Marathon Training...Another Perspective

As most of you know, Dave ran the City of Oaks Marathon a little over a week ago.  He We logged many hours training for this marathon and the effort was well rewarded.  Most of the time while Dave was training, Jack and I were at home.  Occasionally, we would meet him out on his long runs to surprise him and cheer for him.  When the marathon date loomed closer, I realized that I needed to get serious about my marathon training.  No, I wasn't running the actual marathon, but I was still heavily involved.  As most of you probably don't know, I am a high performance race watcher.  My cheering has helped people qualify for the Boston Marathon, made people laugh in the face of a tough hill, and made people run just a little faster (probably to get away from me...but whatever).


I remember my dear friend, Mark Remy, wrote about a training plan for spectators.  Okay, Mark Remy isn't really a dear friend, but I bet if he ever met me...he'd want to be my best friend (let's make it happen people!).  I used Mark's training plan to help me get ready for the big day.

Here's a basic run down of the training plan:

Week 1:
MON: 15 minutes standing around
TUE: 5 mins standing around; 5 mins clapping; 5 mins standing around
WED: rest
THU: posterboard sign drills — lift and lower a handmade sign 50 times; warm up and cool down with 5 mins easy cheering
FRI: rest
SAT: 15 mins standing around
SUN: 30 mins spectating fartlek — freestyle blend of standing around, cheering, clapping, and/or raising arms, as you feel

Homemade sign--up

Homemade sign--down

And rest

Week 2:
MON: 20 mins standing around; optional: sip coffee for duration
TUE: rest
WED: cowbell repeats — ring a cowbell for 90 seconds, recover with 30 seconds easy "woo-hoo-ing" repeat 8 times ; warm up and cool down with 5 mins easy cheering
THU: 20 mins standing around
FRI: street-crossing sprints — stand around for 5 mins on sidewalk; wait for break in traffic; sprint across to opposite sidewalk; repeat 10 times
SAT: rest
SUN: 45 mins standing around with sign

Introducing Jack to the clapper

Experiencing the power of the clapper

Practicing his cheers

 Week 3:
MON: rest
TUE: 30 mins standing around with sign, plus intervals of screaming (e.g., "Go!", "Looking good!", "Woo hoo!"), 10 x 30 seconds
WED: 12 cowbell repeats (see Week 2)
THU: rest
FRI: 40 mins standing around with sign
SAT: 15 mins easy cheering
SUN: 60 mins standing around, interspersed with cheering and sign holding

Practicing switching the signs

Different people need different kinds of motivation along the course

Week 4: (the taper)
MON: 15 mins easy standing around
TUE: street-crossing sprints (see Week 2)
WED: rest
THU: 20 mins standing around
FRI: rest
SAT: 10 mins very easy standing around
SUN: Race day — stand up and cheer! 

Practicing street-crossing sprints with the stroller

And back again

Now, doing street-crossing sprints while holding Jack

Jack lifts--up

Jack lift--down

After all of our training, Jack and I were ready for the marathon.  We were able to make it to three stops to get out and cheer for Dave along the course and made it to the finish line so we could see him finish is first marathon.  We are so incredibly proud of Dave.  Completing a marathon is no small feat and Dave did it in style!