About two months ago, out of the blue, I decided I wanted to run a marathon. Granted, it is the Walt Disney World marathon, so I get the amazing opportunity to run through all four parks, taking pictures with characters the whole way! But, as a 20-year-old college woman, it could have possibly been the most last-minute, ridiculous decision of my life. When would I have time to train? How do I train? Do I really even comprehend what it means to run 26.2 miles at one time?Â
Thankfully, all these questions were quickly answered by my mom who has done her fair share of distance competitions: ranging from marathons to full Ironman races. She helped me find a training plan and explained to me the kind of commitment I needed to have. She, like mothers do, reminded me to get enough protein and to stay hydrated. But all of this information helped me compile a whole plan that I would be able to fit into my schedule. So if you’re as crazy as I am, here’s some of the struggles and strengths that come with being a college student training for a marathon.
One of the first questions, or comments, I get has something to do with the amount of running I have to do. The end game is to run 26.2 miles at one time, but I don’t have to go out and run more than 10 miles every day. I’m lucky to have made the decision early so I could have a good 6 months to train, which means I only run three times a week: two short runs and one long run. Sure, it increases every two weeks, but it’s at a reasonable pace. The issue comes when you have class from 9 am to 5 pm and then you have sorority events, and then you have homework, and you have to make the adult decision to wake up before all of that and run for 30 minutes. Sometimes the college-brain takes over and you try to convince yourself that it’s fine if you don’t run, you’ll be fine. Or sometimes you just stay up until 4 am the night before and you want to cry the next morning when you get up to run, so you push it off until lunch time and you have a break and you die from heat. That’s the struggle of being in college and training for a marathon. But it makes it all okay when you finish a long run and you get a rush of endorphins and you’re proud of everything you and your body can do. So, there’s some strengths, too.Â
The second thing that gets difficult when you’re a college student training for a marathon is food. I made the decision to be a most-of-the-time vegan over the summer, so my diet can sometimes be somewhat restrictive, but all around healthy and nourishing to my body. Eating as many fruits and vegetables as I do really helps my overall stamina because I constantly feel energized and full of life. The only problem is, as a college student, the dining hall does not always cooperate with my dietary needs and sometimes I can only eat salad and have to eat what I have in my room. This isn’t a drag of the dining hall because I know they try their best, but I depend on them (in order to stay on a low budget), and sometimes I get let down and am sluggish for my run the next day. All of this said, I love getting to tell people that you can have a compassion for animals and still be fully able to train for a marathon!
Even though training for a marathon as college student can be difficult, and it takes a lot of maneuvering, planning, and time management, the achievement at the end is so amazing. It’s going to be so incredible in January to cross the finish line (sweaty, tired, hungry, and basically dead) and get to tell people that I am a marathon runner! I’m so pumped, and I’m going to work so hard to get through all the struggles so I can feel all the strengths!