18 miles down, 8.2 to go

This is not how I expected to look after running 18 miles for the first time.

Throughout the whole marathon training process, I’ve been told two things consistently — If you can make it through X miles (which has ranged from my neighbor saying five to others saying anywhere from 14–20), you can run a full marathon, and the 18 mile run is the worst part of training.

Why 18 and not 20? Maybe because it’s that bridge in between the medium-range long runs and the 20+ mile threshold, or maybe it’s just because, well, fate dictated that on that particular day that the people I spoke with were each individually going to have a miserable long run.

Those happen. For me, it was the 14 mile run the previous week, which I found to be strange because I had handled 16 with ease the week before. The first time is always supposed to be the worst, right? Wrong, apparently.

Turns out all my fears about the 18 mile barrier were completely unjustified. It was just another long run, albeit two more miles than my previous all time long run, wherein you’re constantly fighting an internal battle to keep going and keep your wits about you all at the same time.

One other thing that nobody warned me about training for a marathon is that right around the 14–15 mile range, your brain starts to short circuit a little bit and things start to get…well, they get a little weird.

For me, that’s when I start asking questions of my running group like “What is your favorite kind of potato?” (early consensus was fries until one guy mentioned that vodka is made of potatoes and given the fact that we were 14 miles in and all kind of sleep deprived at that point, vodka sounded quite good so that became the ultimate choice) and talking to every dog I saw out on the lakefront path, which undoubtedly amused and confused the owners of those dogs. Whatever.

But, between battling the crowds on the lakefront path on Saturday, my own declining mental faculties and aching knees towards the end, 18 miles turned into just another training run. Not only that, but I was in good enough shape to go to the Northwestern football game in Evanston about an hour later.

So much of training for a marathon is mental, and the longer distances can be daunting if only because they are so far and thus physically demanding. Getting through 18 in one piece physically and mentally was huge for me because it showed that I can run those super long distances and should have no problem getting through 20. And if I can make it through a 20 mile run in two weeks, an extra 6.2 miles shouldn’t be a problem. It’s just a 10k, right?

To learn more about Open Heart Magic, which has more than 120 volunteers that go around to Chicago hospitals and teach kids how to do magic tricks and is the charity that I’m running the Chicago Marathon for, please click here and consider donating.