the decision

"If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."
-Emil Zatopek

This is the first time I've felt the urge to blog since China. Similarities between running a marathon and being in China: I don't personally know other people doing it. Conversations about it are limited. I think about it all the time.

I can't believe I didn't start this blog earlier.

The Seattle marathon will happen on November 30, 2008. It will be on the Sunday following two huge Thanksgiving dinners with my family. I paid my $90 entry fee after completing my first ever 20 mile run about two weeks ago. I waited because before that day, I wasn't really sure I could run a marathon. Now, I figure if I can do 20 on my own then the adrenaline from the crowd and other runners will be worth at least 6.

I've had this little tickle in the back of my mind for about a year now. Wouldn't it be cool to run a marathon? Wouldn't that be an experience? What would it take? How would my body react? Any of my friends will tell you I love exercise. For years I have been torn between the camaraderie and skill of team sports like soccer and ultimate, and the pure endorphin rush and personal challenge in simply running. The battle has been ongoing ever since I joined cross country my sophomore year in high school. I did it purely as a way to stay in shape for soccer. I started the season late, and that day the team happened to be doing a long run - 7 miles. I had never run 7 miles. I had probably never run 4. But I had been playing soccer all summer, and figured it would be a snap. That was the day I gained respect for runners, and realized my limitations in the sport. That day and for years to come, my preference was clearly in favor of team sports, with running a necessary evil during the off season.

Running competitively in high school (competitive referring to the fact that we ran races, not to my ability), I never really enjoyed the sport. Rain or shine, fresh or sore, coach yelling, trying to keep up with the fast kids, races looming week after week. It was only afterward, when I forced myself to run alone during times when there was no exercise alternative, that I began to enjoy running for its own sake. These runs had no particular time goal, no coach with a stopwatch, no schedule to keep for the next day. They were just me, and after a while I decided that as long as I was out there I might as well enjoy myself. I do carry a watch when I run, and I am always trying to beat my own times on familiar courses, but the lack of outside pressure made a world of difference in my enjoyment. The fact that I am free to turn around or walk any time is liberating, even if I never actually take those options. With this revelation, running pulled nearly even with soccer on my preference list.

The tickle has been there for a year, more or less (left or right, if you're in china). I couldn't say for sure how long it had been there, but the tickle turned into an itch when I stumbled into running a 10k at the end of the summer. I didn't run too much this summer, very sporadic. 20 miles one week, 5 the next. Or zero. I did always play soccer at least once or twice a week. But when I ran the 10k, it was the first race I had run in a long time. I had been running alone for so long I'd forgotten what it was like to have people around me. And I finished in a time I was really proud of, especially on the hilly Seattle course (around 42 minutes at the Swedish SummeRun). After that race, I cranked up the mileage for a few weeks, did two or three 25 mile weeks in a row before it started getting to me.

I started looking around for other races but didn't find too many in the Eastern Washington area. Those that I found were half or full marathons. I decided what the heck, maybe I'd try some longer runs and see how they felt. My longest run up to that point had been 10 miles during the previous summer. Normally I would run 4 or 6 miles, the distances of a couple of convenient routes near my house. 10 seemed very long. But I did run 10, and then 12 not long after. I was surprised at how good they felt. That's when I went back and really checked the dates on marathons. At that point, I knew I wanted to run a marathon at some point in my life. Why not now?

Plenty of reasons. First, marathon training programs generally last 18 weeks, like this one, which I have taken some cues from in past weeks. Those 18 weeks are supposed to come after a period of mileage build up, probably a few months of running at least 20 miles a week. Second, I am still in school and have the chance to play soccer and do other things. Before, I'd always thought I would wait until I was trapped in some place where these great options were not available, then take the next best thing and try a marathon. But I have the itch now. I need to scratch it.

From here on out, I'm going to talk in detail about my training - distances and times and such. I know that this will probably be the boring part for many people, but I am compelled to write about it because these numbers are what has been dominating my thoughts for the past weeks. Feel free to skip it if this is not your thing.

When I decided to really give it a shot, I had 9 weeks till Seattle and 3 runs 10 miles or more under my belt. I decided to try a couple of longer runs and just take things one day at a time. I would pay for the marathon if I ran 16 or more miles successfully. The next week I went 17, and the week after that 20. I paid the fee just before the cutoff for late entries and avoided a price hike. I'm committed.

There's a catch to my training. I want to do this marathon, but I'm not willing to give up soccer at the rec center. I will do my running around days when there is soccer available there. I have read a lot of information about marathon training. It all recommends a very solid running mileage base. I have a great fitness base from running and 3-5 hour indoor soccer sessions at the rec center, but those don't directly translate into running benefit. This is what I learned in my very first long run in high school cross country. So, my challenge for myself is to incorporate soccer sessions with runs to make a training plan that will get me to the finish line of the marathon. One thing that seems very clear from experience marathon runners is: you can skip a lot of other runs in your training, but if there's one thing you don't want to miss it's your long runs. So, I make sure that I do a long run every weekend. Like I said, that started only 9 weeks before the race, or 11 if you count those other 10 milers.

After that first 20 mile run, two weeks ago now, I felt very fatigued but ok. I did some shorter runs that week and did a 10 mile long run last weekend. I did this one fast, way faster than the recommended long run pace. It was after this run for some reason that I started feeling really tired. My legs did not feel like themselves all week, and I had to go much slower than usual on other runs. I think it's my lack of proper mileage build-up catching up with me. But, yesterday I felt better and today I'm scheduled for another 20 miler. I'm still debating whether to try it after this last week, but I think I will considering there are still 5 weeks till the marathon and any overtraining I do now will hopefully be erased in that time. I'm also fighting a slight cold, but after a bit of online research the recommendation seems to be that if a cold is in your head, you're alright to run through it. If it's in your chest, you'd better take time off. This one is in my head and throat a bit, but it's very mild. Again, green light.

I'm dreading the run because of the slight sore throat and my more-tired-than-usual legs, but at the same time that just makes it all the more exciting. Today will be a whole new experience, which is what this marathon thing is all about.