Sara Wittmeyer’s Blog

I’ve spent much of the evening reading about Ted Corbitt, and realizing I was wrong… I’d heard about Corbitt’s battles with racism and I just assumed he lived in the South. It turns out, though that he and I are from the same place – Cincinnati, Ohio. Ted Corbitt was a actually a member of the University of Cincinnati’s track team. During college he ran about 200 miles a week. Later in his life, while training for his first hundred mile run, he set a goal to run 1200 miles…in one month! He fell short by about 200, but still, wow!

At the end of this week, I will have surpassed the 500 mile mark since my training began in late September. I’ve never kept track of my miles before, but I’m finding it’s incredibly motivating. Because I’m competitive, it’s nice to be able to have something tangible to see and then try to beat it. Before the new year, I was thinking about making a resolution, and I thought maybe I’d set a mileage goal of 1500. Doing the math though, that was less than 30 miles a week. I worried I’d hit my mileage mark in July, and then just flounder the rest of the year. Ultimately I decided not to make this my resolution and instead focus on increasing my number of high mileage races and improving in each event.

Who knows what’s next.

I feel like Corbitt would be proud. In the book I am reading, First Marathons by Gail Waesche Kislevitz, Corbitt writes: “You don’t need a goal, you don’t need a race, you don’t need the hype of a so-called fitness craze. All you need is a cheap pair of shoes and some time. The rest will follow.”

There’s peace in that for me. It’s almost like one of the greatest runners of all time is signing off on my plan for the next year. In addition, I’ll take Corbitt’s words to the start line with me in Miami. When all my worries about hitting the wall, my foot giving out, painful side stitches – start swirling through my head, I’m going to remind myself to stop and think about Corbitt – I have the shoes and I’ve put in the time.

If you aren’t familiar with Corbitt’s story, it’s worth reading. He’s a legend. Oh, and his birthday is January 31- the same day as the Miami Marathon.

My marathon has consumed me. With such a short time to go all the details are swirling through my head. Of course, the biggest concern is if I will be able to finish under my goal time. I have no doubt I will finish, but since I have never done a race before I don’t know if I’ve trained hard enough, long enough, or under the right conditions. I don’t want to hit the wall and be forced to walk.

Today I did a lot of reading about Hal Higdon’s plan in an attempt to ease my worries. What I found were really mixed reviews. A number of runners praised Higdon for the high number of pace runs followed by long runs. Others called Higdon’s plan simplistic, saying it was basically the same thing each week except with a few additional miles. My biggest concern with Higdon since the beginning has been what seems like a relatively few number of miles. I’m probably only averaging about eight miles more a week than I was when I wasn’t training. I have increased my daily mileage on a number of occasions because I just felt like I had a lot more in me. Because of the increased pressure I’m feeling now as the marathon looms around the corner, I’ve decided to step up my mileage for the next week and a half. According to Higdon, my week is supposed to go like this: Monday: Cross Train, Tuesday: 5 miles, Wednesday: 8 miles, Thursday: 5 miles, Friday: REST, Saturday: 8 mile PR, Sunday: 20 miles. Instead, I plan to do 18 tomorrow, 8 Wednesday, 8 Thursday, rest Friday, 8 Saturday, and 21 Sunday.

I realize this may be overdoing it, but since this is all new to me I feel like I’m just going to experiment a bit to see what works.

One other thought: “New Year’s Resolutioners.” I’m genuinely pleased to see so many new faces at the gym. Since January first, the local rec center in town where I train has been busting at the seams. It’s inspiring to see people of all sizes, shapes, and athletic ability pledging to become healthy in the new year.

The one drawback is I’ve had to rearrange my running schedule to accommodate the large crowds. I have problems running on the indoor track because of the pin in my foot. When I turn corners and when I have to stop suddenly (for example if there is a walker in front of me who I can’t quickly pass) the pin sends a sharp pain through my foot, up my ankle and into my leg. It’s enough to sometimes make me lose my balance. In addition, the pain lingers for awhile, making it nearly impossible to get in a long run after this happens. For this reason, I try to do most of my runs on the treadmill. Because of the crowds though, I’ve had trouble getting access to equipment. Since I anchor in the mornings my work day is supposed to end by three. My goal until training is over is to be out of work by three and at the gym by 3:30. I am hoping this way I can get in my runs before the large crowds arrive around 6.

….And to all of you who made fitness a part of your New Year’s resolution, KUDOS to you and best of luck!