Lessons from a Marathoner
My little sister loves to train for marathons. She’s even told me that she loves training for marathons more than running actual marathons. I’ve always been impressed with her ability do long-distance running and am even more impressed with the joy that she gets from it.
When talking with a coach earlier this month, we discussed that all too often, we treat life like it’s some sprint. We believe we need to run as hard and as fast as we can for as long as we can. But what are we sprinting towards? I don’t know about you, but I want the race of life to last a good long time. So, we shifted our perspective to brainstorm what marathon runners do differently to prepare for a much longer race. I, of course, knew right then I needed to call my sister.
I assumed that marathon runners focus on learning how to pace themselves more than anything else. My little sister told me that pace is important, but so is speed. She then explained to me a good training cycle for marathon runners. She said that a marathoner in training should plan on having about 4 runs a week. 2 of those runs will be “hard runs” and 2 of the runs will feel fantastic. The hard runs are hard for very different reasons.
For the first hard run, she says your goal is to run slower than your regular pace with the aim to build mileage. She warned that feeling like you’re running slow can be torturous, but if you push it faster, you’ll sacrifice distance. She takes weekends for these long, slow runs knowing she will be out for a very long time.
A few days later, she does the other “hard run” – a tempo run. The aim of this run is to run faster than your regular pace during a shorter distance. If you do it right, it will improve your overall pace.
I love this idea. You have two runs that feel opposite (either slow and long or fast and short). Both will feel uncomfortable, and both are building your capacity without burning the other out.
She says the two remaining runs during the middle of the week are baseline runs. Because you’ve pushed yourself earlier in the week, your ability to do these other runs feels so good. If you were to continue pushing during these runs, you could easily push yourself into an overuse injury and have to take a break to heal. These “feel good” periods are just as important as the periods that stretch your ability. These are times you may get a “breakthrough” run where you truly begin to enjoy running and/or you can focus on your form so that you can continue running without injury during those more intense periods.
Finally, I asked her about her recovery process in between runs. She told me that after the long-slow runs, she purposefully does less with the rest of her day and focuses on replenishing her muscles through hydration and healthy eating. After her tempo runs, she uses oils, massage, and physical therapy exercises to once again restore her body. Also, she does not have these training runs back-to-back each day. She keeps rest days in between so her body can recover from the demands she puts on it.
She has inspired me once again.
As I look at what life demands of me, I want to be better at treating it like I’m training for a marathon. I want to see the parts of life that I know are uncomfortably stretching me as times that I’m building either my distance or my pace. I also want to remember that there should be times that feel fantastic because I have grown in my abilities. Lastly, I don’t want to forget to prioritize rest and rebuilding so that I’m ready for the run on the next day.
Thank you for reading with me today. I hope you are keeping pace with the demands of your life this week. And VERY big thank you to my little sis for once again teaching and inspiring me.