I have never been an exceptional athlete in terms of being the strongest, the fastest, or the most skilled. There are no Al Bundy-like tales of four touchdowns in one game for Polk High to regale or boast about from my previous athletic feats. I was just athletic and coordinated enough to contribute to sports teams growing up for football, basketball, and track (the 400 meters). If you asked me back, then if I would ever run a marathon, the answer would be an emphatic NO! Running that distance or longer distances seemed to be the most uncomfortable and self-abusive thing you could put yourself through. That reality is still true, but my attitude towards it has changed dramatically.
Running has become more popular as society has become inundated with health and wellness tips, protocols, data, and advertisements. Some of us do it because we are naturally gifted (not me, which is perfectly fine). It gives us an air of uniqueness and accomplishment that few people achieve. In case you were wondering, according to ChatGPT, only about 0.016% of the World’s Population, or 0.17% of the United States’ population, complete a marathon annually. The number of individuals becomes even more scarce when you enter Ironman or ultramarathons. If you happen to run a marathon faster than 3 hours and 30 minutes, you are better than 85% to 90% of the people who run marathons, and if under 3 hours, you are in the top 1-2% (according to ChatGPT). This scarcity of participation in this small group will undoubtedly drive some people to continue. For others, we fall more into the latter category of enjoying the process of self-improving, eating what we want and not feeling guilty about it, and going through a difficult process to come out stronger in mind and body. Another reason we do it is that running essentially mirrors the hardships and obstacles we all encounter in life, and if you’re like me, you want to make sure you stay ready for whatever comes.
2023
Some of you are familiar with how I got into running from a previous blog post, which has helpful tips to address lumbar discogenic back pain. After sustaining two herniated lumbar discs in 2023 and recovering only through exercise and education (yes, very possible without medications, injections, surgery, etc.), I walked the same marathon in 2024 which helped to solidify that my back was healed enough (tissue remodeling continues over a year) and ready for more. Eight months of training on my own yielded the results below. Still, more importantly, it helped me to discover that I wanted to continue running and get better at it because I value and enjoy the growth as a person, to be able to translate that to handle the adversity that comes for all of us in life.
Key Takeaways from the Marathon
There are lots, so I will list them to make it short and sweet for you:
(Organic shake of dates, walnuts, almond butter, and carrot juice the day before the marathon)
- Carbo loading 2-3 days before the marathon with foods you know pass through you without gas issues or upsetting your stomach (fruit, pasta, bread, shakes). If you need meat protein, stick with lean meats such as chicken or fish because they are easier to digest for most and do not promote inflammation like red meat. I stayed away from vegetables, particularly the day before the race, as the insoluble fiber can cause loose stools, which you don’t want during the race. The day before, I was loading up on as many carbs as possible, as I wanted to make sure my muscles had maximal glycogen stores available. You can calculate the grams of carbs you should intake per lb of body weight. My focus was to enjoy the experience, leading up to and during. I encourage everyone, even non-runners, to partake in the marathon festivities when picking up your bib. Life is short, you’ve got to enjoy the moments. I made sure to intake carbohydrates regularly every hour.
- To protect your nipples and private areas from repetitive friction, Gold Bond Friction Defense for the chest and coconut oil to protect your “guys” or “lady bits” down below worked very well. If you think you don’t need that, go ahead and go without it, and then take a hot shower afterwards. Then, please provide feedback on how much of a slice of heaven that felt!
- The chosen shoes and socks worked very well for this marathon and will be ones I continue to use. There were no issues with blisters or toenails being pulled from the toes. I’m not mentioning specific brands because each person should get a customized assessment and the right shoes, regardless of the brand names or the hype. For more information about attaining proper footwear, see our previous blog post. I will say that Balega Adult Blister Resist Performance No Show Athletic Running Socks are fantastic and will keep your feet friction-free.
- Training on inclines on my short runs helped tremendously to get through the inclines, which were the first half of the marathon, near my targeted pace of 9:30 per mile. I looked forward to the inclines rather than the declines because my legs were more prone to fatigue and cramping when running the downhills. This was because it is easier to overload the thighs as going downhill makes you want to push it and go faster. Maintaining a natural, steady pace going downhill was essential to prevent excessive eccentric stress in my quads, leading to potentially more micro-tearing and responsive swelling of the lower extremities.
- Building up my core was incredibly important, especially after recovering from disc herniations. The disc heights of affected discs decrease, and their load-bearing capabilities change to be less cushioning against gravity than before my injury. Pain and/or fatigue may onset faster in the lower back and legs because of vertical compression on pain receptors and spinal nerves. Sufficient core muscle strength combats this occurrence, and if individuals who are recovering from disc herniations want to keep improving in run times, they will have to continue to work on that. Before the start of the marathon, I performed my typical mobility and core activation routine in the hotel room. I’d say this was critical to get in the right frame of mind and ensure the proper hip and core muscles were activated and ready to go.
- The night before, ASTYM treatment to my left leg and Kinesio Taping the left medial leg to assist in helping activate my ankle invertors and prevent swelling from an irritated medial calcaneal nerve, for me, made a noticeable and valuable difference. My low back injury and medial left foot injury caused muscles innervated by spinal levels L4 and L5 to not fully support my medial arches early on in training, which led to irritation of the medial calcaneal nerve. After 8 months of training, my long training runs of 19 plus miles were fine with slight irritability, but I didn’t know how the body would respond to 26.2 miles. My left side gave me zero problems during and after the race. My right leg, which had given me no problems during training, started to cramp up on me at mile 22. For the next marathon, I’m treating both sides!
- Miles 20 to 24 is when I hit the wall and got off my desired pace. Looking back on it now and after talking to a client of mine who has run numerous marathons domestically and internationally, some things that I would change in preparation for my next marathon is getting more run volume in as my training mileage was a modest 25 – 30 miles per week, incorporate negative split training (running the second half of my training runs faster than the first half), and make sure my goo gel replenishment was more on point. Admittedly the last third of the race I was less sharp and was not replenishing every 30 minutes as I had done for the first 2/3 of the race. It was more like every 45 minutes for the last third, thinking I could rely on just liquid electrolytes from hydration stations. Lesson learned.
- At miles 24-26, if you’re not majorly injured and have trained, adrenaline will take over, and you will resume your targeted marathon pace.
So that wasn’t as short and sweet as I thought, but it covered all the takeaways from my first but not my last marathon. We have firsthand knowledge of getting your body healthy and right to compete in a marathon. I encourage everyone to give doing a single marathon a shot or at least never say, “never”. I’ll be the first to attest to that! You’ll learn a lot about yourself and perhaps find another activity/outlet that you come to respect and enjoy!
Bonus Tidbit:
Twenty miles from LAX in downtown Los Angeles is Wi Spa, the best-kept secret for your post-marathon recovery. Open 24 hours and for the price of a half a tank of gas, men and women, have access to: private parking to the facility, storage for belongings, showers, grooming products, hot tub, cold tub, lounge areas where you can sleep, a rooftop deck where you can also rest, and multiple hot sauna rooms that allow you to relax on different surfaces such as clay, salt, or bamboo. Cold rooms, a gym, and desktop computers are also included. Multiple wellness services (massage, skin treatments, etc.) are available for extra fees, and even a restaurant is available. No, I’m not associated with them. It’s just a great find if you happen to be in the Los Angeles area and need to unwind or recover.
