For the past month or so, I’ve been training for my first marathon. Having very recently done a half marathon, I began this journey in decent shape. Not awesome shape, but decent shape. I chose a Hal Higdon marathon plan and picked it up around week three. And when I say, “chose a Hal Higdon marathon plan,” I guess I should reveal that I opted for the Intermediate II, which is pretty ambitious (you know, considering I’ve never done this before, holy crap).

Things were going swimmingly! That is, until I hit what I have learned is the famous week seven on Hal’s plan. Cue the horror movie music. Man, he really ramps it up in week seven. Jesus Christ. I’ve cursed him several times this week but I’m hoping to thank him when all is said and done.

Today, I set out for the 16 miler, which was my first ever attempt at this distance. I was so nervous heading out, especially considering this insane heat wave and the high humidity. But I brought plenty of Nuun-infused water and two GU Gels. My iPod was fully charged and I started early. And…. voila. Sixteen miles, complete!

Well, it wasn’t quite that easy. I wish I had a magic trick for running long distances now that I think about it, but, so far, I don’t think one exists. This particular run was all heart. And sweat. Lots of sweat. I snuck into the park (shhhh!) around 7:30 am because it doesn’t open until 9:00 am. There were other runners and cyclists doing their thing too, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.

By the end of mile one I was already sweating. My plan was to just keep going and turn around at mile eight (I know, it was a very technically advanced plan).

Unfortunately, around mile 5.5, I hit a dead end on a road that looked longer on the map (shut up, I can read maps I swear!), so I had to turn around and think about how I was going to make up the last five miles. This was actually a welcome math problem because it distracted me from the oppressive humidity. 5.5 x 2 = 11. I needed to find a 2.5 mile stretch out and back to make up the last five miles. I know the park well, so the added route was easy to find.

I stopped at mile eight to get a GU Gel out of my CamelBak and decided to walk down to the river and throw some water on my face. I wouldn’t dare drink this particular water because it was pretty much brown and gross-looking, but I lopped some up on my head, face and neck. This didn’t do much. The water was downright warm. But it was nice break regardless.

During my five mile detour I ran into some cyclists and one of them decided to strike up a conversation. He said what I thought was something like, “Are you straining for something?” I thought, “Straining? Yeah, I’m straining for some cold water! Got any?” But then my super sharp powers of intuition figured out what he meant. “Yeah,” I said, “I’m training for a marathon. In October. In Scranton.” He replied, “Oh, Steamtown! Yeah that’s a hilly one. But good for PRs!” He was nice. Kind of gave me some bad news and good news all at once, but I appreciated the chat.

My cyclist friend passed me two more times during my run and, embarrassingly, I was walking both times. But he did also say how impressed he was that I was out in “this stuff,” so I figured a few walk breaks were understandable.

By mile 13 I was starting to run low on my Nuun-infused water so I stopped at a water fountain (fortuitously the only one on my route) for a good dousing. At this point, I didn’t care how much water landed on my face versus in my mouth. It was awesome.

The last three miles were tough. My clothes were completely soaked. I had sweat so much, in fact, that my socks and shoes were also soaked from the sweat dripping down my legs. Not cool. I had visions of the food I could eat later in the day. I was ready for this to be over.

But by the last half mile I felt invigorated. I wanted a strong finish, and I did it. I got in my car, turned up the AC and sat for a moment. What an adventure that was. And all before 10:00 am. My calves are a little sore, but I’ll use the foam roller later tonight. I’ll re-hydrate and also have a few beers to celebrate.

One of the great things about training for your first marathon, I’m learning, is that you hit milestones along the way. As in every week! It’s a great feeling.

So cheers to you, 16 miler. You were full of challenges and salty sweat, but you were worth every sloshy step.

Don’t you just love those ah-ha moments in life? I had a doozy over the weekend. Well, it wasn’t a doozy compared to, oh, say solving world hunger. But in terms of my running life, it was a real eye-opener.

Just this past week, I started training for my first marathon. It’s been very exciting, and I’ve totally gotten into researching training schedules and other running-related things. Based on my research and the advice of other, more experienced runners, I ended up choosing one of Hal Higdon’s training plans. They are free and available online. He also offers more in depth training guides and tips, which you can order for a nominal price.

One of the things I love most about Hal’s program (and yes we are on a first name basis now) is that it includes really helpful tips in the free version that help explain why he designed the plan the way he did. Reading these tips helped me understand the importance of running slowly during long runs, for example. It also helped me understand what “race pace” means.

Now, I’ve trained for two big-ish races before, two half marathons to be exact. For the first one, I used a training plan that one of my friends created for me. And for the second, I used a plan I found online, on a site that will remain nameless. Both of these plans incorporated interval training, hills and runs at what they called “race pace.” For some reason, I did the due diligence on defining intervals and hills, but totally assumed I knew what “race pace” meant. I didn’t.

Up until this weekend, I thought “race pace” meant, “Just run really really fast like you’re in a race! Go!”

Doh! It does not mean that at all.

Thanks to Hal’s tips, I have now learned that “race pace” means, “Run at whatever your goal pace is for the race you are training for.”

For this marathon, I will tell you that my goal finish time is 4 hours and 22 minutes. This equates to an average pace of 10 minutes per mile. So, when I see on my training schedule, “Run six miles at race pace,” I should be running those six miles at a pace of 10 minutes per mile.

I tried this for the first time over the weekend and it was surprisingly hard! I’m used to running six miles at a pace closer to 8:30 minutes/mile or 9:00 minutes/mile, so forcing my legs to slow down was a weird challenge. I can only guess that my legs are just used to a different rhythm. A sporadic rhythm, perhaps, but a rhythm nonetheless. They were like crazy legs! They did not want to be told what to do! I was especially shocked toward the end of the run when, as my legs grew more tired, they actually wanted to speed up. I think I’ve taught them this tactic, unfortunately. After all, the faster I go, the faster I get back to my car. They know this. They are smart.

But in the end, I trust Hal. I know that running at “race pace” is a good thing to do. After all, 26.2 miles is a long way. So I have to practice running at a pace I can maintain. And as the mileage picks up in the coming months, I’m sure slowing down won’t be as much of a hardship. FYI, long runs, according to Hal, should be run even slower than “race pace” runs.