tatoo's,marathons, and potato chips

janie1234

janie1234

Cathlete
For all you marathoners are marathons like tatoo's and potato chips? You just can't have one? I just ask because everywhere I go I read about someone finishing or training for a marathon. Does anyone just run just to run? I can understand wanting to accomplish something so physically challenging but what I can't understand is the glutton for punishment thing. Everyone I've spoken to talks about how after a marathon they've had some sort of injury, . . but months later they're off to the races again. On the plane to Washington for a buisness trip I met a very nice 54 year old woman who does Iron Man marathons, . . and I asked her if she has many injuries and she said to many to count. So I'm just curious why do people keep doing it the sport is so prone to injury?? I understand that all sports are prone to injury but it seems that marathons and injury just go hand and hand. That rush of completing must be so great. I at one point wanted to run a marathon but during training I injured my foot which has prevented me from being able to run any distance farther than 10 miles, . . so I've accepted this but I feel like I'm missing something. Dare I try and get sucked into the marathon frenzy???
 
I just finished a half marathon a few weeks ago. I also suffer from chronic Plantar facsiitis. I really want to do a full marathon in April of next year. Why? I just really love to run. And I like to push myself, but I won't do it if I can't do it injury free. The half just really did my foot in. So I really can't answer the question why.... I just love to run.
 
It's really an addiction. Runners aren't exactly a "sane" bunch of folks, so don't expect any kind of reasonable-sounding response to your question. ;) We just love to do it.

I'm positively itching to do another half-marathon (I've done two half-marathons and a full marathon before, then I was laid up for a year due to - you guessed it - injury). I've got my injury pretty well under control now (I actually never had a problem during my marathon training or marathon - it was only when I started doing CC three times a week that I had problems - go figure), so I think I will start training for another half. Yeah, it hurts a little bit. But the sense of accomplishment just can't be beat.

Sure, I love to run for running's sake, but the thing that really drives me is TRAINING for an event. I love having a challenge to meet.

I've heard marathons compared to childbirth. Having never experienced childbirth, I can't say for sure if this is true... but they say, yeah, it hurts for a few hours. And it hurts A LOT at the end. But once it's over, you forget about the pain and you'd do it all over again. It's true. I've pretty much forgotten how much running the marathon hurt. I would definitely do it again. :)
 
I do like potato chips, but have no tattoos!...:)...I was addicted after my 1st marathon, to run more of them and improve my time. I know for a fact that not everyone feels this way after a marathon. I have run marathons for specific times and also some just to run and finish. I have run at least one in pain from ITB. I did finish and it about killed me. But like Evily said it is a true addiction for those of us that love running. Not all runners like marathons and there is not a thing wrong with that. I have not always been injured after a marathon. Age can be an injury factor and not training very smart can lead to injuries IMO. Don't feel like you have to get sucked into the frenzy!!...:)
 
I love the name of this thread;) Running is just like potato chips!:p Yum!

This is the first year that I have ever competed in anything. I was very hesitate b/c I guess I didn't have faith in myself. I was thinking.."what about if I get a stitch, what if I can't finish it"? All those self doubts aren't good but once I got past that I was o.k. My first race was a 10 mile one and out of 2095 people, I placed 372...and thats when my self doubt went away. I realized that I was a much better runner then I thought I was. My next race was smaller on all levels but I finished first in women. Then my most recent one, that left me crippled for 3 days...not b/c of an injury but b/c of the DOMS in my legs, I again, did very well considering it was one of the hardest races in NorthAmerica, on the eastern side.It was one of those races that I was even lucky to finish, never mind place 3rd in my age group!
All of these years I never thought that I could do a Marathon b/c I didn't think my knees could stand it but after training for my last race, I never had a hitch. Then I was talking to a co-worker whose wife runs...and I never thought in a million years that she would have trained for a marathon ( I see her running around town but she isn't very fast and I just never thought that she could do it, awful I know!) but she has. Thats when I came to the conclusion that I think I can do this!
It is one of those things that once you get bitten by the bug, you can't stop. I love competing. Not b/c I think I am going to win, I just love the rush of running with 100's of people and the energy I get from it would probably be enough to get me through a marathon.

Lori:)
 
Last edited:
gidget1978 said:
It is one of those things that once you get bitten by the bug, you can't stop. I love competing. Not b/c I think I am going to win, I just love the rush of running with 100's of people and the energy I get from it would probably be enough to get me through a marathon.

Lori:)
Click to expand...

I can see how the energy and the satisfaction of the actual race can be so addictive, . . .like an endorphin rush maybe???? I don't know. Maybe I'm just to chicken to be injured since I've been injured before.
 
I think its about achieving goals... I would venture to say that if you are a "goal oriented" person, you probably enjoy running a marathon more than someone who isn't.

I've done some competitive racing, the most I've done is a 1/2 marathon and an olympic tri. For me it was all about reaching the goal I set for myself. I don't really enjoy doing long training doing the same thing all of the time ( I'm more of a gym rat) but it felt sooo good to achieve something that I didn't think I could do.

I agree about the injury factor.. its rare to find somebody who does lots of marathons/tris/etc that doesn't have at least one injury. But, there is something about "overcoming the obstacle of pain" to reach a goal as well.. even if it has long term effects.

Lynn M.
 
I do think the feeling of accomplishment afterwards is very addicting, and for me, that's why I'm training for another one (even though I swore up and down this would be my one and only one, and I would go back to half-marathons after this). I'll confess: I love the bragging rights :).

As for the training aspect, I truly love the people I train with, so the training itself is fun, and that keeps me coming back again and again for the training. And since I'm doing all this training, I may as well go for the ultimate goal, right?

That said, I don't envision myself ever going beyond this (i.e. you won't see me doing Ironman competitions or 100-mile ultramen, no sir). But I've proven that this is a doable thing for me AND that I can have fun doing it, so I'm going to keep on doing it.

I got very lucky that I didn't get injured in my training or in my event; I had fantastic coaches who knew exactly what to have me do to get me across that finish line in as healthy a way as possible, so I'm going to keep hanging on their every word to make sure I don't get injured this go around either (wish me luck, though :)).

Jennifer
 
I just ran in a 13K on Saturday and this topic came up regarding running just for the sake of running. I guess for me, I need some sort of challenge and participating in races is my challenge. I started this year and have become very addicted. I don't know if I would ever do a marathon but I'm doing my first 1/2 marathon in December.

It's strange because I started with the goal of doing a 10K this past April. Before the 10K I did a 5K with my sister and her friend. The Monday after the 5K her friend emails us with a Race Schedule with a number of races listed along with the 1/2 marathon in December. At that point I never even considered the 1/2 marathon but my sister and I loved the idea. Her friend has almost completely stopped running but my sister and I have kept up the running and the schedule. I loved the 13K I did on Saturday. I felt AMAZING!! For some reason I suffer through the 5Ks but enjoy the longer distances.

BTW...I am injury free but I get very sore from running. I can't and won't run 2 days in a row.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top