Mura and me
The LA Marathon is less than three weeks away. I just completed the big 20-mile run in my training this past weekend. From here on out till the marathon, I taper down my mileage. I would like to say something like 'training for this marathon has been a life changing experience', but honestly, it's been kind of an tedious and painful (as well as expensive!) and right now I'm just really ready for it all to be over. Allow me to elaborate.
1. Tedious:
Even though I am following a beginners marathon training schedule, the mileages as the marathon approaches are INSANE. For example in the past week, I ran 40 miles total...40 MILES TOTAL. I'm still not quite believing it myself. In the beginning when I started last August, it was 1 mile here, 2 miles there, or the occasional 3 miles. That was maybe 10-40 minutes in the morning (no biggie). Now I have to section out hours at a time to fit my weekly runs in. Since I am vertically challenged and not trying to win the marathon here, my pace is rather slow. Now when I run, I have to put aside an hour to two hours, maybe even three depending on the distance I run during the week. On Saturdays, I have been setting aside 5 hours for the past few weeks to finish what I think are insane mileages.
I have had some people ask me what I do during my runs (other than run) since these long runs can take hours at a time. Most of the time, I'm concentrating/meditating. I'm trying to concentrate on not thinking about how uncomfortable I am while running. Music helps, especially something with a good steady beat....although I am pretty sick of DeadMau5. Video game music is also good because I think I'm getting hit points for every mile I run down (think Mario and mystery boxes every mile).
I also think about all the cats I have rescued and placed in good homes....and hopefully all the cats that I am going to help in the future. Cheesy, I know, but I definitely would not be running a full marathon without knowing that I am somehow benefitting some good cause because after all this training, it's sure as hell not benefitting me (physically), which brings me to the next point.
2. Painful
According to another team member, I am one of the few KR marathon team members who hasn't been injured yet during training. This is false. I have developed injuries while training, but being a graduate student at the University of Southern California has it's perks when it comes to care for athletes probably because of all the great athletic teams at USC. The doctors are probably sick of seeing my face at the campus health center. Injury was one of my main concerns when I started running. I was constantly reading articles from Runner's World and chatting with fellow runners in the lab I work in about what pain is 'normal' and what pain is not. So far, I have been pretty lucky in being able to distinguish when to stop running and when to keep going. I have suffered through blisters on my feet, patellar tendonitis, shin splints, tense calves, tight hamstrings, lower back pain, and extreme chafing.
In addition to the actual running, a lot of time is dedicated to recovery. I have been doing physical therapy exercises to strengthen and stretch muscles before and after runs. Regular visits to the chiropractor are also a part of my schedule as well as deep tissue massages. A real deep tissue massage is NOT pleasant or relaxing. There is nothing relaxing about someone kneading, pulling, separating, and lengthening (with great force) already super sore muscles, but the faster recovery time and less pain during consecutive runs are totally worth it.
3. Expensive
Back in the day some 6 or 7 years ago when I was an undergraduate student, I ran in crappy $10 shoes, with whatever old beat up shorts and t-shirt that was in my closet...5 miles, no problem. Fast forward to the present, now I need need gait correcting shoes, special socks, sweat wicking apparel, and body lube. Since starting training, I've bought three pairs of running shoes priced anywhere between $50-$80/pair. Running shoes are only good for 300-400 miles (can you guess how many miles I've logged?) I started out with regular running socks priced around $10 a pop. The pair I will be running the marathon in are $60 for one pair. They're compression socks, which staves away shin splints and tense calves AND if I wear them between consecutive runs I recover faster. Yes, they are magical that way and I will gladly pay $60 for that much less pain.
Luckily one can get sweat-wicking shirts and bottoms for fairly cheap if you skim the racks at Ross or Marshall's and you don't care about the color scheme. What's unlucky is that the extremely limited selection of sweat-wicking undergarments on the discount racks. My discount bra nearly cut me in half for most of my training despite smearing myself with an anti-chafe stick. It wasn't until last week when I finally decided to lay down $50 to buy a proper running bra and another $14 for sweat/water-proof body lube that triathletes wear. Now I'm no longer being sawed in half, but I'm $64 poorer. Don't get me started on my $20 underwear so I don't have to feel like I am wearing a wet diaper after I run...
I am sure that I look like a dork when I run....so if you are out there on March 18th cheering for the runners, I will be the awkward-looking runner wearing extremely mismatched gear since I can't afford to be 'fashionable' on my student stipend.
Conclusion:
With all that being said, has all this been worth it thus far? I don't know yet. I'm still quite a bit away from my fundraising goal. In the end, I did not do this for myself, but it is ultimately for all the current and future animals of Kitten Rescue. With less than 3 weeks left, I have to raise about $600+ to reach my goal of $1000. Efforts of sending emails, advertising on Facebook, and in person soliciting have amounted to almost $400 of donations on my Crowdrise fundraising page HERE.
My next goal is to hold a gourmet bake sale next Tuesday at USC near the building where I work. I will be employing my wonderful fiancé's hobby of baking to make an assortment of sweet and salty confections. Hopefully that will bring in a good amount of donations. The 'hard' training part is over. Now I am in fundraising mode! FOR THE KITTIES!!!!
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