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Well, call it a midlife crisis if you will, but I want to walk a marathon. There is one in Boston in September(18th) to benefit the Jimmy Fund. I really am going to do this.
It is two months before the "anniversary" of my illness, and I want to celebrate and give thanks for my life by helping preserve the lives of others.
posted
Impressive. you're going to walk the whole thing? I walk all over the place, But I don't know if I can do 26 miles... Wow. I reckon walking every day and increasing the distance might work... I am super impressed.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I have walked 23 miles in one day, but it was an "awareness walk" thing, not a marathon. I'm not sure how different it would be. The main thing I found was that when the goal was just to walk, rather than to get somewhere, it was a heck of a lot easier. If you have someone you enjoy talking to, just talk and walk, and you'll have a great day.
Oh, and "moleskin" is great for blisters.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Being an experienced marathoner I guess I could over a few insights. A few questions: How far have you gone at one time? Do you run any? When you say pretty good clip, what sort of time we talking? A 15 min mile pace would put you finishing in 6 hours 33 minutes. That’s doable, but could be long and you’ll need to get in some long training to get yourself used to it.
I’m more familiar with running so walking a marathon is a bit foreign to me. If you’ve jogged much ever you might consider doing Jeff Galloway’s walk break method. http://www.jeffgalloway.com/ I did this in the Marine Corp Marathon last year when I was a little short on training and it was pretty nice. I wasn’t sore afterwards either.
Looked at the website a bit more. I guess this is a pure walk. Wow.. Didn’t know they had marathon walks.
Shoes are a big deal. You’ll need something comfortable. If you have low arches look for something with high arch support. I personally like New Balance, very light and comfortable. Be sure to have them broke in though.
Potassium (bananas) is great, Gatorade is your friend, and pasta is a good thing! No Atkins for distance people!
Dana, tell me more about the awareness walk. That sounds cool.
Jay, I was looking for walking marathos where I could raise money, not race. there is one that looked good in Lowell, but it is actually a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.
I should have said, I am starting with the half marathon. I found a few sites with a training program, and, no, I don;t run. I really hate it, and it hurts. I always think I should run, but I never follow through.
My balance is still a bit off, so a mile every fifteen minutes is a good clip for me. In fact, I think I can walk it faster than I can walk it, sad to say.
Moleskin, great! I haven't had to use that since the old hiking days.
It must be some midlife thing, because a number of my friends have run marathons in the past few years.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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In the Army we always did the same type of thing we use to do when I was on the swim team..taper off near the end.
When you are trying to build new muscle, you ahve to work to muscle failure, and then new muscle builds up. However, you din;t want to use all your energy building new muscle right before the race, you want to have all of that part of traingin taper off a few weeks before the race so that you have time to heal up any training injuries you may get, and so that your evergy levels will increase to the point where you ahve enouogh to race your best.
Usually in teh swim team we would pound the crap out of ourselves until about 2 weeks before the finals, and then tapering off....the coach was trying to get us to "peak" for the most important swim meet, adn the best way to do that is overwork yourslef until two weeks before, and then gradually taper off the workouts.
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Kwea is right on the mark about tapering down with the long ones. Some people don’t like to do anything a number of days before the race. I personally like to go on a decent run the day before the race or I’ll be stiff the day of the race. I really would suggest getting at least something in the night before.
Walking a half first sound like a good goal.
If your shoes are well broke in and you’ve trained good you won’t even have to think about blisters. I’ve gotten some when I wear new shoes at a long race before having them broke in for a couple of weeks, but other then that. Never.
Another idea you might look into is a group. I know my running group makes it a lot more fun and enjoyable, plus I’ve made a number of good friends there too. The one I’m involved in is called the West Virginia Hash House Harriers. We have runners and walkers in our group. I know a lot of the hash groups around the states have walkers too. Depending on what area Massachusetts you are in there are a few of them. http://www.half-mind.com/Contacts/ma.htm http://www.gthhh.com/database/statsrch.asp?zzz=9303z:ylazvrfm2&srchstat=Massachusetts Now a warning. Some are a bit wild. Some are more like the group I hang out with and a bit laid back. Some are family groups, while others are considered adult only groups. Some have the motto of “a drinking club with a running problem” (and I bet no one here thought I did anything fun). But I’ve been to a number of them and they are for the most part a fun loving group who have fun while getting in a run or walk. Anyway…. There might be other types of groups in your area too, but thought it might be an idea.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Oh, and good luck, Liz! Are you going to be teaching this fall? It sounds like your recovery is going well.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Even in the Army they had us do somethings right before the big runs or PT tests, but compared to teh "muscle faliure" days leading up to it it didn't seem like anything hard.
As you taper down the hard fitness running, your evergy ncreases for at aleast a little bit. So you want to taper down the workouts, but you don't really want to stop them completely, at least not until a few days before. Usually the day before we would just strech out a bit, then take it easy.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Ha ha. There are many more reasons not to go to Lowell than getting lost. There is a sign that says Lowell/Connector. I thought that was the weirdes town nam: Connector. Well, it is a connecting road. Duh. And boy, it is hard to figure out where you are going.
Anyway, thanks Kwea! However, I am thinking that your response to my first post should have been "Jenni and I will walk with you, Liz!!!"
Jay, thanks for the walking group info. I have a friend I have been walking with, and I love it. I am quite a blabbermouth, though, and I tend to slow down to make sure I can make my pointm so sometimes I like to walk alone. Plus, it is a good meditation time. And, well, alone time from the kids, though they like to come on their bikes.
Dag, I am feeling really good, mostly. When I get tired I still have some issues, but I when I think back to the beginning, it is pretty amazing that there are so few residuals. And for some reason, the "Oh my goodness, I made it, and life is beautiful!" thing didn't happen right away, and I guess is happening now.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Oh! You'd think I would remember the ADHD that has been the current one for going on three months now . . . ! Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I don't get that comic, mack. Why are you happy that you had to drive for an hour and twenty minutes (there and back) and didn't get to see your friend? Do you not like this friend?
Posts: 3564 | Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
Liz, this looks great. I've been thinking about trying for something like that, but September is way too soon. Maybe next year, though. Try again next year? *hopeful*
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I did my share of runs, and then some. I will watch you walk a marathon if you wnat, matbe, and cheer you as you go by, but I wouldn't walk one unless I had to...and maybe not even then. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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It's OK, Kwea. I see Mack is trying to distract usfrom the fact that she has not signed up by diverting attention to Lowell.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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So far, I have not walked a hundred yards since beginning my training. I have, however, been to Curves. I have also driven and measured lots of "loops."
On my training schedule, Monday is an OFF day, so I am going to substitute today, when I walked not, with tomorrow.
So, my official start date of training is tomorrow.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Hi Elizabeth! Glad you bumped this, because I meant to reply when I first read this, but then got distracted and forgot.
I have walked both a half marathon (Disney) and a full marathon (Dublin). I told the story of the full marathon in my landmark post (it's also posted at my LiveJournal). You can see photos of Dublin here or here (alas, not many marathon pics) and Disney photos here or here.
Both races were really great experiences. Dublin just for the sheer accomplishment of training for seven months and finishing a goal (and a freaking marathon!), and Disney because it was SO. MUCH. FUN!!! I highly recommend the Disney half-marathon/full marathon; it's very well organized and they try to keep it entertaining with characters on the route, funny signs, music, and more.
The marathon training program was six months long. We started with a three mile walk and worked our way up from there. I had already been walking for exercise and could do three miles at about a 20 min/mile pace. I was one of the slower people in the group, though, which was very discouraging at first. But really, a 20 min/mile is a good pace for a beginner, as most "fitness walking" is between 15-22 min/mile. By the time I finished training I was walking at about a 17 min/mile pace.
I didn't train nearly as much for the half. I think I attempted to start training about six months before, but didn't really start until three months before, and only got up to about six miles at the longest. When I did the race my goal was to get to the six mile point, but I surprised myself by being able to finish the whole thing--and at a 16 min/mile pace, too! I think it's because I was still in relatively good shape as I had only done the full marathon slightly over a year earlier. It's been five years now, and I'm very out of shape. While I can still comfortably walk 3-4 miles and can walk at a 16 min/mile pace for short distances, there's no way I could do a long race again without training. I really, really want to, though, because it really was fun. I got a huge freaking MEDAL for the Disney race! I want another one!
Probably the hardest thing about walking a long race instead of running is that you are on your feet for a very long time. The half took me 3.5 hours; the full took 8.75 hours. It's very tough mentally. In fact, one person I know who usually runs marathons decided to walk one with his wife, and he commented that it was much harder than he expected because of the time factor. So that's something to keep in mind. Company helps, as does good music and imagination (I pretended to talk to Buffy. Shut up, it worked).
The Hal Higdon program is a GREAT program, and highly recommended. You can also find good training schedules on http://walking.about.com as well as other great articles. That site became my bible when I was training.
Another thing you might want to consider is joining a local walking club, or joining a mailing list. The Volkssporting site is a good place to look for walking clubs. As for mailing lists, I liked the Dead Running Society a lot. I was on their Disney Deads sublist when I was training for my half, and you couldn't find a nicer group of people. Very friendly and supportive. Didn't matter if you did a marathon a month or were a slow walker training for your first race--they cheered everyone on. We had a few dinners down at Disney together, and I think my mom actually enjoyed them more than I did, and I had a great time myself! That's how nice and friendly everyone was.
Other mailing lists that are well-known for their supportive environments are The Penguin Brigade, for the slow back-of-the-packers and the Clydesdale for "larger" long distance athletes.
Are you looking to do your race this year or next? This year's a bit too close for me, but if you're aiming for next year, then I'd love to come join you. Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
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I am trying for this September. I have been walking four mils pretty regularly for a few months now, and the Hal Higdon training is for twelve weeks. I have ten weeks left, I think.
However, next year, if I make it through this one, I would love to have you join me! Maybe I will be inspired to do the full marathon. And maybe some family member would sponspr me going to Disney. What is the dat of that one?
Thanks again for all the info and inspiration! Off to read your landmark now.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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The Disney half/full is always in early January. It sells out quickly, so I doubt there's still room for the 2006 race. 2007 would be a definite possibility, though. I see they've split up the half & full. They used to run them the same day on nearly identical courses, but now they're running the half the day before the full. I bet that's because the half is getting extremely popular, so this way they can accomodate more people.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
I am so impressed Liz. Not only are you doing a good thing for others, but you are reclaiming your strength after this past year of illness.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Thanks, romanylass. You might want to save the full impressed feeling until after I actually do it, though! ha ha. Actually, I think I have gotten a few other friends interested. It feels good that it will be for a cause, too. My husband's cousin passed away from cancer this spring, so I will walk in his memory.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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But really, a 20 min/mile is a good pace for a beginner, as most "fitness walking" is between 15-22 min/mile. By the time I finished training I was walking at about a 17 min/mile pace.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
