Marathon training III : Keeping up the motivation until the end

Through pain and frustration. Through rain and wind...

Thursday evening Frank and I went for a 14 km tempo run. There was a storm outside. We waited as long as we could for the rain to stop, but it simply got worse and worse, and in the end we just went. We got really soaked, the wind was against us no matter which direction we ran, and despite the high effort, we were pretty cold the whole time.

What gives the motivation to go ahead with such a session? For me, it was the fact that I had not run the day before, and practice for the rest of the week was tightly scheduled due to work and family obligations. So if I skipped that run, there would be no chance to do it another day and I would loose one more practice before Amsterdam. These days I am loosing a lot practices compared to my program already, so I simply could not afford to miss that run.

I cannot train as much as would like to, as various parts of my body (yes, there are more now than just the hamstrings) let me know very clearly when they advise me to skip a day of running. And having learned the hard way, I do listen to these body parts, and take it easy when things start acting up. I try to calm them down with ice and compression, and after a day or two, I try to catch up with the training when they let me.

It is quite demotivating be unable to train to be at your best. On the other hand, perhaps my body can never take marathon training more than this level, and in that sense this is as good as I can get. Although my lungs and muscles would have managed more, my tendons are holding back. From time to time, I do really want to give up the whole idea of running a marathon. It happens that I am so worried about possible injuries and lacking performance that  I have trouble sleeping at night, which again affects training performance. Doing bad at training adds to the stress about the race, and it all becomes a vicious cycle....

But then comes a good practice where I feel fast and strong, and it wipes away all the frustration, and I feel wonderful again. So, how do I manage to pull myself up and get going again so that the good practice actually happens? I don't know, to be honest. I think it is a bit like how I motivate myself to finish a long run. Just think one small portion at a time, concentrate on the next task, adjust myself to the situation, and go on as best as I can.

Because this is exactly how it is during a long run. Some friends ask me how it is possible to do these long runs of 30 km or more once a week. I must admit I find it hard. The first time I had a run that was longer than a half marathon was in Istanbul in June. I ran 24 km all alone. It was hot, but I had planned the whole thing very carefully in my head. I would reward myself at some milestones. I knew that there was a gas station at 6 km and at 12 km, so I promised myself to stop and have a cold drink at 6, 12, and 18 km, as well as a big breakfast at the end. Then, during the run, I only needed to concentrate and motivate myself until the next stop. It worked pretty well, and since then I applied it to all the longer and longer runs.

Of course running with a group of friends helps a lot. But my friends whom I am training for the marathon with are all faster than me, and although Frank always runs back and forth to never leave me all alone, I end up running half the distance by myself. (Which is good practice actually, as I will be on my own during the race as well.)  So I still look forward to the stops. There are always three stops: after 1/4 of the distance, then at half, and then at 3/4. I only think until the next stop and try to ignore rest of the distance. Before every stop I feel exhausted, but after taking a gel and some water I am good to go for another round. I hope this will help me during the race itself as well. I will try to concentrate on one water station at a time.

Sometimes I wonder whether I started to prepare this training a little too early. Who knows? Just a month ago, I was painfree and feeling wonderful and excited about the race and about my performance possibilities. So if I had started my marathon training a month later than I did, perhaps I would be at my best now? We cannot know. Some of my much faster and more experienced friends got injured during taper time just before a race, after completing a their training program successfully. Whereas others are training hard, getting better, and having a great time looking forward to the next race. There is no correct answer that fits all. The most important thing is to not compare oneself with others.

Although it is a race, it is not a competition with anyone else than myself.