Interesting article today in the National Post about running the marathon.
The will to run: Going from the couch to a marathon in a year.
The story kind of rambles, but is the message of going from completely sedentary to the marathon really a good one? What do you think?
Heck, I've been running for 3 years (minus injury time, of course) and completing a marathon is still only a dream for me. The thought of going from couch potato all the way to 42.2K in 12 months is crazy to me. Just the half was a tough for me mentally. I remember being out on one of my 18K long runs in the rain and thinking to myself: If I were marathon training, I'd be running this twice. Yuck.
I drew some inspiration from the article by this tidbit of info from one of the competitive coaches:
Richard Lee is a distance coach in Vancouver who works with Dylan Wykes, a top athlete expected to give (Reid) Coolsaet a run for his money at October’s Scotiabank Marathon in Toronto. He thinks amateur runners don’t push themselves hard enough.
“People who don’t do anything can do a marathon; it just comes down to will power,” says Lee, who coached his first runner in 1984, training his wife all the way to the Olympic Games. “You’re not born with talent, it’s a learned process. You just need to be prepared, follow a plan and develop a steel-trapped mind for achieving your goals.”
This is certainly something I need to remember. I'm a Kenyan in my head, as most of us recreational runners are, but I know I am faster than my recent times have shown. I've got a decent PR in the 10K and 5K that I haven't improved on in over 18 months. While I've had setbacks, I know I can become even faster if I'm willing to put in the time and effort.
2 comments:
I run with Betty. I would say she's an extraordinary case. She was too fast for her learn to run clinic and could easily progress. Others need to take time.
I think some people can do it and some people can't. I know when I first started, It would have been easy for me to progress that quickly. Now, not so much thanks to some extra weight that I've gained back.
It really does depend on training, being dedicated to the schedule and being SMART about it.
I'm just content to be a tortoise now :)
That's really neat that you actually know her. Yes, there's always people who can do it. I wish I could!
I really want to run one, but I know I'm not there yet. I'd like to get faster before I go longer. ;)
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