Breaking out of my Comfort Zone

The other day someone asked me if I run marathons.  I replied with one of those, "Well, um, not really. Marathons kind of scare me.  I've run a few marathons, but haven't run one in a few years.  I run anything over a marathon, but marathons are short and fast, and that kind of scares me." They gave me that odd look that people often do when I describe a marathon as "short and fast" and scarier than a 100 miler.  Well, to someone that likes a race with over 20,000 feet of climb, marathons, as a race, are short and fast and do scare me.  The thought of a half marathon is less scary for some reason, but the thought of a 10K or 5K is downright petrifying.  I don't think I've run a 5K since my last cross country race in college; it's been a good 15 years.  So, my goal for 2011 (besides placing in the top 5 at Western States) is to run a road marathon.  Fast.  Well, as fast as I can.  I'd like to run a 3 hour marathon.

Dad and I (ten years later)

I've run 4 marathons.  My first was Big Sur in 1998, which I ran with my dad.  It was fun.  We finished together in 3:34'ish, and it wasn't so bad. My dad--who started running later in life (mid 40s) and is a pretty speedy old fart with a marathon PR of 2:55--didn't think his daughter--who took the only year off of running in her life during her first year in grad school and had started training in January for an April marathon--would be hard to keep up with, so didn't train too intensely for the occasion.  Let's just say that I was still cracking jokes at mile 24, and dad had stopped laughing.  But, we finished together, and it was a beautiful marathon and really fun experience.

My second marathon was the Asunción Marathon in Paraguay in 2002.  I was in my 3rd year of Peace Corps, and living in the capital at the time, thus used to dodging buses and inhaling diesel fumes.  It was an experience, and very Paraguayan (the organization of it--or lack thereof--was quite different than one might be used to or expect, which made it that much more endearing).  Again, I ran around 3:30, and wrote a letter to Boston to ask if I could use it as a Boston Qualifier, being that it wasn't a certified course.  They agreed, and my 3rd marathon was Boston in 2003.

Training for Boston was a hoot.  I was backpacking my way home from Paraguay, and thus got to run my way up the coast of Chile, into Argentina, and Peru (not literally, I traveled by bus, boat and plane).  I ran 3:12 at Boston, motivated by the huge crowds and water stops, and the intense contrast to the marathon I had run in Paraguay to qualify.

At some point, I wound up in DC, so ran the Marine Corps marathon in 2005.  I had a really good first 23 miles and was on 3-hour pace.  I had never experienced the "wall" before.  Wow.  It really does exist.  I now respect the wall, and what zero intake of calories during a race will do to you.  I staggered in in 3:17 with a (really hot) marine helping me up that last little hill.

Not long after that trail running entered my life, and not long after that the VHTRC and my ultra-running friends.  I jumped into my first 50 miler at Masochist in 2006 and haven't looked at a marathon since.  But that needs to change.  I plan to step out of my comfort zone in the next year, or so (see, I'm already pushing it back) and train for a road marathon PR.  It's not just about running a marathon.  I can easily do a marathon on any weekend and I often run that distance or longer for a training run.  It's about putting myself out there and going for 3 hours.  Eeks!   I'm already making up excuses to get out of this.