Scared of the marathon (Read 797 times)

Funny, I'm the opposite. Anything longer than 10 miles doesn't really scare me. It's the short stuff that really gets me worked up. For me, nothing is as frightening as a 1500 or mile race. I think it's because the only thing that scares me is the possibility that I might wimp out and not really go to the edge. In a marathon, it's easy to go to the edge because it's such a long, slow bleed. You've got plenty of time to make sure that you're completely spent by the time you finish. With shorter races, if you zone out for a second, it might be too late. Lap 3 of a mile is always the worst for me. It's so tempting to just cruise, letting your pace drop by a second or two. You have to keep staring the pain in the face or you won't run anywhere close to a PR.

Well put.

To all, How many months before your first marathon did you register? I'm thinking of Hartford (10/11) and want to be sure I'm ready. How did you know you were ready to take on the marathon?

Depends on the marathon and how fast it fills up. I tend to train first, then register. But some races fill up fast.

I'm scared of them all and they make me VERY nervous...and I've run 2 under 2:30. I run them all out and have only finished one (my PR ironically) where I was not completely destroyed. It is intimidating to start a race you know will rip you apart if you get it right. I don't think the average marathoner these days takes it to that extreme but nonetheless it is a very intimidating race. I don't think most people are intimidated enough. It is something to be respected.

I second your comments about most people not being intimidated enough, because that is ME. I ran a half, went great. Thought how much harder can a full Marathon be? My answer to my own question - More then half as hard. I have a new respect for those that run marathons, and their times...blow my mind.

I am doing Shamrock...I have family in VA Beach...It is flat but I hear the wind can be a problem off the ocean at times...I hear the post-race party is very nice and fun... Myrtle Beach was also one I considered but in the end I decided to go with Shamrock...I may very well do MB in 2010...This one is a little farther for me to travel and it has a 6:30 a.m. start... VA Creeper is a low key marathon on the VA Creeper trail...I do not know much about that one,....

I ran the Shamrock this past spring. It was my first marathon, and I wanted a relatively easy one, a spring one (so I wouldn't have to do my long runs in the hottest part of summer) and one where I could be sure the weather would be cool. It was all those things, but I will never run it again. It was SO boring! I do many of my long runs (in fact, all my 20+ runs going into Shamrock) alone, so I don't need huge crowds to keep me going, but there is very little crowd support at all. None for must of the race, in fact. It was quite ugly. I thought we 'd run in view of the ocen for a good bit of the race, but there were maybe 4 miles with ocean views. Much of it was run through miliary bases of various sorts with nothing but cinderblock buildings for a view. (Maybe I'm spoiled because I live and run in central Virginia, which is pretty). And it was certainly flat. Since I never run a flat mile other than at the track, I didn't quite grasp just how flat "flat' is. Folks around me commented on the "hill" as we went over a small bridge! that was the biggest climb. The race was organized & the shirts were decent (but beware! the sizing is 'unisex' which is French for 'men's.' My small shirt is huge on me. I'm 5'3" and 130lbs, so I'm not a teeny tiny person). You get a nice technical hat that says 26.2 fiinsher on the back as you come over the finish, which was nice. I don't care about the post race party -- my husband and kids met me at the finish and we went for lunch, so I actually never saw it and thus can't report on it. Yuengling is the sponsor, so for those who drink beer after (I can't imainge anything less appealing after a long run!) at least it's good beer. It wasn't a horrible first marathon experience, but it wasn't great either.