Nine Life Lessons from Marathon Training as an Older Runner
When I was seventeen,I ran the Seattle Marathon following my senior year of cross-country. Ifigured I was in the best shape of my life and this was the time to give amarathon a try. I then largely retired from running, just occasionally trottinga few miles to keep in some kind of shape. In 2018 and 2019 when I saw coverageof the New York City Marathon that goes through all five boroughs, I thought “thatlooks so cool,” but being in my late fifties, I put it down as out of thequestion. In 2020 the NYC marathon was cancelled due to COVID. When it ranagain in 2021, something in me said, “I want to do that.” My son lived inManhattan, I’d been there many times and also visited Brooklyn and the Bronx,but I’d never stepped foot in Queens or Staten Island. And all the crowds andenergy of the event—something called.
Gettinginto the race was complex as I didn’t get selected in the lottery for the 2022race but instead got a slot for the 2023 race if I ran a marathon in Novemberof 2022 anywhere of my choosing. So I trained and trained, designed and ran myown marathon as directed, and then ran the New York City marathon in 2023. Andthen my daughter talked me into running the Colorado Marathon a week ago. Withfour lifetime marathons under my belt, I am now done. But the wisdom I gainedis applicable to many things.
1. Attitude matters. On training runs, gettingout the door is half the battle, but if you go out with the attitude, “this isawful, why am I doing it, I feel terrible, etc.” you will be miserable. If yougo out with the attitude “I get to run today! Once I get going, I’m going tofeel great,” you’ll have a much better experience. Even better if you can smileand nod at people rather than grimace and show suffering. You may scoff, but transmittingwell-being and positive vibes in your neighborhood has a ripple effect. You willcover many miles as you run. You can be a force for grouchiness or a force for cheeriness,your choice.
2. Know your why. This may seem obvious, butwhy are you running? What do you hope to get out of it? A slimmer body? Afeeling of mastery? Bragging rights? Stress release? Maybe you want to improvebone density, lower your blood pressure, stave off diabetes, and increase thelikelihood of a long, healthy life. Because someone else thinks you should is avery weak why. Because other people might admire you is another whythat will fade when the going gets tough. If you’re clear on your why, alot of other stuff falls into place.
3. Don’t compare yourself to others. When Istarted training, most runners were faster than me. Some were way faster.Gradually I improved until some runners were slower than me. But getting caughtup in comparisons is a bad mental trap. The person sprinting by me might onlyhave time for a 2-mile workout while I’m out on a 10-mile run. Someone goingslowly might be on a recovery run or doing low-heartrate training. Anothermight’ve just finished with chemotherapy and it’s their first time back intheir running shoes. You just don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Everyone is outgetting exercise in the fresh air, and it’s wonderful whatever their pace.
4. The natural world matters. I’m not a fanof running in heat or in the rain, but it takes many months to train for a marathon,so you’re bound to hit unpleasant weather now and again. Train anyway. Altitudematters. The elevation of the Colorado Marathon that started at 6500 feetkicked my butt because I’d trained almost entirely at sea level. So it goes.Air quality matters. During the fires in California a couple years back the airwas so bad I couldn’t leave the house. I got a treadmill that I will use underduress, but breathable air is fundamental to existence, and I’m not sure why wedon’t all take it more seriously. The most important thing about the naturalworld is that it’s wonderful! I live in San Francisco, and it’s 1.5 miles frommy front door to the Panhandle. On the way I have to deal with traffic, unevensidewalks, and stoplights. But once I get to the path that winds through 100-year-oldtrees, life is good. A couple more stoplights and I’m in Golden Gate Park whereI can run miles surrounded by flora and fauna and shade and birdsong and nocars. (Numerous public bathrooms are a big plus.) Being out in nature issoothing and energizing and a reward in and of itself. Everyone should haveaccess to large stretches of nature. It should be a basic human right.
5. What you ingest matters. Your body ismade up of what you feed it. Things that are toxic really do affect it. Graduallyover the years I’ve shed many things from my diet: high fructose corn syrup,corporate fast food, corporate highly processed carbs, alcohol, most sugar, and,recently, seed oils. What’s left to eat, you might ask? All sorts of delicious thingsthat don’t have to cost that much or take long to prepare. YMMV, but I eatdairy, vegetables, some meat, some complex carbs, and I drink a lot of tea. I also occasionally indulge instreet tacos and bread from small bakeries. When I upped my mileage, I upped myprotein intake with more eggs per week. I did have to add a banana in the mornings before long runs. Eating this way mybody feels great. My inflammation levels are low, and my energy levels arehigh. I take some supplements, but no medications. If you’re strong, young, andfit, you can probably get by with some toxicity now and again, but theolder you get, the more this stuff matters. The other thing I’ll point out isthat since muscle weighs more than fat, when you start to get in shape you’lllikely lose inches more quickly than weight, but that’s okay, because your waistline is far more important to your health anyway.
6. Honor who you are, your body, and yourlimits. I like running alone at my own pace, listening to my music, beingwith my thoughts. My daughter really likes running with other people. Neitheris better or worse; our preferences are intrinsic to who we are. Silly not toknow how you’re wired and honor that. Same with your body. If you listen to it,it’ll tell you all sorts of things, but since most of us are disconnected fromour bodies, it can take a while to learn the language. My tai chi teacher oncesaid, “There's the pain of injury and the pain of change. Learn to know thedifference.” I would add that there is pain to ignore and pain to pay attentionto. Pretty much every runner will tell you the first mile never feels good. Duringthat mile I often get fleeting pain in my knees, hips or muscles. 99% of thetime these things go away. When pain is stabbing or doesn’t go away, it’s timeto pay attention, maybe even stop. If you train incrementally and onlygradually increase miles/intensity, this kind of pain is less likely to occur.But when it does, you have to deal with it, even if it means you have to take aweek or two off. Appreciate your body; thank it. It’s a wonderful gift, ahighly advanced piece of biochemical machinery that’s yours for life. Never derideit or shame it. It hears what you say. Lastly, limits. As you get in shape,your limits will expand, but they will still be there. If you’re over 40 andnot Kenyan, you are unlikely to ever win a major marathon. That’s okay. Knowyour why. I started training for the NYC marathon to challenge my bodyand have a certain experience. Though I would’ve liked to have run a BostonMarathon qualifying time for my age group, I never quite managed it. If I’dtrained 50 miles a week instead of 40, maybe I could’ve achieved it, but I hadmy limits. And the Boston Marathon was never my why. I achieved my whyand I’m satisfied.
7. Good tech can help. When I was in highschool, I was thrilled to have a pair of Nike trainers with waffle bottoms. Theother “tech” assistance I had was heavy cotton sweats, t-shirts, and water from drinking fountains. I seriously didn’t even own a water bottle. Now I have afitness watch, headphones, a great running playlist, a cheststrap for low-heartratetraining, gels, a hydration backpack, lycra leggings, great shoes with inserts,good sports bras, a waistpack, a variety of running shirts suited to differentconditions, sunglasses, visors, and four different kinds of electrolyte mixes Ilike. Whew! All this stuff does help (especially the music.) But in the end,you still have to run the miles.
8. Small increments are powerful. Trainingfor a marathon is a long road. I started out running 9 miles a week and over thecourse of 6 months worked up to 40 miles a week. With enough time, dedication,and small increments, you can do things you might not believe possible.Increments are important in other ways. We create our bodies and our lives onebite, one step, and one thought at a time. Yes, a doughnut here, a grouchy thoughtthere, or even a skipped training run is not going to make much difference. Buta pattern of them sure will. It’s the pattern that counts. The good news isthat in every moment you can start afresh. Your point of power is now, goingforward. One step, one bite, one thought at a time.
9. Find the joy. This was a tip from anultra-marathoner. A good attitude and knowing your why are important,but there’s even a deeper level to obtain. If running makes you miserable, don’tdo it: find some other way to achieve your why. But even being so-soabout your training is a waste of time because, like almost everything, if youdig deep enough, there is joy to be found in tackling a marathon. It may befrom your body when you can stride along without gasping for air. It may befrom birdsong in the morning hours, the aromatic fresh air, or the sunset thatcloses down the evening. It may be from waving at a small child on your run orgreeting a tree friend. Whatever it is, find it. We are all responsible for ourown joy. No one can give it to you. But it will be there if you seek it. Find the joy.
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