Ah marathon training. It brings about many strange and wonderful things. I thought up half of this list while I was running this morning and figured you all could add some as well. And you know how I love a list!
Signs you are training for a marathon
1. You resort to wearing old running shorts you would never normally wear because all of your running clothes are dirty and it’s only Thursday.
2. You start googling marathon pace times and going back and forth on your goal time.
3. You eat breakfast and then immediately think about what your next meal will be. You try to make it to noon for lunch but cave and eat at 11:30 AM.
4. You always seem to be showering.
5. You’re uncommonly sad about races you can’t run because of your training. You may not even run these races normally but during marathon training all you want to do is race.
6. Nine miles on a Monday is your easiest run of the week.
7. You can barely keep your eyes open past 9 PM.
8. You become a master at getting dressed in the dark so as to not wake your significant other or children or pets.
9. You wake up before the dog does and even he doesn’t want to get up.
10. You can’t keep gels stocked up enough. You consider buying them in bulk.
11. You really start to resemble a T-Rex.
12. When you see others running you want to run too. (Even though you literally just ran.)
13. You complain to whoever will listen about your sore: IT bands, quads, calves, ankles, heels, shins, hamstrings, toes, piriformis, glutes, Achilles, or one of these, a combo of these, or all of these.
14. You give out the loudest sigh of relief when you first lie down for the night.
15. You start to crave ice baths.
16. You can’t read enough articles on marathon training. You want more tips, more advice, more coaching, more nutrition information, more, more more!
17. You trick yourself into thinking you really like speed work. And you cannot lie.
18. Your post long run nap is the most amazing sleep ever.
19. You think about buying stock in Body Glide.
20. You decide that after this marathon you are never running another marathon again. And you know this is a big, fat lie.
What did I miss?
I love these! Here are a few more:
21. You see nothing wrong with taking your shoes off at work and icing your sore feet (I may or may not have done that yesterday).
22. You find nothing odd about the bottle of biofreeze that is sitting on your desk at work right next to your water bottle (yeah, may also be happening here at this very moment).
23. You justify every poor eating decision with, "I'm marathon training." And because you want to continue this rationale after your marathon is over, you sign up for another marathon that will take place not too long after this one, to keep the continuum alive.
This is a great post! For me as time goes on I start to wonder how on earth I'll ever get through 26.2 miles based on how I'm feeling!
I LOVE this list. It made me laugh out loud. And #3 is so true. Good luck with all your training!!!
Numbers 2 and 16 are def me!! Great post B.S.!! 🙂
Train Healthy Be Wealthy
Love (and miss) it all!
I miss these feelings. Cheers!
I ran 10 miles this morning before work and it's the easiest day of the week. no shit.
The post long run nap is enhanced when prefaced with a single ice cold beer. Other possible enhancements include sex and ice cream.
add: stairs make you cry, but you can take the elevator and laugh at the non-runners that take the stairs "to get their workout in for the day".
though i've never run a marathon i can relate to some of these! i only do laundry b/c i run out of sports bras and i totally re-wore workout shorts over the weekend on vacation because i didn't pack enough. i sometimes can't make it til noon for lunch either 🙂 and yeah that feeling of getting into bed after a long day? definitely sigh-worthy!
Great round up! One to add is that compression socks 24/7 is totally acceptable, and camouflage well under work attire.
Oh i love this !! Its SO TRUE!!
Kristen S.
I had been wondering how long it would be from the time I mentally committed to a marathon, till I read a post like this.
Most are true for me, though maybe not as bad (yet) as some.
24. You see nothing wrong with bailing out of activities that require walking because it hurts your (insert hurting part here), and yet you can't wait to go on a run. That other people think it's the running that is hurting you is a fundamental misconception on their part.
Oh, and the robot test is a pain in the behind. You do know you're helping to train Skynet, right?
9. You wake up before the dog does and even he doesn't want to get up.
Okay, that says A LOT!!!!!
Awesome list!
I haven't run a marathon yet, maybe next year, but I'll keep these in mind in case I start to feel like I'm going "crazy".
Wait…I'm a runner…
oh, I have so much to say I don't think I can!! I laughed..
#20.. absolutely.. i say that to Meghan year after year..
No more marathons for real this time..Tri's!!! and I will need all the help I can get!
Oddly enough, I turned off the robot test several years ago, and since then I have deleted one piece of spam, and I had to think about it. The secret is to disallow anonymous comments.
Haha love #4.
25. you have an ice pack in the work freezer
26. you have gels at work in case you get sleepy
27. you keep golf/tennis balls under your desk to roll your feet while working
28. you close your office door for important "conference calls"
Usually around 1-2 pm
So funny!
#18… every Sunday afternoon!
Don't forget the post long run high. Before the run I always tell myself I am going to come home and take a nap. Instead, I end up in the craziest baking/cleaning/anything but sleeping frenzy.
Love this list! I agree with all of them…well, except that my dog feels it's never too early for a run. 🙂
Is it weird that this somehow makes me a little bit excited to start training?
I live #3 and I'm not in marathon training… I"m just a pig 🙂 I do love long runs, high mileage and marathons though! One day, I shall return. Until then, you'll have to take all the showers and buy all the gels and roll all the sore muscles for me!
very useful really good information thanks for posting such a good information it will hepls the people a lot keep it up , Regards, obiee training in hyderabad
You have given an awesome tips for marathon running program.Really cool work.
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