Today I am going to turn the microphone over to my awesome and amazing husband Stephan Cox. Did I mention he just ran the NEW YORK MARATHON? Because I'm sure you would like to hear all about that, I am going to excerpt some of his summary here, then encourage you to go over and read the rest. I feel okay about using this for my blog post for today, because I was an active participant in the marathon training (documenting nutrition/ trial and error/ accompanying him on practice runs). Yes, I was actually DRIVING during the practice runs, because I am NOT a runner, and I did not want to die while trying to be supportive of my husband's marathon goal, ok? That would not have been cool. We have already discussed my Muppety running style, and I'm sure no one wanted to see that while he was actually training to put up a decent time.
I'm going to start the excerpt really soon here, but I did want to add the following pieces of insight, from the "training buddy" perspective:
1. Did you know you can buy that Low-Calorie Gatorade at Costco? You can, and if you have someone who is training for a marathon, you definitely should, because that stuff adds up!
2. I have one word for you, people: CHAFING. As in, get some chafing products ready to test out, because you would be AMAZED at the kind of chafing your runner will experience in some places.
3. Race day buddy. Watching a race is actually pretty grueling, as it turns out, so I would recommend that on race day, YOU (the buddy) bring your own buddy (I brought my dad). The New York Marathon had a cool iPhone app that we used to keep track of Stephan's pace and figure out where he was going to be. We did end up seeing him one time (at mile 16), but it's pretty tiring, standing there for hours at a time craning your neck, trying to have your camera ready, then walking to the next place on the marathon track where you think your runner might be. You need a person with you to help you scout out bathrooms, to help you navigate the course (many of New York's streets are closed during the marathon, obviously, so it takes a long time to actually walk from one place to another), to help you check for updates, and to help you look for your runner. It helps!
And with that, I give you…….New York Marathon Runner Stephan Cox!
26.2!
by stephancox
I have now completed the New York Marathon, and I have the medal to show for it. After over 20 years of running, I think I finally feel justified in calling myself a real runner. Hot damn.
The marathon itself was an extraordinary experience, but one that ultimately turned out to involve very little fear. My biggest fear, of course, was that I wouldn’t finish, but I found out that when you’re running the race, quitting doesn’t really occur to you. Not only are you running alongside thousands of other runners, there are also a jaw-dropping number of people on the sidelines cheering you on throughout the entire course. Not to mention my beautiful and incredible wife and my awesome father-in-law (who drove all the way up from Kentucky to see me run) came out to watch and cheer for me at mile 16. With all that going on, you just get pushed along by sheer momentum.
But, ultimately, I think what quashed my fear was a lot of preparation. I trained for this baby for four months. I read books, consulted trainers, and, through trial and error, learned what to do and what not to do, so that by the time race day came around, I was certainly nervous, but I also felt ready.
In case you’re wondering, here, in no particular order, are some of the things I learned while marathon training:
1. Did you know that you shouldn’t drink a bunch of beer the night before you go on a long run? Of course you do, because you have common sense. Apart from the dehydrating aspect, beer has the delightful side effect of making you gassy the next day, and I can now tell you from first hand experience that running with a giant gut full of beer gas feels like you’re dribbling a basketball down there. Unpleasant.
2. I believe I mentioned this in a previous post, but you really, really don’t want to take Alieve or Advil before you run, as they leach the sodium out of your kidneys. Tylenol, while hard on a beer drinker’s liver, is a better bet, used in moderation. I took two before I started the race, and then popped an extra I thought to bring, around mile 18 when my inner right shin started to throb. (It’s still sore and a little swollen. Note to self: make appointment with sports doctor)
3. When you carry sport gel packets in your runners pouch thingy that’s right next to your abdomen, they heat up to, well, body temperature. And then they taste like warm, runny, vanilla frosting. Which takes a little getting used to.
4. Train on hills. Man, did this help. I wound up doing my long run each week on a very hilly stretch of Route 22 in Putnam County, and it really made the difference on race day. The hills on the marathon course were mild by comparison, and I found myself surprised that I was passing people.
5. Drink sports drinks before, during, and after. If you’re like me, you probably thought that good old water was sufficient and that the whole sports drink thing was a giant sham marketing campaign, but I stand corrected, especially when it comes to the long runs. I felt WAY better using the sports drinks. So, I guess, Be Like Mike.
And then, I of course learned quite a few things while running the actual marathon. Read the whole story>>
