Couch to Marathon in 364 Days!
loratliff
Posts: 283 Member
On Oct. 5, 2014, I did W1D1 of C25K. On Oct. 4, 2015, I ran the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, New York—my first 26.2!
Here's my full race report if anyone's interested:
My ultimate goal throughout was to make it through a marathon training cycle happy and healthy—which I did! Luckily, I (surprisingly) slept great the night before! My Fitbit said about 7 1/2 hours which is a lot for me on a normal day, especially a race day, so I woke up feeling good. My hotel started serving breakfast at 5am and luckily had my typical pre-run breakfast of an English muffin with peanut butter and jelly. Couple that with Nuun and a cup of coffee, and I was ready to go. I even met a fellow nervous first-timer at breakfast... I wish I had asked for her bib number so I could look her up after the fact.
I picked my friend up from her hotel and we drove into downtown Corning, the tiny town where the race finishes. Since it's a point-to-point, you park in Corning and are bussed to the start. Surprisingly, this part went seamlessly—we didn't have to wait on a bus and it was nice to sit somewhere warm for a bit. The bus was full of excited runners and I loved hearing all the chatter about different races everyone had run.
When we got to the start, we had about an hour until gun time, but luckily there were large tents set up with chairs for us to wait. My friend and I posted up in there for a bit, while I ate a granola bar and put on my throwaway arm warmers (made from cheapie tube socks purchased the day before—brilliant idea!). It was cool at this point (mid 40s) but the sun was beginning to peek out over the hills and you could tell it was going to be a lovely day!
When it was time to corral ourselves, I sought out the 4:40 pacer, Elaine, who also happens to be a friend's cousin. I had heard a lot about her, but hadn't met her and now I feel so lucky that I did. It was obvious right away that Elaine's energy and enthusiasm were going to be a big part of my successful race.
Finally, at 8:15, we were off! The first miles flew by—I joked that it was like a movie where the hands on the clock are spinning wildly. It seemed like we were at the 10K split insanely fast. I listened to a few episodes of This American Life, pausing occasionally to chat with Elaine and others running in our pace group.
I was following my fueling plan and took a salt capsule around mile 8. My legs felt good and as expected, the weather was lovely. I still had my arm warmers on at this point but could roll them up or down when I got too cool or too warm.
We reached the half split at about 2:21 and I was still feeling good. I stopped to use the bathroom so I lost Elaine's crew for a bit but caught up to them again around mile 14.
Miles 14-18 or so also seemed to fly by. The race was incredibly scenic—even though it's a flat course, you're surrounded by rolling hills of forest and farmland. The leaves were just beginning to show some fall color; I imagine they'll be really spectacular in a few weeks. You're also running through small towns, so people come out in droves to cheer you on. It was nice to run in silence through nature for a stretch and then be greeted by the crowds in each itty-bitty town.
From Mile 18 onward, I really wanted to start thinking about making sure I was fueled and hydrated enough as I knew that's what would carry me to the end. At Mile 21, you begin to enter "civilization" again as you head through Painted Post back toward Corning. At Mile 21, I walked through a water station for a bit and let Elaine's group go on ahead.
The last miles were tough (duh!), but at this point I had switched over to my music and there were lots of people out cheering so my overall enthusiasm and morale was still high. (Plus, once I hit 21 or so, I knew I was going to finish even if I crawled down Market Street to get there!)
I started walking a bit longer through each aid station (they were every mile at this point) but it worked out OK as my running intervals were faster than my earlier pace, meaning my overall pace didn't suffer to much. I was chafing just a bit under my arms, which has never happened before, but other than general fatigue, I still felt as good as I had hoped to.
Finally, when I hit mile 25, I knew I was almost there and just kept running! We ran over a bridge before hanging a left onto Market Street. Once I turned onto Market, I took my headphones out—the streets were lined with people cheering so I wanted to enjoy every minute of that! Elaine, who had finished a few minutes before, saw me and yelled for me to push hard to the finish. She sprinted about 100 yards with my alongside the barriers on the street and said she'd see me at the finish.
Then, it was over! 4:44:27 for my first full. I got my medal, gave Elaine a huge hug, and reunited with my boyfriend who got to see me finish.
The post-race spread from Wegman's was amazing: freshly-made pizza, chicken noodle soup, and chocolate milk, among the usual bagels and bananas.
Even though we both drove back to NYC last night, my friend and I split my cheapie hotel room one more night so we could have a post-race shower and not be rushed. Let me tell you that that was the best shower of my life!
Anyway, all in all, Wineglass is a wonderful race. I can see why so many people return year after year. It was an ideal first marathon for me and I would recommend it to anyone ready to dip their toe into a full.
Other than some soreness, I felt pretty good after and feel relatively normal today. My plan was relatively low-mileage compared to a lot of runners (peaking at 36 miles per week, with a 21-mile long run), but I felt very prepared and strong throughout my race. Since my body handled the training well, I look forward to ramping it up for my next full (Big Sur in April!) but for my first 26.2, I had a wonderful experience across the board.
Here's my full race report if anyone's interested:
My ultimate goal throughout was to make it through a marathon training cycle happy and healthy—which I did! Luckily, I (surprisingly) slept great the night before! My Fitbit said about 7 1/2 hours which is a lot for me on a normal day, especially a race day, so I woke up feeling good. My hotel started serving breakfast at 5am and luckily had my typical pre-run breakfast of an English muffin with peanut butter and jelly. Couple that with Nuun and a cup of coffee, and I was ready to go. I even met a fellow nervous first-timer at breakfast... I wish I had asked for her bib number so I could look her up after the fact.
I picked my friend up from her hotel and we drove into downtown Corning, the tiny town where the race finishes. Since it's a point-to-point, you park in Corning and are bussed to the start. Surprisingly, this part went seamlessly—we didn't have to wait on a bus and it was nice to sit somewhere warm for a bit. The bus was full of excited runners and I loved hearing all the chatter about different races everyone had run.
When we got to the start, we had about an hour until gun time, but luckily there were large tents set up with chairs for us to wait. My friend and I posted up in there for a bit, while I ate a granola bar and put on my throwaway arm warmers (made from cheapie tube socks purchased the day before—brilliant idea!). It was cool at this point (mid 40s) but the sun was beginning to peek out over the hills and you could tell it was going to be a lovely day!
When it was time to corral ourselves, I sought out the 4:40 pacer, Elaine, who also happens to be a friend's cousin. I had heard a lot about her, but hadn't met her and now I feel so lucky that I did. It was obvious right away that Elaine's energy and enthusiasm were going to be a big part of my successful race.
Finally, at 8:15, we were off! The first miles flew by—I joked that it was like a movie where the hands on the clock are spinning wildly. It seemed like we were at the 10K split insanely fast. I listened to a few episodes of This American Life, pausing occasionally to chat with Elaine and others running in our pace group.
I was following my fueling plan and took a salt capsule around mile 8. My legs felt good and as expected, the weather was lovely. I still had my arm warmers on at this point but could roll them up or down when I got too cool or too warm.
We reached the half split at about 2:21 and I was still feeling good. I stopped to use the bathroom so I lost Elaine's crew for a bit but caught up to them again around mile 14.
Miles 14-18 or so also seemed to fly by. The race was incredibly scenic—even though it's a flat course, you're surrounded by rolling hills of forest and farmland. The leaves were just beginning to show some fall color; I imagine they'll be really spectacular in a few weeks. You're also running through small towns, so people come out in droves to cheer you on. It was nice to run in silence through nature for a stretch and then be greeted by the crowds in each itty-bitty town.
From Mile 18 onward, I really wanted to start thinking about making sure I was fueled and hydrated enough as I knew that's what would carry me to the end. At Mile 21, you begin to enter "civilization" again as you head through Painted Post back toward Corning. At Mile 21, I walked through a water station for a bit and let Elaine's group go on ahead.
The last miles were tough (duh!), but at this point I had switched over to my music and there were lots of people out cheering so my overall enthusiasm and morale was still high. (Plus, once I hit 21 or so, I knew I was going to finish even if I crawled down Market Street to get there!)
I started walking a bit longer through each aid station (they were every mile at this point) but it worked out OK as my running intervals were faster than my earlier pace, meaning my overall pace didn't suffer to much. I was chafing just a bit under my arms, which has never happened before, but other than general fatigue, I still felt as good as I had hoped to.
Finally, when I hit mile 25, I knew I was almost there and just kept running! We ran over a bridge before hanging a left onto Market Street. Once I turned onto Market, I took my headphones out—the streets were lined with people cheering so I wanted to enjoy every minute of that! Elaine, who had finished a few minutes before, saw me and yelled for me to push hard to the finish. She sprinted about 100 yards with my alongside the barriers on the street and said she'd see me at the finish.
Then, it was over! 4:44:27 for my first full. I got my medal, gave Elaine a huge hug, and reunited with my boyfriend who got to see me finish.
The post-race spread from Wegman's was amazing: freshly-made pizza, chicken noodle soup, and chocolate milk, among the usual bagels and bananas.
Even though we both drove back to NYC last night, my friend and I split my cheapie hotel room one more night so we could have a post-race shower and not be rushed. Let me tell you that that was the best shower of my life!
Anyway, all in all, Wineglass is a wonderful race. I can see why so many people return year after year. It was an ideal first marathon for me and I would recommend it to anyone ready to dip their toe into a full.
Other than some soreness, I felt pretty good after and feel relatively normal today. My plan was relatively low-mileage compared to a lot of runners (peaking at 36 miles per week, with a 21-mile long run), but I felt very prepared and strong throughout my race. Since my body handled the training well, I look forward to ramping it up for my next full (Big Sur in April!) but for my first 26.2, I had a wonderful experience across the board.
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Replies
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congratulations on your hardwork paying off0
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Pretty damn impressive. Congratulations and well done.
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Great read! Thanks for sharing your experience and well done!!!0
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Well done, sounds like a good experience.0
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Congrats! That is seriously impressive. I'd be interested in more details of the journey itself. For example, how out of shape were you when you started? And what training program(s) did you use after C25K?0
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Fantastic work!
I love reading people's first race experiences. Like ^ I'm also interested in learning more about your training from day 0 to race day, where you started from fitness and weight wise. Such things are often very inspiring!0 -
Fantastic work!
I love reading people's first race experiences. Like ^ I'm also interested in learning more about your training from day 0 to race day, where you started from fitness and weight wise. Such things are often very inspiring!
Me too! I want to know your training schedule too. I keep side-lining from injuries so I'm looking for a very "do-able" plan.0 -
Congrats and way to go! That's some impressive stuff. I have no desire to run a full myself, I'm only "half" crazy so I'll stick to my 13.1 runs.
It sounds like you're well on your way to running a new PR at your next marathon. 0 -
Congrats, that's great. Check out the long distance runner group if you haven't (I mostly lurk there, but enjoy it).0
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Congrats on your big achievement!!0
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Awesome job! I'd also love to hear more about your training schedule. Congratulations - such a great accomplishment!0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Congrats, that's great. Check out the long distance runner group if you haven't (I mostly lurk there, but enjoy it).
I definitely read there—great group! 0 -
That's incredible. Well done.0
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I second the incredible. Fantastic job!0
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For those who have asked:
When I started my MFP journey in May 2014, I weighed 183.8 pounds. I'm 5'7". I was probably even a few pounds heavier but it took me a few weeks to work up the bravery to step on the scale!
I lost about 17 pounds just from logging and tracking food, but was still minimally active. I live in NYC, so I walk a lot by default, but wasn't going out of my way to exercise. My weight loss stalled, and I knew I wanted to start working out, so on Oct. 5, 2014, I joined a gym and did the first day of C25K. According to the app, I weighed 167 lbs. that day.
It was hard, but I stuck with it. I remember crying at the end of W5D3 because I was so in awe of the fact that I had just run 20 minutes without stopping! I felt like such a badass—a real runner. I "graduated" C25K on November 30, 2014, running my first race in 32:17. When I graduated C25K, I weighed around 161 lbs.
I didn't want to go back to run-walk intervals, so I used Hal Higdon's Novice program to move up to the 10K: http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10-K-Training-Guide-Novice-Program. I was set to run my 10K the first week of January, but had a family emergency so I ended up going out of town. There was a 15K that weekend in the city I was visiting and my mom (a runner) convinced me to do it, so I ended up graduating the 10K program but actually running a 15K! It was hard, but I did it. I finished in 1:39:37.
After that, I was completely bitten by the bug and registered for a half-marathon at the end of March. I stuck with Hal Higdon, stayed diligent to that training, and ran my first half on March 29.
From then on, I kept running, running somes 10Ks, 5Ks, and various other races. I signed up for a 16-week marathon plan with the NYRR Virtual Training program (https://runtrix.com/NYRR/), which I would recommend and will use again. It uses data to tailor the plan to your needs and goals. For me, it worked perfectly.
I began training on June 15, looks like I weight 154 lbs. on that day. The plan included a nice mix of speed workouts, a few tempo runs, plenty of easy regular runs, and a weekly long run. I was fatigued at the end, but then was amazed at how great I felt after tapering and how fresh I felt going into the race.
I ran a few races throughout the plan, dropping my 5K time to 25:59 back in August, and running a half PR of 2:13:48 in July, crushing my first half time by 10 minutes. I now weigh 149 lbs., and would still like to drop more but only because I want to run faster!
Running has changed my life. I got in to the Big Sur International Marathon via lottery so I'll run that in April 2016, and then, will run in my hometown, the NYC Marathon, in November 2016.1 -
Awesome and Inspiring! Thanks for sharing this and a huge CONGRATS to you!!0
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Fantastic!0
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Wow, thanks so much for your stories! You rock! You've got such drive, commitment, and nice writing ability.
I'm doing Week 4 Day 1 of C25K tomorrow, and you've got me so motivated! I can do this!
Thanks again. I loved reading this thread.0 -
Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed reading!
Congrats!0 -
Great story and info and congrats!!0
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Thank you so much for sharing! Definitely inspiring and amazing! Congratulations!0
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Love your story! Awesome job very motivating to me 0
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fantastic report and follow-up.
thankyou for sharing.0 -
Great report! I'm happy it was such a good experience! 0
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Thank u so much for sharing this. My running journey is so much slower but I am now thinking about doing a half marathon next Sept. This has inspired me to go for it.0
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Your story is Very inspiring - Thank you for sharing0
This discussion has been closed.
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