Lake Tahoe Marathon

Well we actually made it to the end of the marathon.  It certainly wasn't easy.  Not that I expected it to be, but I didn't expect to feel nauseous, like I was about to vomit or pass out, or both.

Vanessa and I ran up to about the 8 mile mark and were still feeling good at mile 13.  It was around mile 15 that the nausea set in for me.  I put it off by sitting down and putting my head between my knees and by drinking more at the aid stations.  It lasted until around mile 21.  Then the marathon distance difficulty set in and we managed to plod on to the end.  I thought I was going to start crying with relief once we crossed that finish line.  I knew I could have given up but I really wanted to finish.

I suspect the ill feeling was probably due to dehydration and perhaps to the altitude of running at Lake Tahoe.  Whichever, I'm glad it's over.

Here we are post race with some much deserved champagne.

HH82PU6WVAHY

Marathon Training

Wow.  I can't believe how long it's been.   My daughter and I started our marathon training the first week of June and here it is one and one half weeks to the marathon!  How time does fly.

I've learned a few things along the way these past four months:

It's good to know someone who has run a marathon or two.  They'll have lots of advice.  Some of it will be useful to you and some of it won't.  You have to figure out which it is.  For instance I was given great advice on which brand of running socks to purchase.  Wrights have served me well.  But the advice on running routes, not so much.  Some runners like a nice long scenic route.  I like a nice safe, albeit boring, route close to home and restrooms and water fountains.   Some people run with their dogs.  My dog drives me nuts when I'm training.  Stretching after a run vs not stretching.  I like to stretch.

My daughter and I were told that four months is plenty of time to prepare to run a full marathon.  I really can't respond to that as yet.  But after running the longest training run of 20 miles I can safely say I wish we'd had more time.  Maybe six months would have been better. 

I'm not a fast runner.  In fact I'm really slow.  I'll be absolutely THRILLED if we can keep up a 12 minute mile pace during the marathon.  I'm relatively sure we won't be able to run that fast.  So sharing my training run times has at times been a little embarrassing.  That's just the way it is.  I've done the best I can.

I've spent a couple of weeks with delayed onset muscle soreness.  Good advice for me;  take a couple of running days off.  I could barely walk much less run.  Every step was painful.  

We didn't realize how much the running schedule would interfere with our spare time.  The question became, "What spare time?"  Running four days a week doesn't sound like much until you factor in not just the runs themselves but the recovery time from the runs which can sometimes be literally the rest of the entire day.  Since our chosen marathon takes place in the fall I feel as though I've lost most of my summer.  Bummer.

I should mention the many blisters and loss of various toenails along the way.  Running takes a toll physically.


There have been some positives along the way.  After the 20 mile training run I felt like telling strangers how far I'd run.  I just felt so very proud of myself.  It's really quite a distance.


Good advice:  Even if you're walking you're still moving forward.


I'm looking forward to finishing the marathon and having my life back.  I really miss it.


Will I continue to run?  Of course.  There just aren't any more marathons in my future.


I'll update after the marathon.  Wish us luck!