Things that suck about Marathon Training

The truth is, sometimes marathon training sucks.  Just like being a vegetarian sometimes sucks.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great things about it [I’ll do another post about that next week] but it’s not always rainbows.  I think a lot of these apply to training for a half marathon or a triathlon, too.

1. Early nights and early mornings. I feel like a grandma the last few months.  I have to go to bed early for morning runs, even on Friday nights.  And then I’m up and running in the dark on a lot of weekday mornings (OK, that part does not make me feel like a grandpa).  As your runs get longer, you have to wake up earlier and earlier to get them done before work.  I really miss sleeping in on Saturdays too!
2. No hangovers allowed.  For me, even a few drinks the night before a run completely messes the run up for me.  That means no happy hours on certain week nights and definitely no going out Friday nights.  I miss alcohol a bit.
3. Lazy Saturdays. Don’t get me wrong, I like a day on the couch just as much as the next girl, but I hate being confined.  The day of some double digit runs I end up spending the remainder of the day resting and recovering.  That leaves just one weekend day to do everything else on my to-do list.
4. Time is not on my side. Marathon training takes a lot of time.  Let’s take September for example.  I ran 111 miles and spent 27 hours working out.  That means there are some sacrifices.  Less time with friends and family.  Less time getting pretty for work (regular ponytails have returned).  Less time exploring my city.
5. Constant hunger. There are a few annoying things about being hungry all the time.  For one, you spend more on food.  My friend/marathon star Kelaine says that her food budget noticeably increases during a training cycle (I am not responsible enough to track my food budget these days, but I’m guessing it’s the same for me).  Two, packing food for work is tricky.  I often pack what used to be a normal lunch/snack combo for me only to find I’m about to eat my arm off by 4 pm.  Three, I have been eating way more convenience foods (aka processed foods).  This happens when I don’t have the patience to cook up something healthier when I’m starving, or I’m out of food at work and have to resort to the vending machine.
6. Paranoia. Obviously I’m probably a little more paranoid than the average runner because of my history, but there is a constant worry that every ache and pain could be something worse.  Also, if I see a co-worker sniffling I head in the other direction.  No one wants a cold during marathon training.
7. Shut up already.  When you are running a lot, you think about running a lot and talk about running a lot.  Sometimes I feel like I could drive people [mainly Neil] crazy with the marathon talk.  Hopefully I’m not scaring away any readers by all so many posts about running!

However, in the end I know it will be worth it.  Especially when I read race recaps from other runners.  Also there are a lot of great things about training…tune in next week for a list of things that ROCK about marathon training.

This morning I completed my last double digit run of my training – 12 miles. Now I’m packing and heading to Brussels tonight for work.  See you from Europe!