Pre-Marathon Thoughts

I'm about to run the Big Sur Marathon in a couple of days. I want to capture some thoughts before the big day and hopefully write another blog post to debrief the experience after the race.

How I Got Here

I've always thought running was fun; it's a type of movement that makes sense to my body. (In a ballet class when I was around eight years old, we were doing grand-jetés across the floor, and the teacher remarked that my form was better suited for leaping over hurdles on a track. Oops.) In seventh grade, I followed her advice, and ran one season of track, and since then, I've enjoyed running just for kicks. Its destressing qualities tend to persist longer for me than those of any other form of exercise. Before I signed up for the marathon, I had been running a few times a week, often no more than five or six miles each time. I would run longer runs, around ten to fourteen miles, a few times a year.

For a long time, I was discouraged by the idea of running a marathon because I didn't want to lose the already positive relationship I had with running and risk getting injured. I tend to push myself in a lot of areas of life (work, school, hobbies, relationships, etc.) and thought that I ought to do some more things purely for joy.

But then I realized that I love structure (lol), and if I'm running this much anyway, I might as well send it and maybe even learn how to run farther, both more frequently and sustainably! The thought of being able to, for example, get to know a city when traveling by running through new neighborhoods (which I did pretty often already, but always ended up way too sweaty and winded for a vacation to be completely pleasant) was really appealing. Being able to comfortably run farther, I realized, was not just an endurance effort, but a skill to hone, and involved running a lot higher volume, much more slowly.

When my boyfriend agreed to enter the Big Sur Marathon lottery with me, I got really excited and was, of course, off to the races. He had never run long distances before last year, so it was inspiring to be around some true beginner attitude as well, and also run with someone who is faster than I am.

The Training Process

I followed a 21-week plan that Claude helped me adapt to my hilly race and fitness level based on the 2Q (two quality workouts per week) plan in a popular marathon training book. The most challenging part was definitely the Sunday long runs and literally getting up in the morning to run every day. (I'm very grateful to have had a training buddy, which made this a lot easier.) Base building was no walk in the park either, but I’m glad I stuck to it, as I owe not having any major injuries during my training to a proper base building process.

I did a lot of reading about cross-training exercises online. I don't have Instagram or TikTok anymore, but I did succumb to Facebook Reels (I've been told that only people my mom's age watch these), and I got some recommendations via the All-Knowing Algorithm for great PT exercises to do for hip mobility and range of motion, running efficiency tips for things like shortening my stride, mindfulness techniques, and more.

What Marathon Training Has Taught Me

My approach to running used to be very anti-discipline, and then I found when I really committed and dug deep into the repetition and stuck to the plan... I loved it. It was hard.

I began to understand my body as an instrument. One to coax, and to treat like I treat my cello. With care. Wanting to get a specific tune out of it, and sometimes, on nice cool days, where I could wear a light long sleeve and shorts, I felt resonant with the pavement, the same way I do while playing the cello when I've practiced the piece and the conditions are perfect.

I think at some point in everyone's running journey they reassess their relationship with pain and discomfort. For me, it meant remembering why I had started in the first place and repeating mantras to myself when things got tough. The repetition of running taught me how to talk to myself when things get monotonous and uncomfortable. Yoga really helped with this.

Exploring San Francisco On Foot

Getting to know different parts of San Francisco was also part of my marathon training. I now have new associations and appreciation for my routes to Kite Hill, Bernal Hill, through Potrero Hill (as you can tell, hill training was very important) and Mission Bay to the Embarcadero, the Presidio, and of course, the Wiggle and into Golden Gate Park. I learned that there are road races in this city basically every two or three weeks, and they will often intersect with the route I map out for a long run. It’s also very inspiring and heart-warming to see so many people enjoying running as much as I do. :)

The Halfway Checkpoint

In March, I raced a half marathon in Napa (on a day when I was scheduled to run an 18-mile training run…whoops, did that a week later instead). I was pleasantly surprised that my training had allowed me to run much faster than anticipated. The nineteen-year-old me who pulled her body across the finish line of a half marathon without training would have never! Seeing the progress I'd made in Napa made me excited to run even more.

Looking Ahead

I'm looking forward to running along the coast and to possibly more marathons after this one (though let's see how I feel after Big Sur first!).

The upshot of all of this: committing to this marathon training has transformed my relationship with structure, discipline, and patience. What I thought might make running less enjoyable has actually deepened my connection to it. Training has taught me to embrace discomfort, celebrate small victories, and find joy in the process. I've learned that progress isn't always linear—some runs feel amazing while others are a struggle—and that's part of the sport. Patience with myself and with the training process has been equally as important as putting in the miles.

See you on the other side!