Marathonin' around Kraków

by Joe Maciuba

So for the past 3 months or so, I have been training for my first marathon.  I thought that it would be a good (and free!) way to stay in shape--all I would have to do was slip on my shoes, put in my headphones , and go, go go.

In terms of training plans, I used Hal Higdon's novice training plan (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm) and actually stayed pretty true to it.  As a beginning plan, it only increased mileage across the three months--there was no strength training (like I could afford a gym anyways), no hills, and no speedwork.  I think that next time I run a marathon (which there will be a next time!), I will try to incorporate everything in order to have a more balanced experience.

The marathon itself was such a great time.  I had been battling knee pain for the past couple of weeks, so I thought I was going to be dealing with that the entire race, but my knee ended up pulling through for me. The weather was also perfect, as it was not too cold and too warm, and the organizers of the race provided water, powerade, bananas, and oranges throughout the length of the course.  When I started to get a pit in my stomach, I would just stop and get my electrolytes and carbs back up, so I really never quite boinked.  In terms of the route, we got to run by some of the best places in Krakow: the Rynek,  Wawel, and all up along the Wisla river.  There wasn’t ever a boring part—it was Palm Sunday and we even got to run by a church where the priest was blessing the palms.  Question: does that count as me going to church?

One of the better moments was when we were running along the Wisla and a choir that was on one of the restaurant boats just started singing to the runners.  That was a bit unexpected.  I also enjoyed it when the homeless people started cheering with us—giving us high fives with one hand while holding their bottle of liquor in the other. 

But hey, just a word of advice to all you international marathon runners: a marathon is NOT 40 kilometers, but is actually a little more than 42 (42.195 km, 42.195).  I was budgeting my energy for 40 km, so I pushed it hard through the 35-39 kilometers and then kind of ran out of juice at the end. Whoops!

After the marathon was over, I got some fatty, greasy pea soup with a nice, cold beer all for free.  I suppose that’s one way (or the Polish way?) to get your calories back.  There was also a tent set up giving massages, which I thought was going to be awesome.  It just ended up hurting a lot, but I think it helped with my muscle soreness in the long run (haha, get it?).

My time, according to my watch, was 4:00:10, which was right on goal with how I wanted to do. I think I could definitely run it faster.  And if I were to run one, say, 55 minutes faster?  Heck, that'd be a Boston qualifying time!  We'll see what happens.