My Marathon Experience… So Far!
A little over 2 years I set out on the goal of running a marathon. 3 attempts latter and I can say it has not been the journey I thought it would be, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
As I mentioned I have trained for 3 marathons, attempted to run 2 of those marathons, and completed 1 of them. Each experience was unique and made me stronger. I have been a runner for over 12 years (thats almost half my life) and up until 2 years ago I said I would never run a marathon. I would much rather run 400 meter repeats on a track until I couldn’t run no more. But when I graduated college and was no longer on the team I needed a new training goal, and thus the marathon runner in me was born.
The first marathon I decided to train for was DC Rock N’ Roll marathon in March of 2020. I had just raced my first half marathon and decided running a full marathon was in the realm of possibility for me. So I spent the winter training for my first marathon. I worked on building up my mileage and my long run. I was running about 35-40 miles a week with a lot of my mileage coming from my long run. This kept the rest of my runs during the week ranging from 2-6 miles. I also would throw in some tempo work and hills once a week. I was using my past running experience to figure out how to train for a marathon. Then the Monday after completing my longest run ever, 20 flipping miles, I started my taper to feel fresh for my race. At this time though was the start of Covid, and sadly this was the day that my marathon got canceled. So I had done all the training and but wouldn’t get to see what I was capable of. I probably should of gone out and done my own 26.2 mile run but it was a time of unknown and was just trying to figure life out with the shut down.
Then after having to take a break from running/working out due to a dog bite to my leg (not my dog), I got an email saying that my DC Rock N’ Roll Marathon was now going to be virtual in November 2020. The things was I was given 9 weeks notice of this virtual race. At this point I was running 1-3 times a week and never more then 4 miles. But I was going to get my marathon chance. I created an exelerated training plan, with focus on building my long run quickly, but building my mileage up slowly. My training also included less tempos, and a shorter taper due to the shortness of my training plan. This way to make sure I didn’t injure myself. After the 9 weeks I went out to run my 26.2 miles in my neighborhood by myself. It was the hardest thing I have done both physically and mentally. At the end of my 26.2 miles I was miserable but at completed my run in 3 hours 35 minutes. After this I decided I wanted to run a marathon in person to get the true experience and would not sign up for another marathon unless it was in person!
Enter the decision to run marathon number 3. I signed up to run the Baltimore marathon in October of 2021. My casual running was a lot more consistent at 3-5 days a week and I had 4 months to train for this race. I decided to do things a little different for this marathon attempt. I joined a training group with Charm City Run. I had a coach who assigned me a training plan so I didn’t have to think what to do for training. It was already decided for me. My training group would then meet Saturdays for our long run and then Wednesdays for speed work or hills. It was great being apart of a running community again. My only mistake was that I pushed my paces a little harder then needed, and was under eating. I was teaching classes, running 45-55 miles a week, and lifting. This led to a couple of weeks of fatigue and poor recovery in the middle. However I was able to catch this quickly, I slowed down my paces, increased my food intake, and prioritized recovery (sleep, stretching, and water intake).
Then it finally was race day! I was feeling great, I was excited to run, and the atmosphere was everything I hoped for. My goal was to run a Boston Qualifying time, or to run sub 3 hours 30 minutes. I had some calf discomfort to start but had mentally prepared to not necessarily have my muscles feel great. I was having fun running even up hill for the first 6 miles! Unfortunately after mile 10 I stepped just so and my calf discomfort turned to extreme pain. It felt as if my Achilles was going to pop. I then ran and walked a bunch till I hit almost mile 13 and found my husband. This is where I called it as I could barely run and didn’t want to injure myself more. I was on pace to run sub 3 hours and 26 minutes, and calling the race was a hard decision I had to make. After some reflection I moved on and realized that I loved this training experience, I had the best training for a marathon yet, and that I had accomplished a lot.
So now I focus on recovery, build back into a new training plan, and have fun with the process. I’m still not able to run yet, and think I need a little break over the winter from marathon training (I’m really a fair weather runner now anyway). So my next fitness training goal will be strength training with some body recomposition (increasing muscle mass while decreasing body fat percentage). It’s something I really have not personally done for myself and I want to see what kind of gains I can create for myself! So here is to the next adventure, and I will be back someday to run another marathon!
Yours in Strength,
Paige Maas