Why Marathoning?

As a seven time marathoner who also loves the sport of bodybuilding (yes, bi-polar sports I know!!), I am often asked why do I marathon, when I expend all that effort under the weights also trying to get big. This morning I was cleaning out some emails and other items, and I was reminded of a message I sent to friends and family after the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon in D.C., where I earned a time of about 3:40. The time probably put me in the top 8% or so of all runners that day, so I had done pretty well.

Why do I love marathoning? Simply, it is a sport that can bind people together and show you things about yourself and others you never dreamed of learning. There's no better way for me to explain it than to post the email I sent the day after the 2006 race.

God bless

*****************************
From: Steve
To: Family and Friends
Date: 2006

Upon returning from running the Marine Corps Marathon the weekend in Washington DC, I saw one of the most interesting, perspective changing, and seemingly “minor” life occurances that sometimes, in our rush to "live life" go unnoticed.

After having seen many other runners waiting in the terminal proudly sporting their golden yellow Marine Corps Marathon finishers’ shirts, my buddy, his wife and I were getting on the plane.

Tired and quite sore from the day before, we were taking part in the well-known, often despised drill of walking down the aisle of the plane. Walking through first-class, as is human nature, we probably felt the common feeling that those sitting in first probably thought they were better than us.

Next was the coach cabin.

In the first row of coach we saw a lady, likely in her late 50s, reading aloud a book to her companion, an adult roughly in his early 30s, and he was also proudly sporting the same shirt my buddy and I were wearing.

A simple glance among the three of us made a comment that we were all thinking. "How odd... Looks like the runner's mom went with the 30-something guy and still enjoys reading to him." Even odder, it looked like he liked it, as we noted the light-hearted grin on his face as he looked down taking in the story being read. This was not "normal" we thought with the passing glance. “While I could see a 30-something inviting his mom to come watch the marathon, do 30-somethings and mothers really act like that in public”, we thought.

But half the way through the flight came the experience that I think I'll remember the rest of my life. The man was blind, as evident by a kind stewardess who offered him a walk down the aisle to stretch his sore legs. He joked and laughed with her as he thanked her graciously, noting how great it was to stretch them.

My buddy and I, both sighted and with all our God-given faculties, pushed each other the day before. We wouldn't let each other quit because we knew each other well - competitive, to say the least. And like marathons I ran with him in the past, we woke up the next morning sore, talking about the day before, justifying our competitiveness and time on the clock by comparing ourselves to other marathoners, smug in what we achieved.

We often make quick judgments about the world around us with reference to our "internal thinking" or social norms about what is good or right. Being rash to judge the efforts of others by our own or society’s measure sometimes is hubris, and sometime it takes more than a passing glance to see it.

I never asked the blind man what his time was. It didn't matter. His walk down the aisle proved that.

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Permalink Reply by Steve on December 14, 2009 at 9:07am

PS - I'm often asked, this so... It is true that much running keeps mass off. I managed though to have net gains in mass over a year since I limited the number of marathons I ran in a year to ONE! LOL About 6-7 months of the year, I was not training for a marathon.

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Permalink Reply by Steve on December 21, 2009 at 10:06am

Sooo... this might actually turn into a blog for me. I'm using my experience above to help me prepare for the Houston Half marathon in January. You see, my last marathon was the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon. The same one described above for 2002. After that, I decided to lay off of distance running... COLD TURKEY. Not sure I liked the result.

YES... It is absolutely true that distance running keeps the mass off. But there was something about the endurance I felt that I've lost in the gym. To me, in marathon shape, a 3 mile run was like a walk to the kitchen. Barely broke a sweat. A 6 miler was still somewhat like a "warm up". I felt it, but it felt good, like the end of a 6 miler was "just when I was getting started"! It wasn't until I did a 12 to 14 miler that I really felt like I did a "long run".

Now, since I've essentially been off since 2006, except for half-a$$ing my training for the Houston Half Marathons since, the 6 miler I did yesterday felt like a 10-12 miler. Everything I run seems twice as long.

My new goal? To get in crazy shape for the Houston Half in January without going overboard like I would for marathon training!!

My method - Limit my runs to 3 milers, except for 6-8 milers on the weekends. EAT like crazy the day before and on the day of the run, and moderately the day after. Then back to the same bb'er diet other days.

Let's see what happens!! :-)

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Permalink Reply by Garrett Tyra on December 21, 2009 at 10:49am

subscribed to see how you progress!!!

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Permalink Reply by Steve on December 21, 2009 at 11:49am

Damn... the pressures on now... LOL

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Permalink Reply by Steve on December 24, 2009 at 12:20pm

This week's update:

As mentioned, after the 2006 marathon, I severely curtailed my distance running to the point that by fall 2007, I no longer felt like an elite runner. I may not look it, but I would commonly come in the top 5-10% of all runners in marathons, half marathons, 5Ks, etc.

I ran the 2008 and 2009 Houston Half Marathon, but because my running was so sporadic, both times it felt like I did the full! This year, I started a set training routine a month before the 2010 Houston half. This week -

6 miles Sunday
3 miles Monday
Volume day (weight training) on legs Tuesday
2 miles Wednesday (was supposed to do 3-4, but was feeling the leg workout from the day before)
I'll take Thursday and Fri off
6-8 miles Saturday (still to run, but sure I will do at least 6)

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Permalink Reply by Steve on December 27, 2009 at 10:22am

OK... So, no running on Saturday, just some stretching and light weight. Ran almost 8 miles Sunday! I know, I'm a sick puppy ;-) Oddly though, I bet my weight stays constant or even goes up. I've experienced it before, my hypothesis is that I gain dense, red muscle in my legs when I run distances again.

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Permalink Reply by Steve on January 10, 2010 at 7:11am

This week's update:

Well, not much running this week was no bueno! A bit of bad weather left it hard to get motivated to run on the treadmill. Last weekend, I managed only to get 4 miles out on the treadmill. Drizzle outside had me bite the bullet on that one. This week, only one more 3 miler, and one 2 miler. No bueno!!!!!!

So today (Sunday), I'll hit a good chest workout this morning wih my brother Scott, hit church with my brother Garrett, and wait until this afternoon (when it's hopefully in the 40s!) for a 6 to 8 miler run.

I'm often asked, what changes I make to my bodybuilding routine when training for a marathon (or in this case, the half marathon). Hardly anything at all!! Seriously, I recommend hitting your weight training as you would if you weren't running that much. It's in fact more important to do so when doing that kind of running. The only changes I do make are -

* Leg day is moved to Monday. Long runs are usually on the weekend, so doing legs Mondays leaves enough time for recovery before the next long run.

* Shoulders. I usually try not to do shoudlers the day before a long run. You need shoulders on the run more than you realize, so having sore shoulders on a long run SUCKS!

* Diet. Still follow a bodybuilding diet. I do however get more carbs in. Simple carbs before and on long runs are key to saving muscle on the run.

The races is one week from today. My goal is to do at least 1:40! (About a 7:30 pace)

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Permalink Reply by Matt Reile on January 10, 2010 at 8:24am

Best wishes in your preparations this week and the run next Sunday. I am praying for a little bit warmer weather...just so it isn't quite so cold for a run.

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Permalink Reply by Steve on January 14, 2010 at 7:56pm

Thanks man. So my final week of preparations was a good one!

Sunday = 7 1/2 miles, fast (wish I timed it, but I think I did sub-7 min miles)
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday = 3 miles each day

It would have been a little better if I did say 9-10 miles Sunday, but the runs were fast and I felt like I could do more, so this Sunday should be cake! Well, not the best I've ever done, but definitely better than I did the last two years. My training the last two years was horrible --- a couple 6 milers and a couple 3 milers. I don't suggest doing a Half Marathon after 4 training runs like that :-)

Target time - 1:35 best / 1:40 at most

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Permalink Reply by Matt Reile on January 14, 2010 at 8:02pm

At least you are more prepared this time. I can't imagine going in unprepared especially for a half marathon...talk about painful

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Permalink Reply by Steve on January 17, 2010 at 7:13pm

FINISHED!!!

I can't tell you how I felt this morning! Today, I've been trying to come up with the words to describe what I felt near the finish, and I can't... so I'll just tell you what happened. It was "only" a half marathon (13.1 miles). I've done seven full marathons, numerous half marathons, and a ton of training runs longer than a half marathon, but it was one of the most inspirational runs I have done over my 12 or so year running career.

While the blind man I saw on the plane after the Marine Corps Marathon in 2006 moved me to tears, in 2009, God opened my eyes where I finally understood what it meant to let go and simply accept the gift of His grace through faith. And this was the first race I wore headphones. I have never worn them on race day since I like to hear the crowd noise on race day - people cheering their loved ones on, kazoos, pots and pans, the constant thumping of runners feet, and the sound of cups getting crushed as people run over them at the water stations. All good stuff!

Normally the last mile of any race sucks, even for a half marathon. I think it's the mental aspect of knowing you're almost done and you just want to be done faster. But almost as if to speak to me in that last mile, this song came on my iPod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Byp7aK2DA&feature=related

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee.

It was an incredible day!

Oh.... 1:36 will probably be my chip time! That's about a 7:20 pace per mile! Not bad for a guy that doesn't look like he shouldn't be running marathons!! :-)