Marathon training’s going really well. I’m loosely following Hal Higdon’s & Jeff Galloway’s training programs and also trying to keep more to a heart rate percentage training methodology so I know how hard I’m working and can adjust my pace accordingly. It’s super fun to be learning a whole new vocabulary that doesn’t involve technology or marketing acronyms – things like fartleks and negative splits – cool! I’m up to 18 miles on my weekend distance runs, doing around 25-30ish total/week and am feeling pretty confident that I can do this. To test this belief and to get an estimated marathon finish time I’ll be running the Super Jock & Jill half-marathon over Labor Day weekend.
That is assuming that my body holds up. I’ve said from the beginning that I’m only going to do this if my body holds up to the training and I’m being very conservative with my training in order to give myself the best chance possible. I do want to complete this marathon but not at the cost of injury or lasting damage to my body. So far, so good on that front. I’ve learned that having a ‘team’ working on and looking after your body makes a huge improvement. The combination of physical therapist, podiatrist, massage therapist and regular doc are helping me work out pre-existing biomechanical issues that I thought I would just have to live with/power through, was told only surgery would heal (bone spurs on my big toe joint), and that have negatively affected my running form causing a few domino-type effects. Happily we’ve caught them, they’re improving and my overall form and fitness is really benefitting. Awesome!
By far the most valuable benefit I’ve gotten from this journey thus far is an entirely new mental motivation vocabulary. I’m generally a highly motivated and driven person once I’ve set my mind to something but the fuel for that motivation has always been what’s currently known as ‘negative self-talk’. Fun bits about the size of my thighs, my slow running speed – you name it. If you look at organizations like the Marines that get great motivational output from such abusive language it’s clear that it gets results and it has for me as well. I’ve always looked at fitness with the mindset that I don’t need or want to take, say, a ‘bootcamp’ class as I’ve got plenty of self-bashing rolling around in my head to last me until the end of my days – the last thing I need is more from some 20year old with 3% body fat. I incorrectly assumed that training at the Pro Club – especially with former Marine and fitness manager Josh Fitchitt – would be handled much like Marine basic training and I wanted nothing to do with it. Seeking more distraction and intensity in my cardio routine I tentatively tried a spinning class taught by Josh and quickly realized I couldn’t have been more wrong. Josh and all of the staff I work with at the club including my fitness trainer Josh Morse have a FANTASTIC, broad and surprisingly digestible rotation of positive ego-boosting motivational phrases. It’s taken months of absorbing but the positive language has really taken hold in my mind and the difference in how I feel is remarkable. A common scenario is me running hill repeats – not a lot of variety in the environment to stay distracted – requirement for pretty loud, high-energy music required to fuel running up the same hill repeatedly (which seems really dumb when taken out of context). My usual thought-roll would sound something like “come on, you fat a**! You’re never going to get skinnier if you don’t keep at this. Surely you can run up this faster if only your thighs weren’t the size of water slide tubes” etc. Lately I’ve noticed my brain telling me things more like “Find the strength! The only way from A to B is through what you’re made of! You CAN do this - you can do anything for 5 minutes! You’re strong! You’re fast! You’re becoming a better athlete”. It’s amazing. With the nasty stuff my whole body changes. My shoulders slump, my head drops so I’m looking at the ground, I collapse into myself as though I’m flogging myself – as though the exercise is miserable and is a punishment for being overweight. With the positive bits my chest raises, I breathe more deeply (which fuels muscles better), my face is raised to face the challenge, shoulders open, relaxed and strong. I’m sure I perform better, too, and even if not I FEEL like an elite athlete and that feeling is priceless. I would swim around in it all day if I could – it feels that amazing. Morning sunshine, fresh air and great music really helps too! Try it – it’s amazing. Then try it every day until it becomes automatic. Beg, blackmail, or pay the people around you to speak to you this way. Everyone will be happier.
