MenopausalMarathoner Answers Your FAQ's

The training continues……lots of running. I ran for 3 hours and 19 minutes this past Sunday. That was 14 miles, which if you project forward means it would take me about 6 hours to finish the full marathon. The cut off is 7 hours. That’s when they start packing the tents and take down the finish line. The only people left to cheer me on would be the truly diehard “’Pausal Possey” members, of which there are few. I hope to make you proud or at least not too embarrassed to wear your “’Pausal Possey” gear around the house. I still have 2 and a half months left to train.

I get many questions from people when I tell them about the marathon and I thought this would be a good time to answer as many as I can. Really, there is no reason that I can’t answer all of them now that I think about it. So here they are:

Are you running a half marathon?                                                                                                               

 I get this question almost every time I say, “I’m going to run a marathon.” I wonder if my feelings should be hurt. Let me set the record straight. I am running a marathon which is 26.2 miles long. The original marathon man was a Greek named Phidippides. He was on a mission too. It was slightly more important than mine. He was warning Athens of a possible attack from Persia. He had a busy week with lots of running and battling and then he died.

Does anything hurt when you run?  
                                                                                      
 If you were to see me while I’m running, you would surely think that everything hurts. You might say to yourself “Boy, SOMETHING is surely hurting that poor woman.” But you would be mistaken. I have been very lucky so far in that no body parts are causing me any long term pain or discomfort. I have the occasional twinge here or there but it generally goes away as soon as I stop running. I stretch semi-aggressively on a regular basis and pay particular attention to my Achilles tendons since I read they are more susceptible for injury in older persons. I mostly have issues with “tired” muscles, obviously in my legs. I soak in Epsom salt baths or the Atlantic Ocean (if it’s available) on a regular basis which seems to somewhat relieve the tiredness.

 

Will you need bathroom breaks during the marathon?                                                                                              

 YES!! I can’t run more than 5 miles without needing a bathroom break. It’s not what you think though. I have no trouble holding my urine, I can’t stop my bowels from moving. In other words, running gives me the runs. I finally read somewhere that it’s not an uncommon problem and is caused by all of the bouncing around. This is a real issue,  because as I’m sure you all know, when you have the runs, you don’t have a lot of time to find a toilet. For my training, I have become very skilled at finding nice wooded areas and squatting. This will not be an option during the actual marathon. I believe there will be portable potties at regular intervals and I will need to be proactive with my stops to “eliminate” this problem before it becomes urgent.

 

Have you found the “zone” yet?                                                           

No, I have not. Unless of course, the “zone” is that special place where you are constantly checking your times, questioning your sanity, and worrying about finishing the miles. I can only dream about the elusive “zone”. When I find it, I’ll let you know.

 

Are you on any special nutrition plan?                                                                                                                   

Not exactly, but I do try to eat something in the "not too unhealthy" food group every 3 hours and keep a 4:1 carb to protein ratio, especially for recovery periods. I live on Clif bars. My favorites are White Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Peanut Butter. I also drink huge amounts of water and Gatorade the night prior to any run. I have become a disciple of hydration and have accepted that Diet Pepsi is not a hydration friend. I carry a fuelbelt with me on long runs. This can best be described as a fanny pack with water bottles attached to it. You do not have to be a marathon runner to have one of these. Dick’s will sell one to anybody for $45.99. No kidding.

 

What do you do for a warm down?                                                                    

 I walk home. For long runs I may locate the nearest park bench and rest before I walk home.

 

What is your favorite thing about training for the marathon?                                                                                    

That’s an easy one.  I love being in shape and being able to eat virtually whatever I want. I burned almost 3000 calories running last week.

 This is a good summary of the many questions that come my way. I hope I’ve given you a better picture into what this whole process has become for me. I do love it and feel blessed to be able to engage in it. I am having so many experiences that I would never have dreamed of having just a year ago.

 That leads to the last, but still very important FAQ, which I will ask of myself:

 What would you say is the most important thing that you’ve learned so far?   

I've learned lots of very important things. It's hard to say whether they are things that I have known all along (and forgotten) or things that are brand new to me.

 They are things like:

*Double knot my shoe strings.

*Trim my toenails.

*Being patient and kind not only works best on other people but on me too.

*If I treat my body well it will amaze me.

*Days off are as important as days on.

*It’s Ok to look around at the beautiful scenery but don’t lose track of the path for too long or you may trip and fall.

*And finally…some miles are longer than others