I know a number of running friends in Chicago training for the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 10. For some of them it's their first marathon -- how exciting! I trained for my first marathon, also Chicago, in 2007. It's incredible, and brutal, and life-changing. I'm excited to hear their inspirational stories and hope I can get some of them to guest-blog here.
Training is getting longer now -- many are up to 16-mile long runs on the weekends, and the heat and humidity isn't abating. At this point, runners are logging a lot of hours outside running and trying to figure out things like how to squeeze in eight miles before or after work on Wednesday. (Been there, done that). I found this story in Women's Running that gives some great tips to stay motivated.
One of my favorites is to visualize race day. Picture the crowds waving and cheering, holding signs that say "run like you stole something" and clanking on cowbells. Picture that finish line and how awesome and badass you will feel crossing it. I tear up every time I see a finish line, I swear, even if I'm just running a 5K. Visualization is fun and it works!
Also, if you're not already, keep a running log. It's fun to keep track of your annual miles (I will hit 700 miles within the next two weeks for 2010) and notes along the way. My notes from '07 consist of aches and pains, and unfortunately the tendonitis I developed three weeks before race day, but those lessons remind me what I've learned since then -- the value of cross-training such as yoga, patience to give myself a day off if I just feel really rough, etc.
Happy running!
About Me
- Tammy
- After years of sloth, I am now a mama who runs and practices yoga. I write about exercise; parenting a grownup child as well as two little kids; and whatever is annoying me at the moment.
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