15 Things You Should Know Before Dating a Marathoner

In the age of Buzzfeed and other like sites, there seems to be a survey or list for just about everything.

It seems fitting then that the Rock and Roll Marathon would put together a list of "Things You Should Know Before Dating a Marathoner."

The list is a good start, but I figured there's a few that deserve revising. I've added my comments in blue. What comments would you add?

1. Check your foot fetish at the door. Feet don’t look pretty after running 50+ km per week. (about 30 miles)  Not all feet are the same. Though we do talk about feet issues a lot (blisters, arch pain, toenails...) 
2. Back, leg and feet massages are expected at least twice a week to relieve tired, sore, and aching muscles.  I wouldn't turn one down, but asking for massages 2x a week seems a bit high maintenance when training lasts 18-20 weeks. Plus, I have a great massage therapist. 
3. Expect long naps on Sunday afternoons. Or for those who choose to get their long runs over on Saturday, Saturday afternoons.  
4. Don’t be surprised when you get a hot, sweaty, salty hugs and kisses. Probably not. 
5. Late nights and sleeping in on weekends doesn’t happen; getting up early on weekends to run is more important. Training doesn't have to ruin a fun night out - Long run Saturday morning, followed by a nap and a night out. 
6. There’s no such thing as a diet and eating carbs is a good thing. Eat just about everything in sight.
7. You’ll be expected to be at every race, holding signs and taking pictures along the race route and be at the finish line with warm clothes in hand. Gear check can hold my change of clothes. Spectating and signs are great for the marathon. Other races, not necessary.
8. Gift giving is easy – pedicures, running shorts, running shoes, massages, or even a foam roller will all impress. I already have one foam roller. More than enough.
9. You’ll be constantly asked to go for a run, even if you don’t run I might talk about running a lot, but I'm not going to force you do it.

10. There are some disgusting things that happen that aren’t always talked about. Toliet stories. Enough said.

11. Proposing at 32k (the wall aka almost 20 miles) during a marathon race could be the most romantic thing that could ever happen. (hint hint) To each their own. 

12. Pretend and show interest in topics that you know nothing about they can they talk about for hours, like running gels, hill training, or how great running on a cool morning with light rain on race day is. You may not know a lot now, but you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know. 

13. There will be a box or drawer full of race bibs, medals, maps and other miscellaneous race souvenirs. Well, yeah. Where else are you going to put them?

14. Sunday brunch will always happen after a long run. A brunch conversation helps get us through the Saturday morning long run. It's important to execute that discussion post run.

15. There is always a pile of spandex and technical shirts needing to be laundered. Spandex? What is this, 1991?

Find the link here

Race Day Plus One

Columbus Day has taken on a new meaning to me over the last few years. One in which I'm grateful to have the day off.

The Columbus Day holiday is now known as marathon plus one. 

My routine on this day is unlike any other:

I sleep in late (relative to the 5 or 6 a.m. that's been a standard most of the summer). I realize even before I'm fully conscious that I'm sore and stiff. Yep, I know what day it is. 

I hobble out of bed and get dressed. I feel like I'm elderly. I lay my outfit on the bed, then sit down to put my socks on. I can stand. I can sit. But everything in between is hard.

 I have a long massage scheduled for this morning. I'm looking forward to it, however, there are obstacles between my kitchen and my massage therapist's house.

First, there's a flight of stairs down to street level. My building has no elevator. The stairs register as a level of difficulty that's not normal. I make a plan as to how I'll get down them. The easiest way is to turn around and walk down backwards, but I'm too proud to do that. Instead, I do a sideways shuffle down the stairs, holding into the handrail for the first time this year. 

There's one more step out the building, then I'm in the alley. I now have to walk just two blocks to my therapists house. I start walking slowly, using proper crosswalks and making sure the walking man isn't flashing. Where normally I like to challenge the crosswalk countdown and walk or run across, today I have one speed. And it's slow. 

My body feels marginally better following the massage. I know today is the hardest and slowest day. I'm thankful today that my world is so small.

Halfway between my house and the massage therapist is Starbuck's.  Usually I treat myself to any crazy Starbuck's concoction that sounds good. I burned thousands of calories yesterday. I deserve it. But today I walk in to Starbucks and order something light on the caffeine and sugar. Though I was lucky enough to not have my neck issue fair up in the race, it's still there. The MT thinks I need to curb back my intake of both of these delicious controlled substances, so I'm trying to play along. I buy the paper today. All marathon finisher's names and times are posted in a special section. 

I sit outside and enjoy my drink and read up on the elite race yesterday. My day is wide open now. No training run to do today. 

My best friend came to visit later on in the day with her son. We went out to lunch and spent the rest of the day catching up on life.

How different today is from yesterday. It's nice and I enjoy it, but I know it can't be every day. 

Especially not this year. This year, I'm running another race 13 days from now. 

Pushing Through

Long runs can take a long time. I like to think of them as journeys.

You can experience a variety of emotion, physical challenge and weather all on the same long run. 

September 7th's 18 miler was just that.

After a tune-up massage on Thursday night,  I foam rolled and crossed my fingers that my sore hip and quad would cooperate during Saturday morning's group training run.

That morning, I met Jeff and Carl, along with many others fellow marathoners-in-training, down at the Montrose site.

The weather was cooler than expected for what would be a hot day. Even still, it was humid.

The run started off ok. As we pulled into the first aid station at Diversey, I started to experience the lightheaded symptoms I had two weeks ago. I wonder where this is coming from. I've managed to train for five marathons and never have this.

I didn't want to give up 2.5 miles in to an 18 mile run, but at the same time, I didn't want to push too hard and pass out either. I decided to slow down the pace a bit and stay in the back of the group where I could trail off if needed.

I let Jeff know I wasn't feeling 100% and encouraged him to go on at the front of the group without me. He checked in with Carl, our group leader, and then came back to me. He said not to worry about it, he would run with me.

I have known Jeff since the summer of 2008 when I trained for my first marathon. With the exception of one year, he's been there with our group each year. Last year, Jeff and I ran the entire Chicago Marathon course together. Talk about stars aligning! This year, Jeff's training is going quite well. He seems stronger this year than in any other year I've known him. He could have easily continued with Carl at the front of the group, leading the way down to McCormick Place and back. Instead, he came to hang back with me. What a great friend!

We chased our group from a distance down to the turn around, then headed back north. Some miles I felt better (physically or mentally), others worse. The clouds parted to sun, back to clouds, to rain, to overcast again.

We talked about anything we could think of. Any topic could fly except to talk about running.

In the end, we finished where we started. 18 miles was complete.

A McDonald's fountain coke was purchased on the way home followed by a check mark placed next to the date where 18 miles was written.
 
The run wasn't pretty, but it was done.

[Thanks, Jeff]

SOSing the Massage Therapist

There comes a point in training where things that were once way down on the to-do list go right to the top.

Case in point last week - A desperate need for a massage. 

I'd run four miles on Tuesday morning with the same dull ache in my hip I've had for a few weeks. Weather was cool with low humidity. I felt pretty good. 

On Wednesday, I went out to run five at lunch. About two miles in, the run turned into a run/walk. Then with breaks to stretch. My right quad and IT were getting tight. 

I stretched as best as I could and rested that evening, hoping the phantom pain would disappear. 

Thursday morning the exact opposite thing happened. The muscle tightness caused me to reach for my phone and text my massage therapist at 6am. In an act of true desperation, I hoped that he had some time to fit me in that evening. 

Luckily, he did.

That evening, he checked my alignment and discovered something was off. My left hip was higher than my right and in turn, made my left leg shorter. This is not something he had ever noticed before, including when I was in to see him five weeks ago. 

After an hour of stretching and massage, I was sore but hopeful. I have to remind myself this is the hardest period of training. These things happen. But how did this happen? Did I push myself too hard in yoga? Am I sitting in a bad position at my desk? I'm searching for an answer. 

In the meantime, I've traded my desk chair in for an oversized exercise ball and rekindled my romance with the foam roller.