- I'm about to run a half-marathon for the first time.
- But if I could, I'd go back to the moment I signed up and tell myself to think twice.
- Long-distance running can be boring, unglamorous, and, if you're not careful, it can cause injuries.
There's a joke I keep seeing online: People in their 20s wake up one day and decide they have to either get married or run a marathon.
In my case, it was the latter. Back in March, I signed up for a half-marathon, but I didn't exactly do it on a whim. In 2006, my mom ran the New York City Marathon, and it's among the many reasons I've always looked up to her.
My first long-distance race is now around the corner, and though I feel ready to run 13.1 miles, I'm not sure I would've signed up knowing what I know now.
Training for a half-marathon is painstakingly boring
Before training for my race, the farthest I'd ever run was 5 miles. For me, that's the perfect amount of time to listen to a podcast or a few songs from my running playlist.
But when I began following a 12-week running plan designed by Runna, an app charging users $18 a month to create a personalized training schedule, I found myself dealing with the sheer boredom of going on runs that took a lot more time than what I was used to.
My training plan saw me going on three runs a week over 11 weeks, while my final week was just one run before the Sunday race. The distances varied each week, but I'd have one long run (which ranged from 4.9 to 11.2 miles), one "easy" run (about 3 to 5 miles), and one run consisting of interval training, or running at different speeds with short walking breaks (about 2 to 5 miles, typically).
Unlike other forms of exercise, such as indoor cycling or high-intensity interval training, running long distances is repetitive, so much so that it requires just as much mental strength as it does physical strength to finish successfully.
Oftentimes on these long runs, I'd find myself being so tempted to stop — not because I was tired, but because I was bored.
You'll have less time to do other forms of exercise
One of the things I miss most about life prior to training for a marathon is how varied my exercise routine was. In a typical week, I'd have time for several gym sessions, yoga, and either indoor cycling or a HIIT class.
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As much as I tried to incorporate different exercises along with my training at the start of my half-marathon journey, it honestly became too difficult to maintain.
While I knew that going to a yoga class once a week could be beneficial for recovery after a long run, I found myself feeling too tired to go or skipping it in favor of socializing on my running rest days.
Running can lead to injuries in some people
When I told my mom I'd signed up for a half-marathon, I expected her to be proud for following in her footsteps. She was, but she also warned of the damage I could be doing to my body long term.
Following her experience running the New York City Marathon, she underwent two major surgeries, including a hip resurfacing, which her doctors linked to her running habit.
Now 60, my mom is a wellness practitioner teaching yoga and Pilates. Her long-distance-running days are behind her — and while she looks back at them fondly, she now says she thinks running works only for some people.
"I loved running because it got me to relax, but I know it wasn't the best thing for my body," my mom said.
As is the case with any sport, if you don't listen to your body and rest, you can get hurt. According to the Cleveland Clinic, common running injuries include stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and iliotibial-band syndrome.
If you think you'll lose weight training for a half-marathon, think again
In my naivete, I thought training for a half-marathon a week would help me lose weight.
But the opposite happened. I've put on a couple of pounds and look noticeably less toned than I was earlier this year when I was doing other forms of exercise.
On days when I've run a long distance, I've noticed my desire to snack has increased as well as cravings for larger meal portions.
My experience is actually pretty common. Running resources like Runners World and the Marathon Handbook have shared several articles over the years discussing increases in appetite while training for a long-distance race.
Reasons for this phenomenon vary, but common causes include that running simply burns a lot of calories and that it's easy to confuse thirst for hunger as they are regulated in the same part of the brain.
Running isn't glamorous, and, yes, you might poop yourself
Since starting my training, I've noticed a lot of content creators on my TikTok and Instagram feed depicting running as a glamorous sport.
But they aren't painting a full picture.
There have been long runs where I've nearly thrown up after taking an energy gel, a thick, gooey substance that runners consume for extra energy (likely because I didn't drink enough water with the gel or because I was running on a warmer day). There have also been times when the extra pressure running puts on my pelvic floor muscles left me desperate for the toilet.
With my race around the corner, I'm not just hoping to finish, but finish without dealing with any sudden digestive system issues, which is more common than you might think.
In 2018, for example, an avid runner named Tamara Torlakson ended up pooping herself about halfway through the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon to maintain her pace. "It just came out and I felt a lot better," Torlakson, then 31, recalled of her experience. "I didn't want one poop to mess it all up."
If the urge strikes me on race day, at least I know I'm not alone.
