What causes great pain, great joy, takes hours to complete and leaves you all sweaty? No, not childbirth - completing a marathon. Yet the similarities between the two events are striking. The initial training for both is pleasant, even rapturous. Both 'outcomes' take months of gestation. Both may involve loss of bladder control. And both are monumentous, unforgettable experiences.

Like childbirth, running a marathon marks a certain coming of age or maturity as a runner. "Fitness is out, experience is in," once remarked famous runner-philosopher George Sheehan's son when asked about his explanation for the marathoning boom. The current second wave of the running boom that shows sharp increase in the numbers of marathoners bears out the observation that what began as a pursuit of health has become an experiential quest.

Completing a marathon, whether run in 2 ½ hours or 6 hours, garners praise and awe from runners and nonrunners alike. It also links one to millennia of running history, dating back to ancient Greece where the race began.

Running a marathon is actually doing two races. The first is a relatively pain-free 20 miles. Then comes the last 10K. The event also takes a marathon of commitment - at least four months up front of physical and mental training.

"I start focusing six months in advance," says Phil Jasperson, one of Washington state's top runners and former winner of Olympia's Capital City Marathon. "Physically and mentally, the marathon is the hardest thing any runner comes up against."

Yet anyone with a reasonable amount of training can finish a marathon, he asserts.

"When you try to improve, that's when it starts to get complicated," Jasperson adds.

So what is a reasonable amount of training with which to even contemplate a marathon?

Experts generally agree that a runner with marathon ambitions should have a base of four to five comfortable miles, three to five times a week. To begin marathon training, add a weekly long run, beginning with an eight-miler and working up to 22 miles. Former Olympic marathoner Jeff Galloway, mastermind of a widely-used training method, advocates adding two miles every other week to the long run while going back down to eight miles on off weeks for a long recovery run. Following is a sample training schedule based on alternating hard weeks with easy weeks, as well as short to moderate distance runs during the week with a long run on weekends:

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wed. 	Thurs.	Friday	Sat.	Sunday	Total
Miles
1	--	4	5	3	--	3	8	23
2	--	4	5	4	--	--	10	23
3	--	4	5	4	--	3	8	24
4	--	4	5	4	--	--	12	25
5	--	4	6	3	--	3	8	24
6	--	4	6	4	--	--	14	28
7	--	4	6	4	2	4	8	28
8	--	4	6	4	3	--	16	33
9	--	4	6	4	--	4	8	26
10	--	4	7	5	3	--	18	36
11	--	4	7	3	4	3	8	29
12	--	5	8	5	3	--	20	41
13	--	4	7	4	6	4	8	33
14	--	5	7	4	5	--	22	43
15	--	4	6	4	--	2	RACE 	42.2

 

Marathon training requires more than putting in the miles. It also takes putting yourself at the center of the universe - at least in terms of physical and mental focus and commitment to fitting in training runs. This may take alerting family, friends and colleagues what you're up to - and how they can help. For example, if there's no marathon training group in the area, ask them to supply you with liquid, food and encouragement at strategic points on long runs. Also, let them know that for the next few months, they may see less of you, and the you they do see may not be all there. In addition to running, marathon training takes more sleep, more food, more hydration and more mental focus than otherwise daily life.

In addition to training, decide early on which marathon you are going for. With marathons from Antarctica to Vietnam to choose from, weather and terrain will vary. Once you've chosen a marathon, register early to get that early-bird discount as well as to keep yourself committed. Also, tailor your training accordingly. For example, if the race course is hilly, include regular hill work in your workouts. If part of the course is unpaved, do some trail runs. If the weather promises to be hot, train in the sun and during the warmest part of the day.

Above all, be truly motivated to train for a marathon. Don't do it on a bet, on a dare or to lose weight. Do it for yourself.

Char Simons has been a distance runner for 20+ years and a triathlete since 1984, as well as a former high school track coach. She writes a weekly running column which can be found every Tuesday in the Olympian, a daily newspaper published in Olympia WA. If you have comments or questions you can contact Char directly at correre@aol.com

Galloways Book on Running Every Runner should have this one in their collection. You can order this book via secure on-line ordering here!