Live to Run...Marathon Recap

Woooooo! I completed my first marathon and can still walk. Yay! I am thrilled to say that I ran 26.2 miles yesterday in 3 hours and 51 mins which is about 8:51 mins a mile. Not bad for my first marathon and considering I did encounter a few setbacks mid run – but I will spare you the details of those setbacks...you’re welcome.  

It has been a long 2 and ½ month journey of training but I am so happy that it paid off.  I “followed” the Intermediate 1 Hal Hidgon Marathon Training Guide.  And when I say that I “followed” it I really mean that I made it work into my life/schedule. I know a lot of people miss out on things when they are training for a marathon, but I think I did well in being able to balance both. If I had plans or knew that I wasn’t going to be able to dedicate a certain amount of time to a run on a certain day then I would shuffle my week of runs around to better suit my schedule. I did always keep my long runs on the weekends since during the week I never had enough time to dedicate to a 10+ mile run. But even with my long runs being on the weekends, I still was able to go out and have fun with my friends. I just had to make somewhat smart decisions given my situation. For example, on Memorial Day weekend, I only drank from 2:00 pm until 9:00 pm in the Hamptons instead of drinking from 2:00 pm until 7:00 am (hi cj). This way I was able to get a good night sleep and wake up in the morning and run 10 miles.

Overall, I think there is no real way to fully prepare yourself for a marathon – it all depends on how you feel that day. But I think the next time around, I will start my training a little earlier and work harder on my shorter runs.

The marathon that I ran was the SteamTown Marathon. It was AMAZING! As corny as it sounds, the volunteers, the runners and the community were all sososos nice and made for a great 26.2 miles. If you are considering running a marathon you should 100% consider SteamTown. I will be running it again next year :)

I am not really sure what my running schedule will be for the next 2 to 3 months, but I think I am going to try to maintain my current fitness and work on my speed. I do have a yearlong membership to NY Sports Club soooo I should prob start using that.

Happy running!

xO

E

PS – special thanks to J.Byrnes and the Edwards fam for helping me to survive (DDD)!