5 Things Marathon Training Taught Me About Writing
First thing you should know about me is that I’m a complete maniac. I mean, why else would I sign up for a marathon on a total whim?!
It was April 2015, and my life was in a state of limbo. Earlier that month, I’d been accepted into a program to teach English in Madrid, Spain. Until then though, I was working in the lingerie department at Nordstrom in Indianapolis.
Adventure is right around the corner, but in the meantime, keep fitting bras and folding panties!!!
So yeah, I was kind of in a weird place. I decided I needed direction. Something to focus my energy toward in the months leading up to my departure. I didn’t want to be so caught up in the future that I forgot about the present.
I guess 26.2 miles will do the trick!!!
It definitely did the trick. I spent four months training for the marathon and then four hours running the damn thing. When I crossed the finish line, I felt tired and accomplished — that much I’d expected. What I hadn’t expected was how much marathon training taught me about writing.
Here’s what I learned:
1. The first steps are the hardest.
Overall, I loved marathon training. It gave me purpose and made me feel like a total badass. However, I’d be lying if I said I was excited to get out and run every day the schedule demanded.
An 8-mile pace run? Can’t someone just kick me in the face instead??
But before I could come up with too many excuses for why I should skip that day’s workout, I’d get dressed, lace up and head out the door. I told myself I could turn back if I really wanted to after the first mile. I never did.
When I don’t feel like writing, I sit down at my computer and set a timer for 30 minutes. Like those first few steps out the door, the initial 10 minutes are the hardest, but then, I get into a groove. Usually, I keep writing long after the timer has gone off.
2. Put in the work.
I’m always fascinated by and slightly terrified of people who can go out and run a marathon without any training. Those people are definitely cyborgs (but more power to ‘em!). For the majority of humans, myself included, running a marathon just isn’t physically possible without the proper training.
I trained for four months. Some runs were fun and others were miserable, but each one made me a better runner. When I toed the starting line on race day, I felt prepared.
If you want to write, you’ve got to write. There is just no way around it. Write when it’s easy. Write when it’s hard. As someone whose goal is to make a career out of writing, I recognize that I’m constantly in training. I want to make sure I’m ready for my moment.
3. Know when to take it easy and when to push it.
Fortunately, I was never injured during marathon training. I made a conscious effort to listen to my body. That meant some days I ran at an easy 10-minute per mile pace while other days I hit the track for grueling speed workouts.
If you’re a writer for long enough, you’re going to experience writer’s block as well as periods when you can’t get your ideas down on paper fast enough. When you’re experiencing a dry spell, take it slow. Be kind to yourself. When you’re feeling creative, write your freaking heart out. Figure out where you’ll publish it later.
4. Start with your head, but finish with your heart.
I think most sports sayings are pretty hokey, but are you even training for a marathon if you don’t have a running mantra? Running club coach Mike Fanelli tells his runners to divide the race into thirds: “Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality and the last part with your heart.”
Beats me what running with your personality means, so I decided to divide the race into two parts. Focusing on pace goals and race strategy, I ran the first 20 miles with my head. Exhausted but with the end in sight, I ran the last 6.2 miles with my heart.
Writing courses, books about the craft and interviews with successful writers are great. Knowledge is power! That stuff will get you far…but only so far. Writing comes from within you. Trust your stuff to get you down the homestretch.
5. You are what you do.
My sophomore year of college, I started running. Just 30 minutes a few times a week to counter all the Bud Light I was drinking. I signed up for and ran a 5K. Then a 10K. The miles were adding up, but I was reluctant to call myself a “runner.”
I just do it for fun. Nothing serious. It’s not like I run marathons!
But, then I ran marathon.
When I crossed the finish line, no one came up to me and said “Congratulations, Alex! You’re a runner now!” I’d been a runner since that first jog my sophomore year.
If you write, you’re a writer.
Regardless of what you write, you’re a writer. Regardless of how much you write, you’re a writer. Regardless of where (or if) you’re published, you’re a writer. Regardless if you get paid to write or not, you’re a writer.
I’ll say it again just in case someone in the back didn’t hear me:
If you write, you’re a writer.
Hi, I’m Alex! After living in Madrid, Spain, for two years, I recently moved to Mexico. Tacos and sunshine, baby! When I’m not writing, I’m reading, running or drinking red wine. For more of my writing, check out my blog: Backpacking Brunette.
