I belong to a virtual running
club for Clydesdales (runners over 185 lbs male or 140 female)
and they asked me to post my first marathon experience. So
I thought I'd pass it along.
I started running late in life at the age of 33
in 1992 (weight 215)while dating my then future wife. She
was and still is an avid runner. In fact her mother
(Bridget) has been an avid runner for most of her life and
completed dozens of marathons including New York and Boston in
the early days. (Bridget was a tremendous resource and
support base for me upto and through the Austin
Marathon). So my wife suggested a run one Sunday
morning and I had no choice but to tag along. I'll never
forget that first run with her, I was beat after a mile or two
and she wasn't even winded but stopped for me. So I keep
running over the last several years with no real program or goals
but knowing it was good for me (plus I enjoy the running time
with my wife). We moved to Arizona from Washington this
last summer and found some great running area's here in the
Phoenix area. This last fall I felt in great running shape after
adjusting to the heat in the desert but I was asking myself what
next?? Then I bumped into some marathon web pages on the
net. Having never ran past 7 or 8 miles or run in a race, I
could not fathom 26.2, it seemed impossible
but also intriguing. I discussed it with my wife and with her
support decided to commit to a marathon following the Hal Higdon
18 week Intermediate-1 program (www.halhigdon.com). During
the training program I ran two 1/2 marathons the first in 1:49.30
(Scottsdale Fiesta Bowl), the second (San Diego Marathon) in
1:43:10. 
I was going to
run a local marathon here on Feb. 15th but a funny thing
happened. I was in the local running store talking to a guy
and I told him I was training for the local marathon and wondered
if he knew the course? He asked me if it was my first
and I said yes. He frowned and said if you run the local
marathon as your first, you will probable never run another
one. The course is 13 miles out on a dirt road along a
water canal and 13 miles back and the field is small. He
handed me the Austin Marathon brochure and said do your self a
favor, run your first marathon at a BIG RACE. So 18 weeks
and 531 miles (79.65 hours running) later I was standing at the
starting line in Austin.
I completed the Austin Marathon (weight 190) in
splits of 1:46:23 and 1:49:04 so I was extremely pleased with the
results. I went out slow at 8 to 9 minute pace until mile five at
which point I said "its time to get this thing
started". I ramped-up to a comfortable 7:30 to 7:50 pace
from 5 to 17. The race started at mile 17.5 for me and
everything past 20 was uncharted territory.
My body was screaming STOP at mile 21 and my Mind
was screaming NO its only a few more miles. The struggle
continued until Mile 25, when I new the finish was around the
corner. The physical/mental battle waged from mile 20 to 25
is hard to explain in words, but those that have been there
know what I'm referring too. 
I saw a quote that sums it up "Explaining
what its like to run a marathon to someone who hasn't , is like
trying to explain color to a blind person".
For me the sense of accomplishment comes not only from completing the race, but also completing the training program and dealing with the injuries and adversity along the way (back, knee, shin splints, sickness, blisters, soreness, boredom, exhilaration, loneliness, pain, anxiety, and time away from my family). Training for a marathon is pretty easy during the first few weeks of your program, then the novelty wears off and the long runs start and you still have 3 months of training to go. I remember several 5:00 a.m. before work training runs in the cold, rain and darkness asking myself why the hell am I doing this? Now its done... I made the commitment, I saw it through, and learned a tremendous amount about life and myself along the way. The challenge now is to maintain this level fitness and improve physically and spiritually. The only way to do this is to KEEP RUNNING and NEVER STOP TRAINING for the race of LIFE.
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