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Running my 1st marathon May 5, 2013

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ckopeny1
ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
in Social Groups
Very excited, my good friend and I started training the beginning of Decemebr for our first marathon. She is a stronger runner then I but we seem to equal each other out with our current pace (she pushes me enough so that my time has substantually increased and I have kept her from buring out too quickly on our long runs) We both ran The Flying Pig half marathon last year and decided for 2013 we were going the slaughter the full :)

Last Sat we did an 11 mile run and tomorrow we have a nice 12 miler (weather should be a perfect 50-55 degrees)

I just joined myfitnesspal to get some inspiration and motivation from others with my similar goals :)
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  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    YAY! I'm running my first on 6/22 :)

    congrats and welcome!
  • ckopeny1
    ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
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    Thats awesome and good luck to you!!!
  • marikevr
    marikevr Posts: 389 Member
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    Enjoy it! A marathon is like having children. You don't know what it is going to be like until you there. Everybody kept on telling me you run the first 32 km with your legs and the last 10 km with your head. It was only at 27 km that the a-ha moment starting kicking in. Funnily enough (not) that coincided perfectly with me having a sense of humour failure!

    Keep us posted!
  • DisneyAddictRW
    DisneyAddictRW Posts: 800 Member
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    Enjoy it! A marathon is like having children. You don't know what it is going to be like until you there. Everybody kept on telling me you run the first 32 km with your legs and the last 10 km with your head. It was only at 27 km that the a-ha moment starting kicking in. Funnily enough (not) that coincided perfectly with me having a sense of humour failure!

    Keep us posted!

    Agree! I ran my 3rd marathon this past weekend. The first 10 were amazing! I hit mile 15 and the heat started to kill me. By mile 20 it was all mental to finish. Each one has been different but I can say a large part of it for me is the mental game.

    If you believe it you will achieve it! You'll be in the small group of people who have run a marathon. Last weekend they announced less than 1% of people have run a marathon. Not sure how true that is but congrats on making the choice to do a full! Sounds like you have a great running partner! Have fun training.
  • ckopeny1
    ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
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    Thanks, I am really enjoyng the training. Its amazing what goes through you head on a long run LOL. Very mental sport. Thanks for the positive note :)
  • aj445
    aj445 Posts: 183 Member
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    Good Luck!! I'm running my first May 27th. Ran the half last year as well. Super excited :)
  • nejaustin
    nejaustin Posts: 76 Member
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    I am so excited for you! The first marathon is so incredibly amazing. I remember during training after a long run literally looking down at my legs and telling them "holy *kitten* you just ran 22 miles"

    I have run 4 and each on has been completely different - from totally burnt out by the finished - to finishing strong.

    Enjoy the journey - yours will be different than anyone else.
  • schmenge55
    schmenge55 Posts: 745 Member
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    Congrats. I hope you have an incredible run that exceeds your expectations!
  • ckopeny1
    ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
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    Thanks!!! I am enjoying the roller coaster ride :) Some ups and some downs but I am enjoying them all.
  • ckopeny1
    ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
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    Thanks!!!!!!
  • Still_Fluffy
    Still_Fluffy Posts: 341 Member
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    Here some advice for you first timers that I had to learn the hard way. Not that I'm an expert, but I've ran 4 marathons now and PR all of them. I ran my first one at 330 pounds so I believe almost anyone can run one.

    1) Follow a training plan.
    2) Train like you plan to run the race, - if you plan to walk through water stops then during training take walk breaks when the water stops are planned on the course. When you hit your long runs, eat what you plan to eat on the morning of your race, where what you plan to wear on race day. (DO NOT WEAR NEW CLOTHES ON MARATHON DAY - it could result is chafing)
    3) Find good running shoes
    4) Body glide - use it, love it
    5) Figure out your fueling source - are you a Gu person or a chomp type product? (Skittles work great too and tastes much better and are way cheaper)
    6) Tell everyone you know you’re running the race so you'll be too afraid to not run it.
    7) Run with a pace group if you can
    8) if you can afford it get a GPS watch, they help so much
    9) At the start of the race try not to start out too fast (I do this in every race and my last 3 miles are a death march for me)
    10) During the race shake out your arms every time you see a mile marker - if you don't your arms and shoulders may hurt more than your legs the next day.
  • ckopeny1
    ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
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    Thanks for all the tips, I am soooo nervous but sooooo excited at the same time :)
  • jburckhart
    jburckhart Posts: 2
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    Getting close now! Still excited I hope?
  • ckopeny1
    ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
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    I am! NERVOUS NERVOUS, but excited. I'm not planning on breaking any records just completing :)
  • neurorat
    neurorat Posts: 73 Member
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    Well?? How did it go?? :happy:
  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
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    Well?? How did it go?? :happy:

    Yeah! Give us the details :)
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Did you win?
  • ckopeny1
    ckopeny1 Posts: 46 Member
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    I had the most AMAZING experience of my life. I enjoyed every mile (well maybe not miles 23-26). The crowd support was incredible and we beat our goal by 4 minutes. I have never felt more alive then I did on Sunday. It is truly amazing what the body is capable of doing. 6.5 months of training really paid off and I would do it over and over and over again. Thanks for all the great advice and positive energy. I am proud to say that I am a marathoner :)
  • redredy9
    redredy9 Posts: 706 Member
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    I am proud to say that I am a marathoner :)


    :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Congratulations! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    I had the most AMAZING experience of my life. I enjoyed every mile (well maybe not miles 23-26). The crowd support was incredible and we beat our goal by 4 minutes. I have never felt more alive then I did on Sunday. It is truly amazing what the body is capable of doing. 6.5 months of training really paid off and I would do it over and over and over again. Thanks for all the great advice and positive energy. I am proud to say that I am a marathoner :)

    When is your next one? :wink:

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