Hey folks:
Before I get started, I want to congratulate Christina Beaudoin who also ran yesterday, and despite suffering through a horrific stomach flu, managed to complete the 42.195 km course in 5hrs 20 mins! Talk about a determination - I love it!
So when I decided to run this thing about 3 weeks ago - a lot of people were perplexed. My own girlfriend, who should be used to my antics by now thought I was little crazy. I mean - trying to run 42km with NO marathon experience and NO training leading up to the race doesn’t exactly fit into the Running Room Manual. What on earth was I thinking?
Well my theory was that ANYONE who was relatively injury free, and had conditioned their bodies with diverse functional exercise, could complete a marathon - even with no specific training for the event. In the weeks leading up to this race, I ran a total of (3) times. Futhermore, I haven’t run more than 2x week in about a year.
So yesterday morning, I parked my bike at City Hall jumped into my corral and started running! My gameplan was to average a steady 5:00/km for the first 35km or so, and then pick up the pace as my legs would let me. This worked well until I encountered a few rolling hills in the Beaches. The shifting gradients really hurt my legs, and at about 35km I began to experience some severe muscle cramping. So with 7km to go I decided to pull a “Terry Fox” and jogged/limped/walked my way to the 41km mark. Smelling victory - I dipped into my reserve and bolted up Bay Street, crossing the line at 4:18.56, in 1,590th place out of 2,919 marathon competitors. Not quite the 3:40 time I was hoping for, but considering my handicap - I couldn’t have asked for much more out of the old legs.
So what does this mean to YOU?
Our muli-disciplinary, functional style of training will develop both the conditioning base and the mental fortitude to overcome virtually any physical challenge. Keep working hard and keep challenging yourself - it’s worth it!
Marv
P.S. No funds were raised for the SHORT people of Canada - because NOBODY sponsored me. I hope you’re ashamed of yourselves.
Tags: Scotiabank Marathon, Toronto bootcamp, toronto personal trainer, Urban Fitness Playground