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#HURDLEMOMENT: 7 Things Every Aspiring Marathoner Should Know · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: If you were listening to this, you've either decided to
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: run a marathon, you're thinking about running a marathon, or
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: maybe you just like me, which is pretty great, But dude,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: this is huge. Emily Abody here, Welcome back to Hurdle
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Moment from Hurdle, a podcast that talks to everyone from
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  Speaker 1: entrepreneurs to top CEOs and athletes about how they got
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: through tough times hurdles of sorts by leaning into wellness.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: For today's episode, I'm talking all about the must know
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: things for new marathon ors just digging into a training cycle.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: I know right now is a huge time for people
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  Speaker 1: debating fall marathons, so I'm just here to try and
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  Speaker 1: help you make a smart, capable decision. As far as
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  Speaker 1: my marathon history goes, I remember how epic it was
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  Speaker 1: the moment I clicked confirm for my first full marathon
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  Speaker 1: in Hartford. It was back in twenty thirteen. I'd run
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  Speaker 1: in about four or five half marathons, and really it
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  Speaker 1: was just something un ex explainable inside of me that
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: made me feel like I was ready for more. Of course,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: if you want to hear more about how I got
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  Speaker 1: into running as a whole, definitely check out episode one
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: of the podcast where I kind of give my whole lowdown.
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  Speaker 1: Now today I'm seven marathons down, I'm personally debating a
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  Speaker 1: fall marathon, and I'm also a certified run coach through
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  Speaker 1: the United Endurance Sports Coaching Association. And so honestly, this
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  Speaker 1: all happened for me because at one point I felt
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  Speaker 1: exactly how you do right now. So today we're going
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  Speaker 1: to dive into it. As always at Hurdle Podcast on
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Instagram and Twitter, you can always hit me up as
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: well over at Emily a Body. If you've got a
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: hurdle moment of your own to share some questions, some
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: topic suggestions for a future hurdle moment, feel free to
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  Speaker 1: shoot me an email. It's Emily at hurdle dot us.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: And lastly, I just need to say this, I am
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: so amped for the US women's national team. Five goals
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: for this week's Hurdle Podcast Monday episode Alex Morgan, the
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  Speaker 1: co captain of the US women's soccer team, and thirteen
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  Speaker 1: zero for the game. I'm just I can't even formulate
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  Speaker 1: sentences or words. I'm so over the moon, so excited
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: to be following them over there in France. If you
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  Speaker 1: haven't checked out Monday's Hurdle episode, please definitely go give
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  Speaker 1: it a listen, and uh, I think that's it. With that,
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  Speaker 1: let's get this week's hurtalone. A few fun facts for
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  Speaker 1: you care of Google. Forty five percent of runners have
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  Speaker 1: completed between two and five half marathons, while fifty percent
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  Speaker 1: have never tried a full one. There are about five
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  Speaker 1: hundred and seventy marathons out in the United States every
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  Speaker 1: single year, and approximately, and this is the money stat.
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  Speaker 1: Zero point five percent of the US population has run
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  Speaker 1: a marathon. Yep. So I want to reiterate just how
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  Speaker 1: awesome it is that you're even considering this, whether it's
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  Speaker 1: your first time or your twentieth time. Let me tell
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  Speaker 1: you the butterflies that come hand in hand with training
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  Speaker 1: for a marathon, they never go away. It's a huge
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  Speaker 1: commitment and exciting opportunity. I remember I was sitting at
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  Speaker 1: a bar with my girlfriend on her birthday a few
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  Speaker 1: years back. It was race week of the New York
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  Speaker 1: City Marathon, and so gearing up for the big day,
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  Speaker 1: I wasn't drinking. There was a man next to us
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  Speaker 1: and he asked us if we wanted a shot for
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  Speaker 1: her birthday, and I said no, and he asked why.
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  Speaker 1: I told him about the marathon and he said, you know,
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  Speaker 1: marathons have a large opportunity cost. And that was the
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  Speaker 1: night that I learned what opportunity cost means, which is essentially,
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  Speaker 1: when we see a really big opportunity, something that's important
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  Speaker 1: to us, we give up other things, other opportunities in
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  Speaker 1: favor of it. So you, my friends, are about to
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  Speaker 1: undertake something that has a large and exciting opportunity cost.
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  Speaker 1: With that said, there are there are some things you
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  Speaker 1: should know if you're gearing up for a marathon. And
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  Speaker 1: now we're going to dive right in. Firstly, it's okay
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  Speaker 1: to be nervous. Like I said, you've made a huge
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  Speaker 1: commitment to yourself that you should be super super proud of.
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  Speaker 1: You aren't going to have all the answers, and that's okay.
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  Speaker 1: Some of the best stuff happens to us in life
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  Speaker 1: when we're a little anxious. Right think first dates, new jobs,
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  Speaker 1: and of course in this case, marathons. So embrace the
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  Speaker 1: nerves and understand that it's all part of the process. Second,
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  Speaker 1: find the gear that makes you feel flawless. Everyone has
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  Speaker 1: different likes and wants from their training gear, from sneakers
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  Speaker 1: to tank tops and shorts and socks. I mean on
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  Speaker 1: the sock note, It's funny these days, I swear I've
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  Speaker 1: almost forgotten that there is such a thing as a
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  Speaker 1: non athletic sock. But before I started running so much,
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  Speaker 1: I remember buying socks in bulk from Costco that didn't
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  Speaker 1: do anything like wick sweat or make my feet feel
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  Speaker 1: extra comfortable in my sneak. Let me tell you, if
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: you have never tried on a pair of sweat wiking
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  Speaker 1: specific to run socks, well you're totally missing out anyway,
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  Speaker 1: flawless gear. I'm a firm believer that the stuff you
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  Speaker 1: wear when you're training and definitely on race day should
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  Speaker 1: feel like a second skin, which means you should be
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  Speaker 1: messing with it throughout your entire training cycle and definitely, definitely,
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  Speaker 1: definitely I know we hear this all the time, but
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  Speaker 1: nothing new on race day, which means that throughout those three, four,
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  Speaker 1: five six months that it takes you the train, make
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  Speaker 1: sure you're trying out different stuff, homing in on exactly
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  Speaker 1: what makes you feel like you, exactly what feels comfortable.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, sneakers are a super important component to this puzzle,
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  Speaker 1: so make sure you head into a specialty running store,
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  Speaker 1: try some stuff on. Find yourself a place that gives
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  Speaker 1: you some sort of refund satisfaction guaranteed, where you can
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  Speaker 1: go for a run or two in your new kicks
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  Speaker 1: and see how you really like that. You know, according
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  Speaker 1: to sign, no matter what your gait is or how
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  Speaker 1: your foot comes into contact with the ground, what's most
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  Speaker 1: important is that you're comfortable with your sneaker, whether it's
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  Speaker 1: a stability shoe or a neutral shoe or what have you.
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  Speaker 1: So find what makes you feel good and get some
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  Speaker 1: good use out of it. Three, don't skimp on nutrition.
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  Speaker 1: When I first started running, I was so scared to
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  Speaker 1: put anything into my body because I thought it would
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  Speaker 1: totally mess me up instead of help. So if you
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  Speaker 1: feel that way too, you are certainly not alone. I
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  Speaker 1: know it feels kind of weird to think about eating
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  Speaker 1: and drinking when you're out there and running. The real deal, though,
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  Speaker 1: is that nutrition is a good thing. There are so
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  Speaker 1: so many options out there, from cliff gels, which are
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  Speaker 1: like a slurp of sweet deserty goodness available and like
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  Speaker 1: a zillion different flavors, to sports beans, which are like
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  Speaker 1: race friendly jelly belly jelly beans to shot blocks which
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  Speaker 1: are like larger than average, gonna be yours. There's a
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  Speaker 1: kind of snack and nutrition and eat for every type
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  Speaker 1: of runner and preference. So whatever you lean toward, make
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  Speaker 1: sure that you are practicing with it. On your runs
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  Speaker 1: that are longer than ten miles. The rule of thumb
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  Speaker 1: is typically that you should be taking in some sort
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  Speaker 1: of nutrition about every forty five minutes or maybe five miles,
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  Speaker 1: give or take. And I say that knowing that it
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  Speaker 1: definitely depends on your individual needs your body. For me,
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  Speaker 1: I'm a super salty sweater, which means that I'm looking
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  Speaker 1: for more electrolytes than someone who maybe isn't a salty
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  Speaker 1: sweater at all. As for hydration, that's super important too.
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  Speaker 1: When you're out there, whether it's a training run or
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  Speaker 1: on race day, make sure that you're reaching for water,
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  Speaker 1: not just when you're thirsty, but at least every thirty
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  Speaker 1: minutes or so to get in some good H two OHO.
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  Speaker 1: I actually plan my long runs during the summer according
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  Speaker 1: to where the water fountains are in Central Park around
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  Speaker 1: Manhattan off the bridges. You know, after eight or so
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  Speaker 1: years of living here in Manhattan. I'd like to think
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  Speaker 1: that I have the locations pretty Downpad number four, work
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  Speaker 1: with a coach throughout or or get a plan from
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  Speaker 1: a good coach. Coaching is important, and even coaches need coaches.
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  Speaker 1: Like I said, I'm a certified run coach, and right
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  Speaker 1: now as I'm gearing up for the Brooklyn Mile this weekend,
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  Speaker 1: which I am a little nervous about, I even have
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  Speaker 1: an excellent coach. Especially when you're doing something that is
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  Speaker 1: so taxing on your body, it's important to ask for help.
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  Speaker 1: For the first four out of seven marathons I did,
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  Speaker 1: I did it without a coach. Like a lot of
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  Speaker 1: beginner runners. I found that classic Hal Hagden training plan
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  Speaker 1: and I followed it to the tee and you know what,
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  Speaker 1: it was fine. But the thing is is that everyone
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  Speaker 1: is different and there are certain things that you may
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  Speaker 1: need that aren't for the general public. These are things
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  Speaker 1: that a coach that doesn't know you, that doesn't know
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  Speaker 1: your body, they can't accommodate for that. So maybe you
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  Speaker 1: have a right knee injury that acts up every now
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  Speaker 1: and again, or you have a really restrictive schedule that
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  Speaker 1: needs accommodating for you can't run four or five days
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  Speaker 1: every single week. A coach can help you plan for that.
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  Speaker 1: They can also be your rock when things get tough.
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  Speaker 1: Trust me, this is an emotionally draining process. It helps
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  Speaker 1: to have someone in your corner. What's important again, is
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  Speaker 1: not just that you're comfortable during this experience, but also
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  Speaker 1: that you're looking out for you, that you are looking
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  Speaker 1: out for your body number five and don't get scared
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  Speaker 1: things are going to go wrong and you are Oh okay,
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  Speaker 1: I promise. I cannot even tell you how many days
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  Speaker 1: I wake up and I get out of bed and
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  Speaker 1: things just feel awful. I've had bad long training runs
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  Speaker 1: and bad quick three milers. I've had runs that ended
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  Speaker 1: in tears and runs and I completely abandoned in favor
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  Speaker 1: of like going to get soft served or iced coffee
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  Speaker 1: or whatever else I wanted at the time. One of
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  Speaker 1: the biggest lessons in marathon training is that it's all cumulative. Right,
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  Speaker 1: one single bad run isn't going to be the thing
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  Speaker 1: that derails an entire three plus months of training. You
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  Speaker 1: have to be easy on yourself when these days happen,
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  Speaker 1: because they will. And on that note, when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to I keep referencing this three month period. That amount
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  Speaker 1: of time definitely differentiates for every runner. It depends what
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  Speaker 1: your base is when you're heading into your training cycle.
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  Speaker 1: If you're literally going from couch to marathon, then this
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  Speaker 1: could very well be an eight month build up. There's
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  Speaker 1: nothing wrong with that. Again, consult with a coach, get
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  Speaker 1: some advice, and be really smart about how you ease
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  Speaker 1: into the whole process. With that said, things are going
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  Speaker 1: to go wrong, you are okay. You have to be
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  Speaker 1: easy on yourself when bad days happen, because they will.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not saying you have to put on a strong face,
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  Speaker 1: but what I am saying is that you have to
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  Speaker 1: allow yourself to feel it out. None of us work
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  Speaker 1: hard to watch things we care about not go as
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  Speaker 1: we'd hope, but you deserve your own compassion, whether you're
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: wearing compression tights or not during this hard stuff. I
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  Speaker 1: want to encourage you to remember your why, which brings
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: me to tip number six. Home in on your why.
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  Speaker 1: Everyone has a different reason why they choose to run
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  Speaker 1: a marathon. Some want to do it for charity, Others
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  Speaker 1: run it because someone in their family got them into it,
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  Speaker 1: or you know, maybe you just run it for yourself.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever your purpose might be. It's important to remember that
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  Speaker 1: as you keep putting one foot in front of the other.
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  Speaker 1: You know, my why has always been that overweight girl
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  Speaker 1: in her freshman dorm room. I want to always be
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  Speaker 1: her cheerleader. I want to always show up for me.
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  Speaker 1: If you just run to run because you like the feeling, hey,
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  Speaker 1: that's cool. But I encourage you to take out a
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  Speaker 1: pad or a piece of paper or open your notes
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  Speaker 1: up right now and write down how running makes you feel.
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  Speaker 1: On the hard day, when you feel like you're confused
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  Speaker 1: and upset and frustrated and want to throw on the towel,
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  Speaker 1: I encourage you to go back to this piece of paper,
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  Speaker 1: go back to that note, and remember why you started
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  Speaker 1: in the first place. Trust me, it's worth it. And
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: my last tip for beginner marathoners go in without a
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  Speaker 1: time goal. Listen, I'm just as competitive as the next person.
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  Speaker 1: But the reality is is that a marathon, no matter
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: how fast, no matter how slow, no matter where you are,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: so many factors finishing it is epic epic. Sure, you
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: know you might hear people talking about a four, a three,
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  Speaker 1: a five, a six, a two and a half hour marathon.
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  Speaker 1: The reality is is that that first race is your race.
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  Speaker 1: You only get to be a first time marathon or once.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: So when you go in, focus on how you feel,
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  Speaker 1: focus on enjoying the moment, focus on all that you've accomplished,
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: and enjoy the day for what it is instead of
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  Speaker 1: stressing out over how fast you're moving or where someone
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: else or maybe even you think that you should be.
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  Speaker 1: Embrace it. It's special and man, it's going to change
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  Speaker 1: your life forever. That's it for now, guys. Like I said,
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: I've run a fair share of marathons in my day
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  Speaker 1: New York City about four times, the Dublin Marathon once,
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  Speaker 1: the Hartford Marathon once, the Boston Marathon once, all except
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Boston or Fall marathons. Is a great time of year
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  Speaker 1: to lace up and get outside. And if you're thinking
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: about doing it, well, I'll be right in your corner
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: cheering you on Combray's day at Emily a Badi at
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: Hurdle Podcast. Keep me in the loop with what you've
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: got going on. I can't wait to see you guys
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: take on those goals. Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: next time.