First Marathon Confessions: JohnnyRan

I'm really excited to share my first Confessions of a First Time Marathoner interview with you!  Last week when I was reflecting about being 1/3 of the way through training I mentioned that one of my goals for this blog was to seek out other runners and invite them to share their insights- so here we are!  JohnnyRan is one of my friends from college and he has a passion for running- so let's get started!

The Basics:
Name: JohnnyRan
Age: 25
Location: Flint, Michigan

What's your running background?
I started running my junior year in high school.  I think I got a little inspired watching the summer Olympics.  I joined the cross country team because some of my friends were on it and nobody got cut from the team.  I actually hated running when I started, and I couldn't even run a mile.  I was very close to quitting the team, but my coaches told me to just sick it out and run one race.  I ran the first race (in 98 degree heat on a course with no shade) and ended up sticking with cross country for the rest of high school.

Where did you run your first marathon?
Grand Rapids, Michigan (it will always hold a special place in my heart).

{That's where I'm running my first marathon!}

What made you decide to run your first marathon?
I had never even thought of running a marathon until one of my college friends told me it was something that she always wanted to do.  That put the idea in my head because I had run some 10 mile races.  Eventually it became my goal to run a marathon before I graduated college (and I met that goal!).

What motivated you to put in the training miles on the days when you really didn't feel like it?
One thing that motivated me was the fact that I paid for the race and there was a no refund policy. Haha  I had to get my money's worth from this race.  Another motivator was that I really wanted to accomplish my goal of running a marathon before graduating college and get to check that off my "list".  Plus, training was fun for the most part.  Once I get out and start running, I'm in my own little world.

What's the toughest part about training for a marathon?
The toughest part for me is finding time for my runs especially my long runs.  For my first marathon, it wasn't too bad to find time expect for days I had my internship (I just never seemed to have too much energy after sitting around at my internship for 8 hours).  Now that I'm working full time, it's even harder to find time especially when I don't get out of work until 6 or 7 at night some days.  But it's always worth it when I get to get outside and run...no matter the distance.

Tell me about your first day-of marathon experience.

My first marathon (Grand Rapids in 2007) was right around Halloween.  The night before the race, my roommates were all going out to a party as I was headed to bed.  Luckily they were quiet when they came back.  I actually got a good amount of sleep considering that I was nervous and excited.

Race morning came, and I was pumped.  I got my racing gear on (which I had laid out the night before) and headed out the door.  I actually walked to the start because it was only about 1/2 a mile from my house.  It was a little chilly, but ended up being perfect running weather (high 30s to start and low 50s to finish).  I was lucky to find some friends at the start who were running (I didn't know they were running beforehand).  I felt great as the race started and actually tried to run with a pace group that was a little too fast for me.  I slowed down around mile 3 or 4 and settled into a nice pace.

I got to meet some very interesting people along the run.  I met one guy who told me that he just had open heart surgery  a few months before the race.  He was awesome and a huge inspiration to me seeing that it was around mile 20 I met up with him (if he could run this, then so could I!).

The last 2 miles seemed to last forever!  I almost stopped to walk, but told myself that I had already run 24 miles so there was not stopping now.  When I saw the finish line, it was very emotional.  I actually teared up a little (and have done so at every marathon I've run since) when I was nearing the finish line.  My parents came in from Flint to cheer me on, and it was great to see them along with my roommates and other friends at the finish line.  After I crossed the finish line, I felt like on was on top of the world (minus the fact that I had no energy left).  I took the next two days off from running mainly because my legs hurt when I walked, but I ended up running 5 miles the next day because I didn't want to lose the amazing "runner's high" from the marathon!


What was something that surprised you or that you didn't expect either during training or at your first marathon?
I was surprised at how good anything tastes around mile 18 or 20.  haha  Before I started training for my first marathon, I never would have ate anything while running.  Eating while you run didn't seem like a good combination.  However, I soon found out that is not always the case especially when running long distances.  During my first marathon, I enjoyed gummy bears, orange slices, and even Oreo cookies!  And they all helped to refuel me and keep me going.  Plus I found out that they energy gels are a must for any distance runner (the Mint-Chocolate Gu is my personal favorite!).

How many marathons have you run in total?
5

Are you training for anything right now? Marathon or otherwise?
I am currently training for the Richmond Marathon in Richmond, VA on November 13, 2010.  I am running it with the Runner's World Challenge.  I did the Runner's World at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati in May and had an absolute blast!  It's a little more expensive, but you get a lot of perks (messages after the race, pre and post race parties, and private bathrooms with no lines!).  My current goal is to run a marathon in every state before I am 60.  I have four states down: Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, and Ohio.  And come November I will have 5!

What's one piece of advice you'd give to first time marathon runners?
Plan ahead and try to avoid any unneeded stress on race day.  Lay out your running clothes the night before and put your timing chip on you shoe before going to bed.  For my first half-marathon, I left my apartment and did a mental checklist to make sure I had everything and thought that I did.  I got to the start line and lined up with about 10 minutes before the starting gun.  I looked down and saw that I did not have my timing chip on my shoe!  Luckily I lived just down the street from the start.  So I sprinted back to my apartment, got my chip on my shoe, and sprinted back to the start.  I didn't run that fast in the entire race.  It makes for a good story but it was a horrible feeling at the time.  So, be prepared and avoid stress if at all possible.

Any other nuggets of wisdom/advice for first-timers?
Enjoy the experience!  Get to the race early so you can relieve nerves and just take in the atmosphere!  The energy before and at the start of a marathon is awesome!  Don't go too fast.  Your main goal should be to finish.  It doesn't matter what your time is.  Once you cross the finish line, you can say that you are a marathoner!  And that's something that nobody can take away from you!



Thanks JohnnyRan for sharing all of your insight!  It's so amazing to hear from other runners who have already completed their first marathon and hear about their experiences!

If you'd like to share your first-time marathon experience (or know someone who might be interested) here on the blog- please let me know!  I'd love to share as many interviews as possible!

Headaches

I get headaches.  Fortunately lately I haven’t been getting them nearly as often, but me and headaches, we’ve got a history.

About two years ago I started getting headaches every time after I did a long run.  If I ran anything more than about 6 miles or so I’d get a headache.  I’d feel great while I was running and then about a half an hour or so after I had finished I get hit with a monster headache.  No drugs could make it go away, and absolutely nothing could make me feel better- I just had to wait it out.  And then, miraculously after 5, 6, sometimes 7 hours had passed it would be gone as quickly as it had come.

Then it started to get progressively worse.  I started getting headaches after shorter runs, all the way up until the point that if I even ran just one mile, I’d get a headache afterwards.  NOT COOL.

At first I thought it was dehydration, so I started to be very conscious of how much water I was drinking throughout the day.  No dice.  Didn’t help a bit.

Then I thought it might be a vitamin deficiency.  I remembered (from a nutrition course I took in college) that cracking at the corners of your mouth (which I was getting frequently) was a symptom of a vitamin deficiency, but I couldn’t remember which vitamin it was.  A quick Google search revealed that it was one of the B vitamins, so I started taking an extra vitamin B complex.

The headaches persisted.

I went to my regular doctor, who then sent me to a neurologist.  The neurologist gave me the absolute most useless diagnosis ever.  He said that I had “Exercise-induced headaches”.  I asked why I just started getting them- I had never gotten them before.  His oh-so-helpful answer? “Well, sometimes that JUST HAPPENS.  You didn’t get them before, but you get them now.  Maybe next year you won’t get them anymore.  Maybe you will.  There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Ahh.

Thank you for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Seriously?  I mean, I would be just fine with it if someone gave me an actual REASON even if there truly was nothing I could do about it.  But just saying, “Well, that’s the way it is” seems like a joke of a diagnosis.  I mean, I’m no medical expert by any means, but I think our medical professionals should be held to some sort of standards here.

Anyway.

I basically had to quit running.  I didn’t really have a choice- the doctor’s weren’t helping me and these headaches were debilitating.  If I ran in the morning the headache would knock me out of commission for the entire day.  I couldn’t keep taking sick days because of these headaches.

About a year after this all started I went back to my regular doctor.  Right when I had first started getting the headaches a prescription that I was on had been changed slightly- I had mentioned this to my doctor- that the changing of the prescription and the onset of the headaches had both happened at about the same time, but she had immediately told me that couldn’t be the cause.  So I believed her.  Because she’s a doctor and I am not.  When I went back to her after a year of awful headaches and being forced to give up running I was to the point of not caring that she was a doctor and I was not.  I told her to switch me back to the formula of the prescription that I had originally had and I didn’t care that she had said that it wasn’t the cause of my headaches.

Guess what happened next?  My headaches miraculously began to ease up.  I could go for a run without being miserable for the rest of the day.  You can bet your life that although I was thrilled to be running again, I was pretty darn dissatisfied that this simple solution took a year of misery to come to.  Especially since my doctor(s) were no help whatsoever.

I’ve gotten through all of my marathon training so far with hardly any headaches.  The few that I’ve gotten have been no where near the level of the ones I got before and can be eased with some Excedrin so that I can continue to function throughout the day.  It feels incredible and even a little bit unbelievable that I can run 10 miles and not have a headache afterwards now- these headaches had become a sad, miserable part of my life that were inescapable if I ever went running and to not have that big dark cloud of misery hanging over my head anymore is SO amazing!  I guess that’s the silver lining of that big dark cloud- it has made me so appreciative and grateful for the ability to run.  It’s not something that any of us should take for granted.

Have any of you ever had something like this happen to you- headaches or otherwise?  Or have any of you had frustrating experiences with a lack of help from medical professionals?  How did you deal with it?

One Third Complete

Week 6 of training has just concluded and along with it's conclusion came the realization that I'm a third of the way into training.

Whoa.

It seems like these last 6 weeks have gone by so fast!  It's hard to believe that in the last 6 weeks I've put in 104 training miles.  ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR.  And I've never skipped a training run- even over the 4th of July holiday that was a part of our 11 day vacation.

Thoughts thus far:
1. I can't believe I've run 104 miles.
2. I'm feeling really good about my training thus far.
3. It's not going to get easier- in fact, it's going to get harder.
4. I know that I CAN stick with the training and I WILL complete my goal.
5. I've got 330 training miles left on the calendar.
6. I've made it to the point of averaging 20 ish miles per week- that means I'm halfway to the training peak of Week 15 when I'll run 40 miles in a week.
7. I'm feeling awesome- I haven't had any major aches or pains.
8. I can see and feel the change in my legs from all of my training- hello good-looking calf muscles!

I want to try to do a better job of blogging my journey through this training- but I'll be honest and say that as the training miles increase, my blogging time might get eaten up by training time.  Ideally I would like to do the following from here on out:

• At the end of one week/beginning of the next post with an update about my thoughts thus far on training
• Keep posting on any gear/products I'm using or want to try
• Seek out other runners and invite them to share their insights here on my blog
• Keep on keepin' it real- training isn't easy.

Thanks for reading a being a part of my journey to 26.2 so far!

Nike+

I love the Nike+.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it's a sensor you put in your shoe that keeps track of your distance, pace, time, and calories burned.  It translates all of this information either to the Nike+ SportBand bracelet or to your iPod/iPhone (Newer iPods have the Nike+ program built in, but some older iPods aren't compatible or need the Sport Kit plugged into them).  I've seen the SportBand but never actually used one, so I can't really speak to how those work.  I love using it with my iPod/iPhone though.

I got my Nike+ Sport Kit shortly after it first came out (I think around January 2007 is when I bought mine).  I saw the commercials and thought it looked awesome- however, I didn't have an iPod that was compatible with it.  I was so convinced that it would be amazing that I bought another iPod specifically to use with the Nike+.  At the time, I believe it only worked with the iPod nano, so I bought the smallest, cheapest iPod nano available at the time since I would only be using it for running and I already had a larger capacity iPod that I could use to store my entire music library.  I also bought an armband for the iPod nano since that would be a pretty critical need if I was going to work out with it (I think I got it off Ebay- that's the best place to get cheap accessories for iPods).

I did not however, buy the special Nike+ running shoes with the custom spot for the sensor.  In my opinion, Nike running shoes are junk and I haven't bought any in years.  My solution for where to put the sensor?  Well, because I have bad knees/loose joints/flat feet I have orthotics with very rigid arches in them that my doctor had custom made for me.  I had these orthotics long before I got the Nike+, but it just so happened that the Nike+ sensor fit perfectly in the little pocket of space made by the rigid arch in my orthotic.  So basically the sensor was sandwiched between my shoe (currently the Asics GT 2150) and my orthotic, but it wasn't uncomfortable and I couldn't feel it because of the rigid arch that was already a part of my orthotic.  I realize not everyone has this same situation, but if you want to use the Nike+ and not the shoes, just Google search "Nike Plus sensor pouch" and you'll come up with all kinds of devices to hold the sensor instead of getting the Nike shoes.

Before I tell you about a few of my favorite things about the Nike+, I'll tell you the downsides.  In my personal experience and opinion there's only two:

1. Accuracy- for me the accuracy has always been pretty darn good, but I think other devices that use GPS to measure distance and pace (like Garmin) can be much more accurate and consistent.  The Nike+ needs to be calibrated when you first get it and then it's quite accurate- as long as you run a fairly consistent pace.  If your pace varies widely, the accuracy drops.  I always run a pretty consistent pace, so the accuracy hasn't been an issue for me.

2. Sensor life- The Nike+ sensor doesn't have replaceable batteries, so when the batteries die you have to buy a new sensor.  I'm on my 3rd sensor so far, but until I started this marathon training I was probably only using it a few times a month.  New sensors are $20- my first one lasted quite awhile, but my second one only lasted a few months (and I wasn't using it often enough to warrant a battery drain THAT quickly).  I've had my current sensor for about 7 months now and it's working great.  I use it every time I do a training run, except a couple of weeks ago it randomly quit working at the beginning of a long run- it's been working perfectly except for that one time, so maybe it was some sort of fluke?

I truly love this little gadget though, so on to my favorite things!

One of my favorite things about the Nike+ is that if I ever want to hear my "stats" (pace, time, distance) at any point during my run, I can just hit the center button on my iPod and it will instantly lower the volume of my music and tell me how I'm doing.  Since I know how far I'm going to run each time I hit the pavement, I input that distance before I get started and then throughout my run the Nike+ tells me every time I complete a mile without me having to push any buttons at all.

When you get home, you plug your iPod into your computer and all of your workout data is automatically sent to the Nike Running website and linked to your Nike+ account.  This way you get an amazing visual of all of your runs- here's mine from the past couple of months:

And here's the detailed screenshot of my 7 mile training run that I did yesterday:

Fancy huh?

My absolute favorite thing about the Nike+? I don't have to know my route before I get started.  I can just head out, run until I hit the halfway point, and turn around and come back.  I don't have to worry about mapping my run ahead of time because the Nike+ tells me how far I've gone.  A lot of times on long runs I map it out anyway so that I can run a loop rather than an out-and-back run, but if I'm in a hurry or in an unfamiliar place or if I can't get to a computer to map my run ahead of time, I don't stress.

Have any of you ever used this?  Do you use something else?

Perspective

It’s amazing how much perspective a long run over the weekend can give you for the shorter training runs during the week.

I ran 10 miles on Sunday (we were out of town on Saturday, so I had to flip-flop my Saturday/Sunday workouts) and it felt amazing- until I stopped.  My legs felt like they were going to fall off.  I felt awesome the whole time I was running- I really liked the route I took and the weather was great.  But let me tell you- after running an hour and 45 minutes with no walking breaks (and I’ll tell you right now that I’m all for walking breaks if you feel the need- I was just on a roll on Saturday so I kept pushing through), the feeling I had when I stopped was AWFUL.  Who would have thought that continuing to run would be less painful than stopping?!  Anyway, I immediately went inside the house and leashed Colby, our crazy puppy, and took him along for a cool-down walk.  I knew that it would be better to give my legs some time to cool down on a walk rather than collapsing in a heap at home.  Colby and I always take the same route on our walks, and I won’t lie and say that the 1.5 mile route felt good to walk after the long run, but it made my legs feel slightly better.  And Colby appreciated it, even if he had to drag aching body the whole way.

Monday was a rest day (thank goodness!) and it gave my body some time to recover.  My knees had been feeling achy after the long run, so I was a little worried that my 3 mile run today might just make it worse.  But I also thought that after the long weekend run, 3 miles sounded like a breeze!

I got up this morning, laced up my shoes and hit the pavement.

Wow.  I felt AMAZING.  My knees felt good and my legs were hungry for more running.  I pretty much always stick to a 10 minute per mile pace no matter how far I’m running- that’s just what my body seems most comfortable with.  Not this morning.  This morning my body said, “Ha! 3 miles? That’s all you’re going to give me today?  Well in that case...” And I ramped up my pace right from the start.  I didn’t consciously do this, I just listened to my body and my legs responded accordingly.

I’ll keep it real here- I felt like I was losing a little bit of my steam during my last mile, but by that time the end was (symbolically speaking) in sight and I was still feeling great.  I rarely check my pace while in the midst of a run, so I was excited to see how I ended up since it had felt so phenomenal.

26 minutes.  8 and a half minute miles.  FOUR MINUTES FASTER THAN MY USUAL PACE.

Whoa.

Rules Are Made To Be Broken

When I first started this blog (just a few weeks ago), I had a rule.  I didn’t want anyone to talk to me in person about this marathon business because I was afraid I would fail.  

Well, I’ve already decided to throw that rule out.  

What changed my mind?  Honestly, it had everything to do with the amazing Strides For Life event that I was a part of at the end of my first week of training.  After I ran 23.5 miles in one day during that event, I just knew that my goal of running the 26.2 miles of a marathon was totally attainable.  And I had never felt that way.  I felt like I really wanted to complete this goal, but I didn’t really know if I could.  Running those 23.5 miles at Strides For Life with such amazing and inspirational people gave me the exact boost of confidence I needed.  I didn’t feel like it’s something that I could so easily fail at anymore.  It was the most perfect helping of confidence I ever could have gotten.

So, with that being said, I’m throwing out my rule.  If you do happen to know me in person, feel free to ask me how it’s going.  And I’ll tell you that my 9 mile training run last Saturday was brutal- but I stuck with it and I finished it.  And I’ll tell you that I came thisclose to face planting on the sidewalk during this morning’s 3 mile run because I was distracted by the scenery.  And it will help me be even more accountable to myself to stick with this goal even when it’s not easy to put all those training miles in.

Thanks for all of your support!

Fuel Belt

A few days ago I purchased a fuel belt so that I wouldn't get dehydrated during my longer training runs.  I have a history of getting easily dehydrated, so I figured this was a must if I want to complete my marathon goal.  I went to one of the running stores in Grand Rapids (Michigan)- Striders.  There were some belts with 2 bottles and some with 4 and I really had no idea what I needed.  A couple of the employees there were a great help though, and they were able to give me a better idea of what I needed.  They said that two bottles wouldn't be enough for a 20 mile training run, but if I planned my run to go by somewhere where I could refill, the 2 bottles would be enough.  They also suggested I try them on for size and comfort and said to keep in mind that the elastic can stretch out after awhile.  After I scoped out the selection, I decided to go with the Fuel Belt with 4, 8oz. bottles.

I was worried that it would be uncomfortable to run in, but I tried it out for the first time last Saturday during a 7 mile run and it was perfect!  I was so surprised at how comfortable it was!  I really like it.  I have yet to buy new running shoes (I really need some though!), but I think this was a good buy and will really help me get through those longer training runs!

Anyone else use one of these? What brand? How many bottles?  Do you like it?