Saturday, June 20, 2009

Pre-Season

When we refer to "pre-season" we are referring to the time before the official schedule actually starts. The schedule runs 18 weeks before the marathon, but we started training much earlier than that. In many ways we have no idea what we are doing, and without a schedule we thought we should just try to...well...run a lot. There were many unforgettable events and "land marks" during pre-season that we would like to share with you, our supporters.


First of all, I personally became obsessed with all things marathon. I began asking every person I know who has ever ran a marathon every possible question I could think of. What kind of GU did you like? (GU, pronounced "goo," is a brand of energy gel many marathoners eat/drink/suck on.) What did you wear? How was it? Which marathon? Tell me about your training, your belt, your injuries, where you put your Bodyglide...ha ha ha! But seriously, I needed to know every detail. I didn't want to show up on marathon day and be one of those noobies who ends up in the medical van because she thought it would be okay to wear her new ipod arm band during the race.

Matt (husband) went to the library and checked out a stack of marathon books for me. Books I have been consuming like I consume Fiber One Bars (which is voraciously) and I now consider myself somewhat of an expert on things that one month ago I had never heard of (e.g., Bodyglide, fartlek, GU, overtraining vs overloading, form, and Mizuno shoes). If you are considering joining me in this crazy lifestyle, I highly recommend the following books:

*Running - by Galloway, who in the runner's world needs no first name for identification (A really great comprehensive book that covers just about everthing)
*The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women - by Dawn Dias (Hillarious, sarcastic, and the inspiration for this blog! And, yes, it actually had some insightful advice too.)
*Marathon - by Galloway (My Hero!! :) The local running store experts recommended this one to me. Has a few more specific tidbits his other book doesn't have.)
*How to Run a Marathon - by Tim Rogers (This British author seems to think the London Marathon deserves to be mentioned on EVERY page. Okay, we GET IT! London is the best, blah, blah, blah. But it did give me lots of interesting info from his personal perspective. It also made me scared that I won't be running in England where the fabulous Brits would be cheering me on!)

OTHER PRE-SEASON EVENTS:

*Danna and I spend hundreds at the Salt Lake Running Company on things you wouldn't even think we would need- like special running socks and underwear, and it ain't ever cheap, baby. Here's a picture of my new stuff:


*Our husbands start a special support group (well, partnership) and start weeping frequently. Condolence cards and/or meals for the hubs' are welcome.
*I have an oh-so-painful in-grown toenail surgery on 6 spots and stop training for two weeks. I did, however really strengthen up my shin muscles by walking on my heels non-stop. No joke.


The next photo is my toenail now. As a result of the surgery it is skinnier, yellower, more jagged, and over-all weirder looking. I am sure to lose toenails in the marathon! (This is common for marathoners.)


*Everyone I know is asked to pray for my joints as we Memmott girls are known for our bad knees (if you are reading this- consider yourself asked!)
*I run during pre-season with a dorky, uncomfortable fanny pack. Enter chafing.
*We enter the lottery for the St. George Marathon as a team, and pray our guts out that we will make it.
*WE MAKE IT!!
*Amazingly, during pre-season we did not actually run a single run together, and we were very nervous that we had different paces.
*My physical therapist co-workers (who are anti-running) tell me I don't have a runner's body and should not do it. As a speech therapist, I tell them they do not have talkers' mouths, and that they can stuff it!
*My toes heal from the surgery very nicely! Yippee!!
*My husband takes great pains to find me the perfect pair of shoes on ebay at a much lower price than the running store.
*I upgrade from a fanny pack to a true runner's belt- no more getting whacked 400 times with my own Gatorade bottle.

As you can see, we had an exciting pre-season. When it came time to start our true schedule we felt we were more that ready for it- the right gear, the right toe-nail widths, and the right running partner(s). The old days of choosing our rest days and run distances are only a pleasant memory. THE SCHEDULE is now our master!

10 comments:

Jen said...

I loved this article. I have to admit, I gaffawed out loud at the gator aid bottle slapping you 400 times, and your telling the PT's that they don't have mouths for talking. Ha ha ha, he he he, ho! Love, Mama Jeannette

Natalie said...

Kristin, you are hilarious. Welcome to the blogging world.
That is so great that you are training for a marathon. I am jealous/pointing and laughing. I have no desire, but maybe one day, I use to love to run, now I am just fat, waaaaaaaaaaa.
Keep up with the posts, it is great motivation when you have a goal. It is so good to hear from you.

kdance said...

Fartlek, eh? Guess I don't want to know what that is.

Also, what exactly is a runners body??? Is there such a thing? I'm sure I don't have one. How do you qualify? I'm genuinely interested. "You don't have a talker's mouth..." hee hee hee.

Anonymous said...

haha I love this post cuz it made me laugh out loud! I especially liked the part about finding out about walk breaks and "rejoicing greatly"
-mkl

MHM said...

In order to have a runner's body, you must have been born and raised in Kenya. The rest of us just have to make do with our (comparatively) stubby legs and shriveled lungs. Oh, well. If you ask me, though, Kristin's body just can't get any better. :) Many laughs in this post, love!

Adam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Adam said...

This answers many questions I didn't have about feet.

Anyways, way to get your feet taken care of and be able to start traing by the start of the season.

Holly said...

Yikes, that foot surgery sounds painful. Anything involving toenails just grosses me out-I think it stems from having one ripped off in my younger years. You're such a trooper.

Mindy said...

1. I heart you!!

2. You've had this blog HOW long and you just tell me about it TODAY?

3. Did you know I am obsessed with running? Ran in high school, ran in college? Training for a marathon currently also (although a wee bit injured). :(

4. I HEART YOU!

Kristin said...

Well, Kar, fartlek is a form of speed training (like intervals), and a runners body is apparently not as long and gangly as mine, and not so prone to hyper-extending.
Mindy- ha ha, love the comment. Well, I would have told you sooner but I could only find your old email address. Email me again??