On Running: Marathon
Tomorrow is the big day. I will be making my full marathon debut at the 2012 Wildlife Marathon.
I have wanted to do this for a long time, and feel that I've paid my dues. I've been preparing for this for well over a year, and have been training especially hard these last few months clocking in nearly 40 miles per week. Most beginning marathon plans will peak you out at about 20 miles. I hit 21 one day, but only did that one time. For the most part, my training went well, save for one time when I ran 19 miles and ran out of energy barely making it the last two miles walking home. My only real concern tomorrow is the post 20 mile mark, since I have no idea what will happen to my body or mind at that point.
The interesting thing about a marathon, is that it takes you further than what the human body is engineered to be able to do via it's own accord. The human body runs out of glycogen between 16-20 miles of running. A full marathon is 26.2 miles. Because of this you must carb-load, ingest along the way, train to slow glycogen depletion, and push your body to unnatural heights. It is said that once you do a marathon, you are changed forever. I need transformation.
Here are my three tiered goals for the race.
- Minimum: Finish.
- Middle: Finish without stopping or walking.
- Highest: Finish in under four hours.
I've waited for this for a long time. I can take pain, and I want the world to see what I am capable of. Transform me.