The dream of a full marathon

Day 1: I signed up to run a full marathon about 6 weeks back. The marathon is on June 1st in San Diego. I thought, since I was in probably the best shape of my life and had been regularly hitting the gym, I could train for the full marathon (26.2 miles) in about 4.5 months. I started running more every day for 2 weeks. I felt comfortable doing the distances I was comfortable doing. I now thought it was time to push myself a bit and start doing the longer runs. So about 2 weeks back, I hit the treadmill and did a 6 mile run. I felt great after doing it. Took me about 1.5 hrs and I even felt the runner’s high. It was exhilarating! I couldn’t wait to do the run again. I went to sleep, a very happy and determined person.

Day 2: I woke up the next day and almost immediately felt a shooting pain on the right ankle, along the side of the foot. I thought it would pass away. All day, the pain kept up and by evening I was miserable. But I couldn’t give up the thought of not doing the run for the day. I hobbled onto the treadmill and started limping and running. I did 6 miles….limping.

Day 3: I woke up because of the acute pain in my foot. I was now hitting a low on confidence, hoping that I did not inadvertently, in my lust for the miles, do some damage that might potentially affect my participating in the marathon. All day, the pain gave me company and this time, i decided to take it easy. I went home, applied ice packs, hot packs, tiger balm and every damn thing I could lay my fingers on. I was fervently praying that this resolve the issue….

2 Weeks Later:
I was back on the running track, but doing only 2 miles at a time. I had withdrawn from the full marathon and had enrolled in the half marathon. I was now training to keep myself from injuries, rather than thinking of the 26 miles or the 14 miles that I would have to do. I had done the classic mistake of running too much too soon. I learnt the hard way to respect the distance in a marathon. 26 miles is not easy. 26 miles is a long distance. 26 miles can either kill or seriously injure you if you dont prepare the right way. The trainer gave me 2 options – “You could run the next weeks with the pain and then not run for the rest of the life…or, you can choose to give up the marathon in June and train properly and try it in another 6-8 months”.

I had my options laid out. I chose half marathon. But mind you, a half marathon is not easy either. It still is a long distance and you have lesser time to complete this. This means faster running and therefore more exhaustion.

This is what I had neglected to inform myself of:

1. Training for a full marathon takes at least 8 months, even if you are regularly exercising and keeping fit.
2. Running and training in the gym are 2 totally different things.
3. Running on the treadmill and running outside are 2 totally different things again.
4. If you run too long too early, you end up with a variety of injuries.
5. I had used the wrong shoes. I used shoes that were 2 years old on the day of my long run. After advice from my trainer, I immediately got myself custom fit shoes. Now it feels much better. I will follow up with a detailed post on selecting the right shoes.

For all those aspiring marathoners out there, keep doing what you do, but always remember this: “26 miles is a long distance. Respect it”

I hope to do the half marathon on June 1st in San Diego. I will keep my status updated.