THINK LIKE A MARATHONER

During last night’s easy recovery run I felt okay. I planned on running 5 miles but about 3.5 miles into the run I felt some pain in my knee. Therefore I cut my run a mile short. No biggie...4 mile recovery run vs. 5 mile recovery run.

Afterwards I repeated the stretching/foam roller/icing routine that I also performed prior to the run. I threw in some ibuprofen for a bed-time snack and was good-to-go.

This morning I met up with Scott for a run around Lake Calhoun. A week or so ago, Scott sprained his ankle. He’s doing a lot better but declared we had to “start out slow” today. That sentiment lasted for about 1 block. Soon we were picking up the pace. By the time we hit Calhoun, I’d say we were running MP. One way to tell that we were moving pretty good is that the conversation between us all but ceased. Usually we’re chatting away, but today we were both fairly focused on our running. No complaints though. Thursdays are supposed to be my tempo/MP days.

A mile with the dog and 8 with Scott gave me 9 miles for the day. Best of all they were pain-free, so hopefully the stretching/foam roller/icing routine is paying off.

One of the running forums that I visit is made up of a lot of Wisconsinites. One gal lives in the town I went to college and she knows my college coach. She was kind enough to post Sean’s “10 Ways to Think Like a Marathoner:”

1) The marathon is a 30 mile race.
2) The marathon behaves like a pendulum.
3) The BRAIN is the most important muscle for the marathon.
4) Have a race plan and a mantra.
5) You can NEVER be too patient in training and racing.
6) Marathon training must be sustainable.
7) Only run hard with a plan and a purpose.
8) The marathon can smell an injury 26 miles away.
9) 90% of injuries occur in 10% of running time.
10) The marathon is a 30 mile race.

There’s some confusion regarding #2. She thinks it has to do with explaining the “wall.” You have some ups and downs during the race but at some point it is going to stop. You need to try and make that come as late in the race as possible. One way would be to do caveman-like over-distance runs.

As for the mantra, Sean likes to keep it simple - Homer Simpson-like simple. For example, late in the race, “left, right, left, right…” would be a perfect mantra.

Finally, this is not a map of the half marathon I’m doing this weekend. I’m posting it because I wonder if anyone can figure it out. Look at how close (and far) some of the mile markers are. There’s no way they can be correct.

Quote of the day;

“To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who’s never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind.” – Jerome Drayton