You're Going to Want to Run a Marathon After Reading This
By Lauren Le Vine, REDBOOK.
Seeing friends and coworkers who are running the New York City Marathon this weekend discussing their training regimens, literally aglow with fitness (yes, that's actually a thing that happens), has actually inspired me to investigate this whole marathon thing for myself. Specifically: Can a lifelong spectator suddenly become a participant?
In a serendipitous twist, two books that firmly believe the answer is "yes" landed on my desk. I reached out to Dawn Dais, author of The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women, and Alexandra Heminsley, author of Running Like a Girl: Notes on Learning to Run--who both went from self-declared non-runners to marathon-finishers--for some much-needed convincing that anyone can do it.
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Why does it feel like everyone is training for a marathon?
Dais: "I think it's the idea of setting a huge goal and checking it off your bucket list. If you put the time and energy into training, you can actually accomplish it, and you get this great feeling of having started and completed something."
Heminsley: "Many of my friends have become sort of evangelical about their runs because it's their moment of freedom away from the chaos of young children."
Training requires so much commitment and dedication. How did you stay on track?
Dais: "My grandfather had recently passed away, so I was raising money for the American Stroke Association. I felt an obligation to finish the marathon and complete the training--I didn't want to have to explain to people who had given me money that I hadn't done it."
Any time I try to run, my brain is all, "Okay, we're doing it. When can we stop?"
Heminsley: "I think the danger is if you're only doing a mile every day, it can feel like you're going around in circles. You have to remember that the equation for how long you spend running versus how good you'll feel after you run is so vastly tipped in your favor. You can run for half an hour, and maybe for 10 minutes you won't feel so into it, but you'll feel better for the rest of the day."
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And it's hard to resist comparing yourself to other runners.
Dais: "No matter what you do, you're going to go out there and compare yourself to other people. But ultimately, the point of the sport is to do it for yourself. Every time you finish something during training, there's a sense of accomplishment. Try not to beat yourself up over the fact that there was a 75-year-old woman who blazed past you. It's your thing, and you have to finish."
Let's talk training. What's your favorite tracker?
Heminsley: My brother swears by Garmin and RunKeeper. I like Nike+ because it syncs easily and lets you know your pace, which I find impossible to judge. It's really easy to over-monitor yourself, though. Every now and again, you should just go run and not record yourself. It reconnects you with a childlike feeling, and you can just appreciate that your body is able to move this way."
Dais: "I like Map My Run. It's cool that you can post it straight to Facebook. That was always part of the fun--telling people I was doing these crazy runs. I'm the laziest person, so it helped that other people were like, 'Oh, that's insane!'"
How do you avoid the whole "boobs hitting your face" scenario?
Heminsley: "Finding a decent sports bra is as important as getting a decent pair of running shoes. The real risk of running around unsupported is to your Cooper's ligaments, which protect the structural integrity of the breast--i.e. keep the tissue from sagging. My first run in the Shock Absorber bra was seriously life-changing. I felt as if my legs and feet were finally free to create momentum that might push me forward, rather than engineer propulsion to encourage my boobs into ever more exciting formations."
And how did you deal with the dreaded chafing?
Dais: "I put Body Glide where my sports bra rubbed underneath my arms."
What about blister prevention?
Heminsley: "Damp feet rubbing on cotton socks can be painful. If you smother your feet in a petroleum-based product like Vaseline, it seals them away from water. I'd also invest in some double-lined sports socks, which are effectively two socks attached to each other in some sort of never-ending megasock that removes friction from your feet."
How did you go the distance, fuel-wise?
Dais: "During those longer runs, you really have to replenish what you're putting out. In addition to water, I carried around packets of GU Energy Gel. They don't taste great, but if I didn't eat them, I'd have to lay down on a park bench to take a nap!"
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What was it like to finish your first marathon?
Heminsley: "It was like a kind of deliriousness. I couldn't believe it. By that point it had almost nothing to do with running. It wasn't just 'Oh great, my bum wobbles less.' What had seemed like a goal--losing weight--was really more of a byproduct. I really felt like I'd grown up and taken a bit more control over my life and body."
Dais: "My knee actually went out about halfway through mine, and I had to walk the second half, but I was like 'I'm going to finish this thing.' And I did. At the finish line, I realized that although I was geographically in the same place in which I'd begun, I wasn't anywhere near where I had started as a person."
Was it as life-affirming as everyone makes it out to be?
Hemisley: "I learned much bigger lessons about self-reliance and sticking to something. I felt tougher about relationship stuff, work, and negotiations. There's something incredibly satisfying about training for a marathon. Every week you're getting this sort of high about how you're doing things you've never done in your life."
Dais: "I used to be so impatient--I'd quit things the second they got difficult. With marathon training, you need a level of patience you've never had before. You don't just go out and run 26 miles; you run one, then three, then more. It taught me that to get the big things I wanted, I had to figure out the smaller, simpler actions required to get there."
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