Being 2 Days away from running a marathon, I need to know that my preparation has been done. There are always doubts that you’re not ready, or maybe you could have done more. A year ago I attempted to run a marathon and around mile 17 I almost hit the deck as my quad and hamstring both cramped up.
I’ve had my fair share of muscular cramps, but this was the mother load! I had to stop, walk it off and regroup before I ran the last 8 miles. But walking got to a point where I could feel my legs cramping up again. Basically I walked myself into both legs being fully cramped and I was in a world of pain. CUT, that marathon was over for me.
Failing the marathon left me pissed off for weeks. What was more annoying was that I had the energy, I wanted to keep running. But no salt in your body, means no water retention which equals cramps in a matter of time. My 4 Weeks 2 Failure project ended in FAILURE!
REDEMPTION!!
The California International Marathon is held at the end of the year in Sacramento, and I have been waiting all year to get revenge on this endurance race. It broke me last time, but now it’s what inspires me. Again I’ve given myself 4 weeks to train for this event. You might think that I need more time, as some folks train for months. But all I can say to that is, It’s my project and I’ll challenge myself how I please!
The 4 Week time limit puts a sense of urgency into the training. Running 6, 8 and 12+ miles each week taught me A LOT!! It made me grow, physically and mentally due to the work I had to put in. Times when I told people I was running the Marathon, people sighed, looked disgusted like i was crazy and said “well, good luck with that.” I realized a lot of people don’t like running, exerting themselves or even pushing through things that are tough.
While running, I made an effort to enjoy those moments for a few different reasons. I can have a bad attitude towards running, but that’s a waste of energy. To be honest, I ran in the sun by the river and listened to books about fitness and nutrition. Working out, educating myself, enjoying it and getting a tan! Sounds like fun to me!
By the second run I did which was 8 miles. I was getting sharp pain in my right knee’s LCL. I had partially torn it in an MMA fight years ago. It hurt a lot! Like someone stabbing me in the knee every time I landed on it. After the run, I rehabbed my knee, body and wondered when this pain would go away.
Fast forward to the next week. I still had pain, I thought about cancelling the Marathon. Postponing until next year and letting my knee problem heal up. But after realizing that my LCL wouldn’t be torn and probably wouldn’t tear on the run, and that maybe I had some scar tissue that was getting aggravated when I ran, I told myself to get over it. I’m doing this race with or without pain! Once making that distinct decision. My knee became more bearable to run on. I could still feel it but, It wasn’t slowing me down.
Doing my longer runs 12-16miles was my favorite! For a couple of reasons.
1. I would feel like crap starting out, had pain, and didn’t feel the best. But after 4-5 miles, I started to feel great! I got into a rhythm and just enjoyed it!
2. Having knee pain disappear after a few miles gave me confidence that I could control my bodies sensations, move past pain and into a comfortable zone.
3. I like running longer miles because others didn’t! I’ve always found joy in doing things that others don’t want to. Mentally it gives me an edge and allows me to feel superior when it comes to related activities.
I’m not going to lie, I was beat after running 12-16 miles each weekend. I know running another 10 on top of that isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to hurt, be painful, and force me to dig deep. But in doing so, I achieve something I haven’t. What that does for me, my confidence and my limits in the future is something I’m pumped up about!!
Making sure my food prep before hand and during the race is key as that was what caused me to gas out and cramp up a year ago. Preparation has been key, recovery has been great. I haven’t felt any pain in my knee after my last run and I’m excited to get this done!
Pushing through you own limits and barriers, especially in the fitness world has a ripple effect for the rest of your life. Knowing you can get over and through things that caused you doubt ultimately grows your confidence. Those tough things become laughable and you set your fitness, life and mental threshold to a higher level.
But you must be willing to go through the things others won’t to reap those rewards.
Update on how the marathon went next week!
Chat soon, AC