Boston Marathon is less than a month away and it is funny to think about training for a marathon in this different place that I am in.
Marathons used to be these GRAND events, that I would tailor my life around for months prior. I would place immense pressure on the workout days, feeling that they had to go well, or I would…I dunno, suddenly lose fitness if I wasn’t able to hit the paces I thought I “should” hit that day. I would drive up to 90 minutes to do my long run on a smooth, flat rail trail path in Cincinnati. I would be eating mindfully, trading my beloved chocolate chip pancakes for eggs, because they were “better for me”.
Steve and I lived our lives around my training, and that was all we knew.
Today though, for my six marathon, life could not be more different.
With a one year old, they are first, always. That means unplanned days off. That means squeezing my runs in whenever I can. That means getting up extra early to get runs in before Steve has to leave at 6am.
But this is life now, and I love my new life as a mama.
Workout days?
Well, firstly, I am training exclusively by minutes, no paces AT ALL. Sure, I am still wearing my GPS watch, so I can see what paces I ran afterwards, but during, I have no idea, and it doesn’t even mean anything to run a 1.67 mile repeat, because who has PRs for that distance?
As for where I run, well I am exclusively training in Lexington, no driving to Cincinnati for long runs or workouts, and I have yet to even drive to the park I used to train at, which is just 10-15 mins away. As Boston is hilly, one of the roads in our area is almost 2 miles long and hilly, so I run from there. It’s not perfect, but it works.
And eating?
Well, eating is all about what I want in that moment. I have dessert every night if I want to, I eat chips of some kind most days, and honestly, I don’t even really think about it. Fish tacos were my pre race meal before Disney, remember. If that doesn’t show the change, I don’t know what does. Although I should say, that overall, my diet is still what most would consider “healthy”. I do put time into cooking each night to give us a meal with what I think is all the areas covered.
You know what, friends. I kinda like this new way of training.
Granted if I was REALLY going for a huge goal, if I really wanted to run my absolute potential, this would probably not be the ideal way to train, and the fact I have barely stretched or done any mobility in months (other than what I do with Drew in the gym twice a week), is really not the best way to prepare my body to peak.
But I really get the sense that these differences are really not impacting me as much as we might think. I have a sneaking suspicion I am fitter than I think I am, but without the pressure building that all that time, energy, effort, and heart put into it, better show up in a result for race day.
My goal is still to ENJOY Boston Marathon. I will run hard, especially in the final 6 miles, but I intend on reflecting back on this race using one word, it was a blast! I had so much fun.
During my training, I have been testing out some new headphones.
Now that I have a child, I don’t really get the time to myself to listen to music (well, other than Raffi and Nursey Rhymes) or podcasts. I LOVE to learn new things, and that is my primary reason for listening to podcasts, I like to learn how to be better, to be content, to feel more alive.
My runs are the one time I do still have to myself to listen to things I want to listen to, and I have absolutely loved training for Boston with my AfterShokz headphones. I use them most days, and especially during my long runs, they help get me through and feel like I have had some me time, some personal development time, without taking anything away from my family.
Honestly though, I wasn’t sure I would like these headphones. They sit outside your ears, leaving your ear canal wide open. I couldn’t see how you would hear your music/podcast if they weren’t actually in your ear!
The answer? Bone conduction technology.
What the heck does that mean you ask?
Well, small transducers rest in front of your ears, not inside or on your ears like most headphones, and they send mini vibrations through your cheekbones to your inner ear bypassing your ear drums.
Weird, huh.
I thought so too. I couldn’t see how I would ever like them, especially as someone who can be prone to dizziness, it sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Except I didn’t feel dizzy, and I could hear the music, clearly, and actually I quite liked having my ears completely open, allowing me to safely listen to music, podcasts, calls and more while remaining aware of my surroundings, and being able to hear cars as I crossed the road.
Now I am used to them, I actually like them more, a lot more. Especially as I don’t have to worry about them slipping out, making my ear ache (which often happened with in ear headphones after an hour or so), or in the summer, when a drip of sweat somehow got in your ear and blocked the sound, agh was that annoying!!
What is best though, they are so damn comfortable, you can easily forget they are on.
And friends, I think, for the first time ever, I might allow myself, in this one opportunity to be able to wear headphones in a race (elites are not allowed), to wear them IN the race!
I might not have music, podcasts, or anything else playing the whole time, but I would love that option to be able to turn it on and off, to be able to call Steve if I wanted to, but to know that I can still hear the cheers, the shoutouts, the LOVE from the Boston community.
This is a historic moment for me, and one that I am actually a little excited about. I know most of you reading already wear headphones in most races, but for me, this is something I wasn’t sure I would ever do, but I love these, and why not bring up the enjoyment one more notch along the way with some motivating and fun music.
If you are curious about these, and would like to get yourself a set, you can get $50 off an AfterShokz Trekz Air or Trekz Titanium Endurance Bundle by visiting THIS LINK.
If you are someone who enjoys listening to music, podcasts, audio books, or even using an app to stream your favorite radio station, these might be just what you need. Although in theory we think it is better to have all sounds blocked out, that was the “thing to do”, right? I love that these are breaking the mold with these.
Sure, when you are in a library, a loud environment trying to do work, or on a plane, you need your headphones to be noise cancelling, but when you are out running, or on a work call while you watch your child, you NEED to be able to hear other things.
And so these work just perfect. If you want to learn about more of my favorites then check them out here, they are from books, favorite brands, baby supplies, and the Running4Real store.
