For those of you who aren't familiar with the pro runner Bill Rodgers (I wasn't until about 4 days ago), he's a repeat winner of several marathons including Boston. He was announced as one of the Expo speakers during the Monumental packet pick-up, and someone at work told me if I ever had the chance to hear him speak, I should. Since I had today off work, I thought why not? He's now 64 years old, and still running marathons, although he said these days he prefers the half. We all know that running is hard on the body, especially the joints, and I couldn't help but notice as he made his way onstage he had a pretty distinct hunchback as well as what looked to be either a limp or funny gait.
While he didn't say anything that was completely new to me, most of what he said that you should be doing during your training, were things that I have been following over the past 6 months. Good thing, since it's the day before the race! Here were the tips he gave in the short 20 minutes that he spoke:
1. Get a shoe that fits your foot type, whether rigid or loose.
2. Cross-train. Do more than JUST run. He suggested weight lifting and yoga in particular.
3. Ease into a running program, and take time to figure it out. His opinion was that Galloway was the best running coach out there.
4. Spend 5% of your training on grass or dirt roads, which ease the impact of your foot hitting the ground.
5. Pace yourself on race day by either signing up for a pace group or using a watch.
6. Make it fun! Go out to dinner with your spouse or friends to celebrate all your long runs and races.
He added a few reasons why he personally enjoys the sport of running so much. First of all, it's uplifting to everyone involved. During a race it's not about a competition with others (except maybe for the Kenyans who are neck and neck at the finish). It's about everyone doing their personal best on that day. Secondly, it's something you can always return to, unlike with most other sports. Rodgers said he met a man earlier who's last marathon was 27 years ago, but he decided to make a comeback and do this race tomorrow. It's so inspiring to hear about people like that who are in the same crowd as you.
My agenda for the rest of the day is making a fun, new playlist for my iPod. I probably won't use it the whole time, because during races, I like to be more aware of what's going on around me, but it's good to have motivation with just the click of the "Play" button. Dinner tonight is homemade spaghetti and breadsticks, then hopefully falling asleep early. I still feel too relaxed, considering that tomorrow is THE day. Maybe the nervousness will hit me in the middle of the night. Or maybe it won't until I'm standing by the start line waiting for 8am to hit.
Barring any unforeseen injuries, next time I write, I will be a marathoner!!
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