Marathon Journey Update

February 20th

Two weekends ago, I competed in the Mercedes 1/2 Marathon in Birmingham AL. This race was simply a stop on my training plan, so I did not have any pre-race jitters because I had run this distance several times before the race. I had a goal to run this race at a 9:30 pace, and I finished the race at a 9:27 pace/mi. Right where I need to be heading in to the toughest part of my plan.

This past weekend was a real challenge for me. 16 miles was on the training plan, and my mind really tried to convince me that I was not ready for this distance. I simply had to remind myself that my training plan has set me up perfectly for this distance, and all I had to do was focus on my pace and keep my mind clear. And after about 3 miles, I really got into my running groove and had my pace at a very consistent level. My goal is to train right around a 10:00/mi pace, and I finished this run at a 9:59 pace. No real soreness other than some joint pain in my knees, which is to be suspected after running 16 miles.

I have also started eating a plant-based diet about 80% of the time. Eventually I will be 100% on a plant based diet, but there are certain things I am not ready to give up, like pesto sauce and cheese pizza. I was initially concerned about how a plant-based diet would effect my energy and strength levels, but after several weeks, I feel faster on my runs and have not lost any strength in the gym. I am sleeping better at night, and my anxiety levels are down from where they were a few weeks ago. I am very optimistic about a diet that is a complete 180 from where my diet was only a month ago., eating meat at every single meal. I honestly didn’t even consider a meal a meal if meat was not on the plate.

This weekend is 17 miles. I know it is only 1 mile past where I went last weekend, but the in-week mileage is increasing to the point where I am running 18 miles during the week, not counting the weekend runs. I am committed to a positive mindset even when my mind is trying to convince me that a rest day is needed and that I shouldn’t go out on this run. This journey is more than just about 26 miles; its about hardening the mind and winning the battle between my ears.

My Marathon Journey

January 22nd

Last weekend I ran 13 miles, which 100% tells me I am ready to run a 1/2 marathon right now. I actually had one of my best miles of the run on the last run, which means I am not pushing myself as hard as I should in the middle of the race. This week’s training schedule has been a little off. Typically I go on medium distance runs on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, with my longer runs coming on Saturday. I add in weights 1-2 times a week and a bike ride or spin class 1-2 times per week. It just depends on how I am feeling. No matter the schedule, I always do my workouts in the AM because it gets my day off to a great start, and I sleep much better at night.

But this week I’ve been off. I have been feeling under the weather lately, so I haven’t had time to complete my workouts in the morning, which means I have to fit it in at some point during the day. This leads me to truncate the workouts or miss the day entirely, which is perfectly ok just not in my nature to do so. For example, I slept in this morning and did not workout in any capacity. Instead, I did an HIIT workout in the garage. This consisted of a 5 minute warm-up followed by a 5 minute circuit, doing 2 power cleans and 5 kettlebell deadlifts every 30 seconds for a total of 10 sets. I repeated the same interval workout with front squats and kettlebell power cleans. Still a very solid workout, but when I go in the morning, I have much more time to add in other movements and complete a proper warm up and cool down.

My upcoming weekend run is set at 14 miles. This will be the longest run I have ever accomplished, in-training or race day. I know i am fully capable of completing this run, I am just fighting the conversation with myself that tells me, “you’re going to get injured”, or, “you are too big to run a marathon”, or, “that’s too far. You are going to be in so much pain during this run.” Like so many things in life, the success of this run and all runs hereafter will depend on the nature of the conversation I am having with myself.

Weekend after next, I am off to Birmingham, AL to run in the Mercedes Benz 1/2 marathon. Birmingham is my hometown, so this race carries a bit of nostalgia as well as being a stop on my training cycle, and I am really looking forward to running in front of family and friends.

More to come…

My Marathon Journey

December 31st, 2019

Earlier this year, I decided I would begin the journey of running a full marathon by the end of 2019. I have done one 1/2 marathon and was in the process of training for a second 1/2 marathon when I decided to pursue a full marathon. For the next few months, I will detail all my progress and failures as I pursue this goal. But first I will lay out what has driven me to set this goal and how I went from 0 running days to pursue 26 miles in a single day.

For the longest time, the idea of running 26 miles seemed absolutely insane, but I was jealous of people who could run 20+ marathons in a single year because the achievement seemed so astronomical to me. “How could this even be done?”, “Aren’t their knees about to fall off?” are questions I would ask myself when I would see a story like this. I was always a good athlete (played 3 years of collegiate football at Georgia Southern and Samford Universities), but distance running was something I was never good at.

In 2018, my wife and I decided to run the Publix Marathon in Atlanta, GA in March. We followed the Hal Higdon 1/2 marathon training Novice 1 schedule, which allowed me to really get my body used to running without putting extra strain on my joints. As the miles increased, I found myself almost becoming addicted to the feeling of running for 8+ miles to the point where there was excitement when the schedule called for long runs. This training cycle really sparked a love of running inside of me, and that love is what is pushed me to set this goal for 2019.

First Update:

12.29.2018

Saturday’s are always long run days under the Hal Higdon schedule, and this Saturday called for 11 miles. 11 miles will be my longest training distance ever, even though I have run a 1/2 marathon in the past year. I felt pretty good going into this run because I had run 10.5 miles the weekend prior, but I had some knee pain during the week and also broke in a new pair of running shoes, so I was a little uncertain how this run would go.

As I started, I felt really strong, and my new shoes performed very well with very little knee pain for most of the run. I ran the first 8 miles with an average pace of 9:30, which is pretty good for me, being a 225 lb former football player. The remaining 3 miles were a bit of a challenge, having some difficulty keeping a pace under 10:00 per mile.

Overall, I was very pleased with this particular run and also very pleased with how my body is holding up as the mileage increases. Typically I begin to get knee pain after about 6-7 miles, but I truly believe I have been running in the wrong shoes for the better part of my training cycle. I cannot stress enough how important it is to invest the money in a pair of shoes that are made for the way you run.

One aspect of my training that I will change as the mileage goes up is strength training. As of this week, I am doing 3-4 days of strength training with 3 days of running. I am going to decrease my strength days to 1-2 days, and changing those lost strength days with 1 day of Yoga and an additional day of running. The goal here is to get the miles up on my legs, and too many strength days could lead to injury.

More updates to follow…