It’s Friday so I’m linking up with Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five linkup! Join in! Don’t forget to link back to your hostess and visit some other bloggers.
So as I am sure you know, last Sunday I ran the NYC Marathon as my first full marathon.
Eventually I will stop talking about it…
but not yet.
What did I learn from this experience?
1. Long Training Runs are easier if you have company.
I was lucky. I never did them alone. I may have run some of the miles each weekend solo but for every run, my running friends were there to support my efforts. I couldn’t have done without you guys. ❤
2. It is Better to Be (10 Miles) Undertrained than (1 Mile) Overtrained.
I heard this from a fellow blogger and friend. I’m not sure that I believed it.
Basically I felt undertrained because my job got in the way of doing any longer runs during the week. I usually ran 3-4 miles instead of the 5-10 on the training plan.)
in Rochester along the Erie Canal
I worried that my legs would not be strong enough to carry me through 26.2 miles.
However, I think the lower mileage helped keep me injury free the whole 18 week training cycle and enabled me to complete the long weekend runs better.
3. Pain is indeed Temporary.
Yes, my feet hurt. My hips ached. My lower back…Oy. The Pain.
Everything hurt during miles 14-20 this day… so I knew what to expect I guess
But as soon as the race is over, you forget about it and you savor the experience.
Every time I look at my medal, I don’t think about the pain. I smile and I am proud of what I accomplished.
4. Marathon Training does not have to take over your Life.
I was afraid that I would be obsessing and thinking about nothing else but the marathon.
Work being very busy and traveling for 8 weeks during peak training helped take my mind off the suggested weekly mileage.
I went to movies, shows, dinners and spent quality time with my family and friends. I never said I CAN’T. I HAVE TO RUN.
high school reunion (instead of my run)
5. I Enjoyed the Race immensely. I’m glad I did it. But I don’t want to run another.
Back to running short races, skipping bad weather runs and signing up for Half Marathons.
H2H Half
The Good Life. 🙂
Happy Running! If you have run a marathon (or a half marathon), what did you learn from the experience? Please share.
My First 5K and More... 
I’m so glad you took the leap and did it. I’m so glad you’re smiling about it. You know I never had a doubt about your ability to finish. 😀
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I knew that I would finish too because I am very stubborn. I am smiling because I recovered very quickly.
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I personally believe there’s a sweet spot between being undertrained & overtrained, because it’s just as easy to injure yourself if you’re undertrained.
I never doubted that you would do it. Congrats!
And everyone says they’re never going to do another after their first (well, most people). And they mean it. Until they don’t.
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At my age, I think it’s too much stress on the body. Not sure I want to risk it for a medal. But I’m glad I did NYC and if I could have a guarantee that it would not be as physically painful, I would do NYC again. Not tempted to run any other.
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But look at all those much older women you’re always posting about. 🙂
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Our bodies are all different.
And I work which limits my training time.
And also marathons are $$$$.
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NYC is $$$$$. They aren’t all. I know you’re not interested in others but there are many that aren’t so expensive.
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True but for me the marathon was way more than saying I am a Marathoner or whether or not I can challenge myself to run 26.2 miles. NYC was an experience of a lifetime. Not for everyone, of course.
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Darlene, so happy for you but sad our paths never crossed over the weekend. Race day was perfect and the crowds were just amazing, way better than in 2015. You should be so proud of your accomplishment, especially given the difficulty of the race course.
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It was even more amazing than I could ever have imagined. I see why you repeated this race. OMG. The crowds in Brooklyn!!! Wish we had met…it’ll have to be somewhere else, I guess.
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I so wanted to get it together for this post after meeting Lacey. Ugh.
I so agree with you on this. I’m also really glad to be able to sleep in tomorrow as it’s going to be near freezing
What’s your Skirt in the 16 mile pic in 1? Don’t think I’ve ever seen that pattern
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I haven’t run all week. I was not even sore after Monday but busy and yesterday it was raining and this morning 20 degrees.
That is skirt is old. I had it in M and Judy in S and we traded.
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I ran yesterday morning as it was beautiful.
Had slight lingering soreness Tuesday but since then it’s fine
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Good to hear.
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Congratulations on completing your first marathon, Darlene! You did it the right way – you didn’t let training take over your life and you enjoyed the race (even though it hurt). Marathon pain is like childbirth pain; you forget how much it hurts and just remember the positive outcome. Never say never! I am with you. I am signing up for shorter races and having fun. No more marathons. At least for a while.
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I am forgetting the pain because my recovery was so quick.
At my age, I want to preserve my body and I think it is best if I want to run a long time to stick to shorter races.
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I totally agree with you – it’s not worth stressing your body out to the point of injury just to get the miles in. I’ve seen too many runners not get to run the race they trained for because of that, and the whole point of training is to run the race, right? So pleased that you haven’t spent the last week in a world of hurt following your race, too. 🙂
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I am surprised at how little I hurt after and how much I hurt during lol.
So happy to have it over and go back to normal running.
Can’t wait until you are pain-free. Back pain sucks – imagine that for 26 miles.
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Congratulations on your marathon! It sounds like you found a perfect balance of training for it well without overdoing it. Enjoy that medal!
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Who knows? Maybe it would have been less painful if I trained more???
Love that medal!!
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I completely agree with #1 and #2. Whenever I over train, I get injured. Running is always better with friends along for the ride
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Yes my friends really helped me.
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I totally agree with the undertrained vs overtrained. For me, the more mileage I do, the more likely it is the my IT band injuries will flare up so I like to mix in strength training.
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I should probably do ST too.
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I am SO PROUD of you! You keep on talking about this marathon as long as you want! I think there is a fine line between being under trained and over trained but you were smart to not over train and risk injury. I’ve seen that way too often. Running does not come easy for me, so I have a hard time training for a marathon or even a half marathon and not have it take over my life for that time.
Thanks for linking up with us. -M
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I think running is HARD.
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Marathon training is a huge commitment–and as busy as you are, you did a great job balancing everything! I’m so happy for you. What an amazing accomplishment! You should be so proud of yourself.
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I am. Still on cloud nine.
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I never thought that marathon training ever consumed my life either. I agree, it’s better to be a bit undertrained than over trained and risk an injury. You did awesome Darlene and I was happy to share the experience with you for your first marathon! Keep on enjoying your accomplishment!
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I am. Wore my finisher hat for my race today.
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