Training For My First Race (Part 2)
One night my wife said to me, “I want to do a race. Not just any race, the Disney race.” I looked at her and said, “Sure, why not?” We continued the conversation for a bit, and I knew she was 100% serious.
Side note about my wife – she has never half-a**ed anything in her life. So when the conversation led to what type of race, she said she wanted to do a 5K. I knew she probably meant marathon. She would have to start training for 5K’s and in a few weeks’ time she’d want to do a 10K but to be ready for a marathon. I wish I was exaggerating.
We started making the plan to attend the next race (within reason) and saw that registration is coming up in a few months with the race to come in January 2023. This gave us ample time to start prepping for the race and arrange accommodations.
The months leading up to registration was probably the most difficult and the biggest growth period on our racing journey. We ramped up too fast – me because I heard “marathon”, and her because she didn’t take rest days. We both wanted to be marathon-ready yesterday.
This is what we learned:
- Listen to your body. Don’t try to push through everything. Small injuries can set you back longer than resting.
- Find what type of foot strike works for you.
- CROSS TRAIN. You don’t have to run every day. Supplement your workouts with Heated Yoga, Yoga, strength training, balance/mobility. These will pay dividends for your runs.
- Don’t use your running shoes for walking around. What tends to happen is we put the shoe through so much that it starts to expand. Also, if possible, try to go to one of the specialty running stores. I have inserts in my shoes to decrease impact.
- Write yourself a contract (not a goal) of what you are going to do. Stick to it, screenshot it and place it as your screensaver. #mambamentality
- Track as much as you can. For instance, personally, I run better on an empty stomach in the morning than I do any number of hours after a meal. My wife is the complete opposite, she is best running at night before her last meal of the day.
James Merritt is the General Manager of Merritt Clubs Buckingham.