Strava Marathon (Bellingham, MA)
Finish Time: 4:02
Pace: 9:15
Temp: 61
Conditions: Indoors
Run For: Andrew
Recap:
In an effort to not repeat all I said about both Aaron and Andrew, please see the recap for marathon #76. I will just say thank you again to Andrew for allowing me to run for him separately. Andrew and his younger brother Aaron deserved to have a marathon run for each of them so I’m happy to have been able to do that here. I’m grateful to the entire Orgel family for all that they do and I know when we finally get a cure it’ll be because of the efforts they have made.
As for running, that’s two marathons run with only one day of rest between them. To answer your first question, yes, I’m tired and I was definitely feeling it during most, if not all, of the miles for this one.
Distance running is tough on the body in general so running for another four hours after having just done so the day before is taxing for sure. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you are looking at it), running marathons so close together is not something new to me. For a few years before starting this 26.2 For You journey, I’ve completed multiple marathons on very short rest. I did some research and read up on ultra marathon training coming across different concepts about how to train for them. As you can imagine there is a lot of varying information out there and no real definitive “this is how you do it”. Being a coach already, and already having years of long distance running under my belt, I’ve kind of just come up with my own plan. I adapt and adjust things based on how I feel and how each attempt at crazy back-to-back runs go. This plan seems to work so I’ve stuck with it during 26.2 For You.
In 2017, I ran the entire year “based on feel.” I referred to it as my year of “running free.” I ditched the watch, left the headphones at home and just went out on each run trying to get in tune with my body and hone in on what was going on inside and outside around me. I learned a lot about myself as a runner that year and have taken that knowledge and applied it to how I’ve run since. I ran the very first marathon of 26.2 For You the next year in 2018 and I’ve felt good for the most part, minus a few little things here and there along the way, which I did expect. Nothing ever goes as planned but I can’t complain.
One thing I think I’ve improved on during all of this is my durability. Durability has been the key focus within this challenge of running so many marathons over a relatively short period of time. My body’s ability to withstand the pounding repetitively over a very long time and still move forward while avoiding injury.
I’ve also worked on improving my mental durability which is very important, experiencing and knowing what it feels like to run on tired legs. Doing a number of these back-to-back runs have given me the confidence knowing I can keep pushing for a lot of miles even after my legs feel like they are toast. There were times during the multiple marathons where I definitely woke up the morning after a marathon and felt like there is no way I can go back out and knock out another one.
I had to literally drag myself out there to get going, though before long realizing that it was just a mental block and I was able to run and feel alright.
Funny thing is, it actually felt better to run than it did to rest or walk, who knew? Once you get warmed up your body can respond to the demands of running again on such short rest. This was a very useful reminder that has helped keep me going during many of the difficult marathons I’ve done since. Knowing the durability of your body and your mind is a powerful thing, especially when it comes to endurance sports.
It took about 8 to 9 miles of this marathon before things started to feel “comfortable” and the soreness in my legs started to lessen not too long after that. It was in my quads where I felt it the most, but once that subsided a little things went well. I was and still am tired but overall feel good and will take a little more time to rest and recover before the next one.
Looking forward to the next one as we make our way to 100 total marathons with 26.2 For You! I’m happy to be able to do this and always honored to run for those battling IBD.
26.2 FOR YOU 