Thank you to my friends at FlipBelt for posting this pic on their FB wall!

I am slowly gearing up my mileage for my 4th marathon (WDW Marathon, January 11, 2015). Having done this several times now, I know how it will go. I’m actually pretty predictable  – both the good and the bad of how I train.

But I am also a firm believer in the concept of understanding our past so that we’re not doomed to repeat it.

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  George Santayana

Thanks to writing this blog, I am forced from time to time to look up where quotes that exist in my head came from. George Santayana was a very interesting guy – from Spain originally, he was a writer, philosopher and Harvard graduate. There is no evidence that he was a runner. Too bad.

Anywho, in the spirit of the dearly departed Santayana, I want to go back into my own history from past marathons and go over what I’ve done wrong. I seem to make a series of mistakes over and over. Such as:

• Not starting with a strong base – this is a problem because I enter into ever increasing mileage weeks and get more and more exhausted as the weeks progress, all because I didn’t go into the training plan strong. I’ve been working for weeks on strengthening my base so that this doesn’t happen.
• I don’t watch my nutrition closely enough – as a vegetarian, this can be a big deal. My protein, iron and B vitamin needs all go WAY UP during a training cycle and yet I tend to ignore this and eat the same as I do when I’m not training (with a notable increase in simple carbs – thus the 2 – 5 pound weight gain each time). Determined NOT to do this. I eat more because I’m starving and that’s understandable, but I need to fill that need with higher quality protein and good fruits and vegetables, not Ritz crackers and white bagels.
• Not sleeping enough! I need a lot of sleep anyway but there is more and more research to suggest that distance runners need to sleep a lot in order to recover. I recently read that Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall both sleep 9 – 10 hours a night and both take naps during the day. Not sure I can get away with that much, but I do need to make sleep a priority!
• Going too fast. On my long runs and especially in races, starting out too fast is the bane of my existence. Especially on days when I feel really good. I’m really not one to check my pace frequently during a long run and I don’t like wearing my Garmin, but I will try to be better about this during the first 1/3 of a long run so I don’t get carried away and run out with nothing in the tank. (insert scholarly article here)
• Allowing setbacks to discourage me. This time, I’m going to remember that this training cycle WILL have delays and setbacks. Weather, sickness, work, family, attitude . . . so many things that can threaten my training. But although any of those things can ruin one run, they won’t ruin the training cycle unless I allow them to get me down. What separates those who plan to finish a marathon from those who actually do is not that one group has setbacks and one doesn’t. It’s that one group allows the setbacks to define them and the other can shrug them off and keep going.

So I’ve covered the mistakes I’ve made in the past and I’m sure I’ll make new ones this time! But I am a fan of learning, and pushing, and seeing what this body that God gave me can do. If you’re thinking about running a marathon, or if you’re in the middle of a training cycle, or if you’re like me and are just starting to train, listen to your body, surround yourself with others who get it, and let me know how you’re doing. Would love to be here to encourage you on your journey!

you got this, SUPERSTAR!

Happy Running!!