The Build Up -Irving Marathon

The Marathon training cycle is special. It’s a constant rollercoaster of emotion (for me anyway) but ends with a sense of accomplishment, determination, and relief. 

At the beginning of this training cycle (which was in November 2018 because I was trying to rush into Dallas Marathon in Dec 2018) kept being prolonged because I couldn’t find a race to fully commit to. After deciding to rush into the Dallas Marathon was a bad idea (duh), I had my eyes on the Cowtown in feb. Which was perfect timing because I could ease back into high mileage after the holidays. My mileage started to peak in mid January (got to 16 miles) when I found out we would be gone for business (fam business probs) during the Cowtown weekend. My first thought was to try to find a race in Arizona (which is where our business trip was located), but OF COURSE that one weekend there wasn’t a marathon close to where we would be staying. 

The search continued..... 

At this point in time I had slowed my role in increasing my mileage because I was wearing a new brand of shoes that caused major hip pain and I didn’t want to peak too early before committing to a race. 

I finally committed to The Irving Marathon the end of April. Not only was it flat, but a BQ course as well. 

Throughout this whole training cycle I never thought about a BQ too hard just knew it was something I eventually wanted to achieve. So this course would be a perfect “trial run” (literally and figuratively) for how I close (or far) I am to BQ’ing without actually trying to BQ. If that makes sense? 

That way I can tweak my training cycle & nutrition accordingly for the next race. I definitely want my next marathon training cycle (after Irving) to be a BQ mindset. 

But I’m ONE day away from the race so I can’t exactly change my mind now! 

So many ups and downs throughout this process. 

Some runs I felt SO fast and confident, others I felt slow. 

Some days I felt totally motivated and others I dreaded going for a run. 

The beauty of running is that if you put in the work, it WILL REWARD YOU. So the work I did.

Needless to say, marathon training has taught me a lot about myself. As I’m ending my training program for marathon #2 I’ve realized there are so many vital parts play into performance. I’ve posted this to social media but wanted to elaborate a little more here.. 

• Food/fuel directly affects how we perform (not to mention how we feel) Nutrition is probably the most important part of training other than the actual training effort because it can determine how much you can physically give. I contribute my successful training cycle to my diligent nutrition. I’ve ran LESS than last marathon training cycle and have been able to IMPROVE.
• It takes time. Be patient with the process & with yourself. It a JOURNEY.. which means it simply takes time. This is SO important. And I preach this to mamas every day in their postpartum journeys as well. Anything good in life takes work. Hard work. Head-down- determination to climb the constant up-hill battle to reach our goals. Good things truly do come to those who wait.. and those who also hustle. But it takes an even amount of BOTH. 
• Find a program that works for YOU. Everyone’s body is different and responds differently to the stress of exercise. For me, I can’t run 6 days a week or log a large amount of miles because my body can’t handle the stress. I get injured, sick, and extremely fatigued (I also have lingering affects of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome from years ago) so it is SO very important not to compare my training to others. Every. body. is. different. 
• Cross training is extremely important to keep muscles balanced & firing properly. (glutes, hams, core) but also important in keeping things interesting so you don’t get burned out. I love to spin and do light weight/body weight exercises (usually both with peloton) on my cross training days. If you have mini bands those are GOLD during the training cycle. 
• Listen to your body. Rest is difficult to do but your body desperately needs it. It will tell you when it needs to chill out, and if you don’t listen, it will MAKE YOU chill out. Don’t learn the hard way! 
• Surround yourself with likeminded people who will encourage you & push you. Maybe find a local run club to join or find running buddies. I love my local run club, but there are a lot of times I have to run solo with the stroller which is totally fine. And if that ends up being you, Im here to push you! Keep up the hard work!
• Run with people FASTER than you. You can also learn a thing or two from veteran runners. I’ve learned so much from people in my local run club. (Like starting a food log journal, what types of running workouts to try, to add speed work, etc.)
• Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Enjoy the journey. Trust the process. Love what you’re doing! 

As I end this training cycle all I can be is grateful for this ability to run. I always tell people to trust their training, and now I am telling myself that. I’ve done the work and put in the hours. Now comes the fun part. THE REWARD.  

If you are running this weekend I wish you all the luck! Trust your training & have fun! 

IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW MY RACE:
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Event: Irving Marathon
Bib #: 209
Name: Tori Caves