Lessons from the Marathon

I meant to write alot of this immediately following the marathon but lethargy and then a climax of activity just prior to my leaving Canada made me more effectively able to procrastinate it.

Having said that, the marathon was definitely one of the top three most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life (the other two being climbing Kilimanjaro (in particular the final ascent) and specific portions of my phase III training (offensive and defensive operations and patrolling). So I will always remember it. At least, until I run another one.

As a side note, my Dad came into town, flew in from New Zealand so he could be with there when I ran my first Marathon and also to see me off to London and this next phase of my life. It was utterly shocking me, I was walking to my aunts house listening to the marathon playlist I had created for myself, to suddenly see him standing 1 metre from me. It was awesome. I felt tremendously grateful for his support, albeit with a little more pressure to do well.

For the first 21.1 km Juan and I cruised at a fairly solid pace, but by km 25 (we had set it up so that there were people cheering us at the 15km, the 26km, the 38km, and the finish point) right where my Dad was supposed to join us (he ran with us from km 26- 38), I really started to crash.

I had expected that I would crash, as all runners do at some point during the race, but I had anticipated that I would have lasted a little longer, and maybe fallen apart a little more gradually.

Around the 23rd km, I started getting goosebumps and feeling chills and generally feeling very cold, a bizarre feeling considering I was running and sweating. This kinda freaked me out. It was only the beginning of my challenges. Here are the lessons I've learned:


Lesson # 4 Start slow

No matter how many times Juan and I discussed the need to start slow, the excitement of the day, the crowd, the presence of the other runners, and our own innate competitive desire (or dislike for letting others pass us) won over and we ran the first 21.1km in 1 hour and 50 minutes, or on pace for about 3 hours and 40 minutes. Slightly faster than we would have liked. And this contributed to my crash at 26 km as opposed to around 33 km which is what I expected based on my training. If you run just 5 seconds per kilometre faster than what you did during your training, it can really hurt much earlier, later on in the race.


Lesson # 3 Nothing can compensate for running, Do more hill training

During the training I substituted soccer matches and several hours of tennis for some of my runs. The hardest thing about training for a marathon is having to limit your exercising and sporty activities to running. I haven’t lifted weights in 6 months, but I wasn’t able or willing to stop playing tennis and soccer this summer, which, given that I also had a full-time job and had mandatory rest days, sometimes made my running hard to manage. I think that substituting sports for runs as much as I did was a mistake as I don’t feel that I logged the kilometres necessary to get an ideal time. Secondly, the hills on the race day route really hurt me as I wasn’t able to get any hill training in since Ottawa doesn’t have any hills. When I started to crash at km 24, the hill on rue Berri (see below) really knocked me down.


Lesson # 2 Sometimes you have to accept your strength levels on a given day

I was sick for 3 weeks prior to the race and I think that this really hurt me during the race. I just didn’t have the endurance I was expecting (based off of how I felt during my 25 and 30 kilometre runs, I expected to crash at around 33 km’s).

It was really hard and really frustrating once I started to crash and slow down, to see that our pace was slipping away. I felt that I was letting Juan (who was feeling stronger than me) and my father (whom I’ve watched compete in triathlons, marathons and Ironmans) whom I desperately wanted to be proud of me, down by my struggles.

This, in addition to my own frustration really contributed to the degree of pain which I was feeling physically.

Sometimes you have to just accept that you aren’t as strong on that day as you might be on others and just enjoy the process of the struggle, and work to finish the race, seeing it as a learning experience, rather than fighting a losing (and ultimately more painful) battle to go for a time that won’t be achievable.

Lesson # 1 Train your mental endurance.

My mental endurance wavered, which was surprising to me (I’m certain that this was part of the problem), as I figured that my military training (5 days without sleep several times) and past athletic and competition experience would help me.

I knew I would be tired and it would be hard, but I think as a whole I underestimated how tough the marathon would be, mentally.

By kilometre 35 (after almost 3.6 hours) I felt unable to focus on pushing my body through the pain I was feeling. My mind started to feel apathetic, and became easily distracted and started to wander. Old memories would flood in, queued by the sight of buildings or places that I had been during my 5 year carouse in Montreal. Trying to stay in the moment is hard enough day-to-day but trying to do it after running 35km, when you are feeling sick to your stomach, and you’re exhausted of being in pain is a whole other story.



Post Marathon



The first three days after the marathon were unbelievably sore and stiff. On Day 3 walking on flat surfaces or uphill was ok, but down the stairs was still pretty torturous.

I did notice though, that whenever I was active, either riding a bicycle to the store or walking the dog, my legs felt much better. They need to move to get the lactic acid moving.

Conclusion

That afternoon, sitting on my aunt's patio with a post-race beer in my hand, Sergey asked me if I would consider running another marathon soon, with him.

Without initially answering, I stood up to make a toast to my family. The timing of my completion of the marathon was perfect, I thought, because it feel right before my 25th birthday and right before leaving Montreal. I told my family that Sergey had asked me if I wanted to run another one, and my response to him that night was, "well, it took me 25 years to run the first one, MAYBE in the next 25 years I'll run another one". :) I then thanked my family for being there, I have never felt the kind of family and friend support that I felt that weekend. Those who were close to me really came through for me and for that I will be eternally grateful and I will carry that with me here on my own in London, as a reminder that back in Canada, there are people who support me and care for me.

Today, as I conclude all these thoughts sitting at the desk of my new room in London, staring through my window overlooking a rich green park with oak benches and a hard court tennis court, I think, I will run a marathon again, and DEFINITELY within the next 25 years.