter how far I was running, my pace was typically around an 8:30 mile. I easily found gels that I liked for mid-run fuel, which are Stinger. Fun enough, the first brand I tried was GU since that is was is given during most races and I couldn't stand it. I actually had to spit it out in the middle of a park (oops). Now the idea of those gels makes me nauseous but the Stinger Gels did the trick. I was really enjoying my runs and not having any problems with motivation. This was all happening through my 16 mile long run... and then I raced a half marathon.
The week before the half, my hip had been starting to bother me so I took a day or two off to see if that helped. I was feeling alright for the half marathon, so I decided to go for it. My mom and I had been planning on running it together, but since my pace was getting faster, we decided to do it separately. Within a couple miles my hip flared up again, but being the super competitive person that I am, I kept running. I ended up doing really well with a PR of 8 minutes and finishing second in my age group.
After the half my hip kept getting worse and worse, until it came to the point where I couldn't finish my long runs, let alone the short ones. I went to a physical therapist through my school to see if I could figure out what was wrong, but nothing seemed to be an exact problem. I was told by the doctor that I shouldn't continue training for the marathon, and that instead I need to take a month off of running. Well, I am not the person who is going to give up on a goal, especially one that I have been looking forward to for almost a year. I ended up taking a little over a week off, stretching a lot and resuming hip exercises. The problem never went away, but it was minimized enough I could handle running.
The week before the marathon I was a mess. I was so nervous that there were moments I would be getting nothing done as I scoured the Internet for advice on marathon recovery, what to wear and almost anything you could think of. Let's just say I am sure Runner's World saw a massive spike in viewership. What got me through the week was how so many people kept telling me how excited they were for me and were wishing me luck. I couldn't have gotten through the last four months without the amazing support system that I have.
The marathon itself was hard, there is no better way to put it. My knee and hips flared up by mile 6 and got worse as the run progressed. By the end of the run, I could barely lift up my right leg which made going up hills difficult. This proved to be a large annoyance as the second half of the race primarily consisted of hills. Throughout the run I just kept reminding myself of how hard I trained and how long I have wanted to do this. I made sure to enjoy the pretty views and take in the fact that I was finally running a marathon. I was able to finish the marathon, get third place in my age group, and even though it involved walking, I am so happy that I was able to complete it.
Now after the marathon, I have my 26.2 sticker on my laptop, my medal hanging on my wall and am going to end up taking a long break from running for my hip. It will be weird not running all of the time after running almost everyday for several months, but I am hoping to find fun, new ways to workout and have my hip heal quickly so I can get back to running.
The marathon itself was hard, there is no better way to put it. My knee and hips flared up by mile 6 and got worse as the run progressed. By the end of the run, I could barely lift up my right leg which made going up hills difficult. This proved to be a large annoyance as the second half of the race primarily consisted of hills. Throughout the run I just kept reminding myself of how hard I trained and how long I have wanted to do this. I made sure to enjoy the pretty views and take in the fact that I was finally running a marathon. I was able to finish the marathon, get third place in my age group, and even though it involved walking, I am so happy that I was able to complete it.
Now after the marathon, I have my 26.2 sticker on my laptop, my medal hanging on my wall and am going to end up taking a long break from running for my hip. It will be weird not running all of the time after running almost everyday for several months, but I am hoping to find fun, new ways to workout and have my hip heal quickly so I can get back to running.
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