NYT article on the other victims of marathon training

I resemble that remark ... wrote:

Ha, that article hit a little bit too close to home.

I'm a lifelong runner and while only mediocre, even in school, I love the sport. But many people are surprised when they learn how much I love running. I really try to limit the impact on my family and I don't talk about it at all outside of my running friends.

But then, I finally decided to run a marathon. I had heard all these stories about marathons being these amazingly hard experiences, life changing, more painful than childbirth, etc. And I totally bought into it and was so nervous. And so I talked about it much more than I normally would. I'm sure boring everyone around me to tears with tales of my long runs and all my worries about the upcoming race. I was so anxious about shoes, clothing, fuel, I spent way more than I normally would trying to find the perfect mix.

Then I ran the race. Ehhh...shrug...it was a race, you know. I ran my usual mediocre times, but right in line with my 10k times. Longer than other races, but not as painful as some shorter ones.

I felt so sheepish afterward when I ran into people and they politely asked me about how it had gone. I didn't even want to talk about it, I knew how I had blown the whole thing way out of proportion ahead of time. Oh well. You live and learn I guess. I think my husband is glad I'm back to my stealth running though.

Thanks for writing the article. I love reading about running.

Nope wrote:

I resemble that remark ... wrote:

Ha, that article hit a little bit too close to home.

I'm a lifelong runner and while only mediocre, even in school, I love the sport. But many people are surprised when they learn how much I love running. I really try to limit the impact on my family and I don't talk about it at all outside of my running friends.

But then, I finally decided to run a marathon. I had heard all these stories about marathons being these amazingly hard experiences, life changing, more painful than childbirth, etc. And I totally bought into it and was so nervous. And so I talked about it much more than I normally would. I'm sure boring everyone around me to tears with tales of my long runs and all my worries about the upcoming race. I was so anxious about shoes, clothing, fuel, I spent way more than I normally would trying to find the perfect mix.

Then I ran the race. Ehhh...shrug...it was a race, you know. I ran my usual mediocre times, but right in line with my 10k times. Longer than other races, but not as painful as some shorter ones.

I felt so sheepish afterward when I ran into people and they politely asked me about how it had gone. I didn't even want to talk about it, I knew how I had blown the whole thing way out of proportion ahead of time. Oh well. You live and learn I guess. I think my husband is glad I'm back to my stealth running though.

Thanks for writing the article. I love reading about running.

I found the exact same thing after my first marathon. I had run for over 10 years before my first marathon. I had run countless 5k & 10K races in that time, and all my running friends built up the marathon as this ultimate, life changing experience. They all looked down on me because I had never run one, and when I started training for my first, they freaked out like I had announced I was getting married or something. I ran the race...like you a mediocre time...and then life went on. It was pretty much just like every other race I had ever run, except longer. Nothing tranformative or life changing about it. Just a long race. I've run several marathons since, but I still don't get why so many people make such a big deal about it.