Thursday, August 5, 2010

Distance Dreamers

I keep forgetting about the NYC Marathon in November. Why? Cuz I am not scared of it? This *could* be a bad thing. (don't worry, it is really on the radar and I am getting the prescribed run mileage in, I am just not "mentally" there yet)

I guess the reason why I am not scared is because I have A) one more Half Ironman to do between now and then, so my brain is a bit preoccupied B) I have ran a 1:50:00 half Marathon after a super hilly 56 mile bike during a Half Ironman. That run has artificially inflated my ego and confidence C) I have signed up for a full Ironman next season, so thinking about the 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike kinda dwarfes the marathon that comes 3rd that day.

But this is BAD logic! I SHOULD be scared of the marathon. The longest I have ever ran was a 15.5 miler @ race pace on a freaking super hilly course. It hurt, but I had a feeling going any longer was only gonna hurt more. I think the marathon is gonna hit me when I do my first long run over 15.5 miles and I go, "Uh oh, I still have another 10.7 miles to go and my knees are giving me the middle finger." (I really am scared of 26.2 miles, I am just in denial, which is bliss!)

SO! To keep my brain in marathon mode, I have found a cool blogger, Abbi @ Higher Miles, who has started a first time marathoner's group called Distance Dreamers. We can all share our first time marathon experiences through this group! Every Wednesday she will report on our progress and will give us Q's to answer about our training. So check out her site and join if you are doing your first Marathon this year.

Here is the first installment of Q's:
What made you decide you wanted to run a long distance race?
That sense of accomplishment. Also, it was a huge incentive to put in more base mileage at speed to compliment triathlon, which is my main sport.
Why the full marathon or half as your distance of choice?
First the half marathon because that is the final leg of a Half Ironman triathlon. If I wasn't confident in nailing a stand alone half marathon, how was I going to nail it during the half Ironman? The full marathon is along the same lines. I don't need to nail this distance, but I want to experience it before I do another one after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike. I guess the half and full marathons as stand alones are R&D?
Finally, why was this the year to go for it?
To be honest, I wanted to do a full marathon for the sake of doing a full marathon, so I randomly picked this year. Now that I am doing a full Ironman next year, doing the marathon this year works out perfectly, timing wise. Plus, doing the NYC Marathon in November is a great season ender and the place to end it where I started the season, in Central Park.

15 comments:

  1. im part of the club too!!! yay!

    ur not a newbie!!!!!! lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for posting! I love seeing how everyone got to where they are...good luck at your next Half Ironman. I can understand why you are pre-occupied with the thoughts of that one before focusing on the marathon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think we mentally have to take things one step at a time. I think you are doing just that and will be fine come marathon day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very cool. Just a blip for me still.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This pretty much describes my exact state of mind over the past 4 weeks...not a thought of the TC Marathon in October due to pre-occupation of 70.3 and signup for IMLP...I kind of snapped out of it this week and hope for a 8 week rally to 26.2! I'm excited (envious) for you doing NYC this year, that was my 1st marathon in 2000. Your schedule and timing seems perfect with Timberman then NYC 2.5 months later.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Jon,
    I am a Distance Dreamer too! Even if my marathon is on hold I can still dream with the best of you:) Actually, I am scared to death too:) There is no doubt in my mind that you are going to kick butt at your first marathon little bro! Just wait and see!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats on joining the club! I think you are going to do just fine.

    Once you get that last 70.3 out of the way, you can focus fully on the NYC marathon!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You seem to always have a training plan and you've proven to yourself that it works. That right there is why you can stay so calm about it.
    Those that don't do the homework are the ones that worry.
    I'd sign up for the 1st time marathon thing but I don't want to be mocked for choosing the Intermediate 2 plan for my first marathon. We will see if this is a mistake soon enough.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The reason is "C)" Jon! Your thoughts are completely engulfed by the Ironman - know what your going through!

    I actually just decided to not do a sprint tri in Oct because I think training is more important than racing right now? Yep, the head is all wrecked!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Welcome to distance dreamers! Looking forward to following your training!

    ReplyDelete
  11. marathons terrify me as well.. and I have one under my belt already. take 2 is in Oct.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think it’s normal with the other activities you are doing before the marathon. Reading this post I can see you respect the marathon and that is good.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I did it backwards. I did an ironman before I did a marathon.

    A marathon is very different from an ironman. If you race a marathon the intensity is much higher. I hurt more at the end of the marathon than I did at the end of the ironman.

    I'm in the Distance Dreamers also (even though I have one marathon under my belt).

    ReplyDelete
  14. Don't worry, I'm sure the fear will show up! But you know that you're not alone, we'll be here for you!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very cool. I'm considering doing Philly this year (my first time) so once I decide, I'll hopefully be joining!

    ReplyDelete

Don't be shy! Leave me a comment!