Post-Marathon Wisdom

Two words - locked-hips. That is all it took to completely destroy my goal of running this marathon under 5 hours.

Let me start from the beginning. Sunday morning in Niagara Falls was beautiful. Nice sunrise, little to no clouds and certainly not the amount of wind we experienced on Saturday. Great! We hopped onto the buses, stopped to clear customs then were whisked away to Buffalo to view the art gallery before starting the marathon. It was a bit chilly but once I started running it was quite comfortable. The first 21.1 kms were excellent. I was exactly on pace, felt energized, heart rate was under control and I had little to no pain. The sun was out and the wind was dead. My half-marathon split was 2:22:50. That was a whole 5 minutes faster than my previous half-marathon split. Things were looking great - I was totally on target to beat my goal.

   And then it happened. My hips started to feel very tight and then all of sudden I had a sharp pain, which felt like someone was stabbing me with a fine tipped knife on both sides of my body directly into my hips. I stopped to try to stretch it out and re-focus my mind. I started experiencing slight panic since I realized I was only half-way through. If this pain kept up for the remainder of the race, I wasn't sure I would be able to keep on pace. I started running again. We were now running along the Niagara Parkway, which was beautiful since we were running by the water, but also quite desolate. There were few scattered spectators but for the vast majority of the run there was nobody else, save for the few hydration stations we ran past. The wind was also starting to pick up at this point. The pain wasn't subsiding. It wasn't getting worse, but it was definitely not improving. What to do?

   I decided to take a short break at the next hydration station and see if a little more extensive stretching and a bit of walking might help. It didn't. Full panic was really starting to set in now and I could feel the tears forming at the edges of my eyes. Then something amazing happened. A man ran past me and asked if I was OK. No I stammered, I was in a lot of pain - a lot of hip pain. The man stopped running and offered to show me some hip stretches. I graciously accepted. To my immediate relief they seemed to help, if only a little bit. He told me we would walk a little bit and then start to run again - I agreed. We got to talking and I found out his name was Mike and he was from Dallas, Texas. He had run a bunch of marathons and had even finished some ultra trail runs - talk about hardcore. I felt better knowing someone was there. The pain was coming back though and I could tell I was really slowly down, I could feel my dreams slipping away and the tears were instantly in my eyes again. I was looking ahead and I saw my dad in the distance with his phone obviously trying to take a picture. I waved to my family and tried to hold myself together. I introduced Mike and my family said they would be waiting for me at the next spectator area.

                                   Mike and I running with me trying to regain composure and sending out the friendly wave.


  By this point in the race the pain was quite unbearable. Running was not something I could consistently do. I think Mike realized this and he suggested we do some power walking for awhile to give my hips a break. He was being extremely positive and was saying things like - All that matters now is that we cross the finish line. Or, Even with walking we are only 1-1:30 min/km slower - not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I know he was trying to be comforting, but the only word flashing across my mind was - FAILURE. I knew now there was no way I would be able to run more than 1 km without having to stop and walk for another km. My goal shifted from finishing under 5 hours to just finishing period. Somewhere between kilometer 33-37 Mike told me I was "too fast" and would have to go on without him. What an emotional parting that was. He told me to remember the stretches he had taught me and if I had to, I should walk and that I was much stronger than I realized. I pulled ahead and with tears streaming down my face attempted to walk/run to where my family was waiting.

   I met my family and when I saw them, I burst into tears. My mum was running beside me but I basically just fell into her arms and started sobbing. There was no way I could finish this. I still had almost 5 km to go and I was done. The pain was just too much. Even walking at this point was hard and I knew I was compensating for the pain by slouching my back which was giving me back pain. Months and months and months of training had failed me and I was reduced to a distorted slow walk. My family kept cheering me and telling me I could finish, I could go on, I was almost there, so close. They would wait for me at the finish line. I reluctantly starting walking, tears still streaming down my face. I had to do this, I had to finish.

                                                Running to my mum to give her a hug and take a cry break.

    I ran/walk for another 3 kms. I was beyond frustrated and pissed off. My energy levels were fine, my muscles were fine, my heart rate was fine, it was my stupid stupid stupid hips that were holding me back. I could have made my time in under 5 hours, I know I could have. What had I done wrong?? Did I not do enough long runs? Did I under-train? Did I not stretch enough? Did I not rest enough? The questions came flooding out and I had no answers. I was devastated to think I would never run another marathon again. I came across a bend in the road and a woman running in front of me had her friends on the sideline run beside her. She too burst into tears as she hugged her friends and sobbed. I thought to myself - at least I'm not the only one having an emotional breakdown. As I ran by I said to her - I just did that myself a few kilometers back. She smiled and I hobbled onward. I came across a man who also seemed to be struggling and I said to him, we are so close! Almost there! (More for me than for him) He laughed and said I know! My body just doesn't want to get me there. How true I thought, either does mine.

   The last 2 kms dragged on forever. The course was marked in miles but had markings for the full marathon, the half marathon and the 10 km and I was a little confused on how many miles/kilometers were left. I just kept telling myself - 1 km to go! That at least seemed manageable.
The last kilometer of the race was in fact downhill. Right before the downhill part there was markings on the road, obviously intended for vehicles, but which fit perfectly into my predicament. It said - NO STOPPING!! I actually laughed out loud and said damn right no stopping. The downhill part was winding so it was impossible to see the actual finish line although I knew it had to be close. A single spectator who had obviously ran either shouted to me - it is just around the bend!! I gave him a nod and threw every ounce of strength I had left into my hips and sprinted whatever distance was left. I was alone and I could hear the crowd. The instant I saw the finish line I burst into tears.

Seeing the finish line - the exact moment I burst into tears

                                                          Running and sobbing towards the finish line

                                         The last few meters before finishing the Niagara Falls Marathon 2013

The crowd saw me and started clapping and shouting. When I crossed the finish line I couldn't help it. I began to sob. A very helpful volunteer put a coat around me and said congratulations. With tears streaming down my face I chugged back 3 cups of cytomax and collected my medal. A photographer came over and offered to take my picture. I said sure, let me just pull myself together. He said are you kidding me? After what you have been through you look great!! This caused me to laugh and I was able to smile for my picture.


   I met my family for a giant group hug. I heard - KRISTIN !! I turned around and saw that Mike had also finished the marathon!! He said congrats, I knew you could do it. He gave me a hug and I said thank you so much, without you I wouldn't have been able to do it. We walked away and my tears started again.

   What can I say? This marathon experience was DRASTICALLY different from my last one in Toronto. I thought I was better prepared, not only physically but also mentally. Turns out I wasn't - in both regards. I lost it physically which in turn caused me to lose it mentally. The marathon really is a wild beast. Tough hardcore looking men that could kick my a$$ were also limping and hobbling to the finish line next to me because of knee pain, hip pain, leg pain etc ... It is so unpredictable and it is such a grueling event. Family and friends have been unbelievably supportive and keep telling me I should just be proud I finished. To some extent they are right, just the fact I could finish the marathon is a feat in itself considering how much determination it took to cross that finish line, but to some extent they are also wrong. I didn't set out to "just finish" this marathon, I set out to beat my previous time of 5:00.28 and that didn't happen. I in fact added 18 minutes to my previous time. It hurts, it really does, but I learned a valuable lesson. The marathon is very unpredictable and quite unforgiving. You need to be able to focus and handle yourself when something goes wrong. It also showed me the amazing kindness of strangers. Mike didn't have to stop and help me, but he did. That is what I love about running and running culture. I feel like the marathon spirit engulfs every runner and ties us together as we experience this true test of endurance together. The whole experience alone makes me emotional but this time around it took me to a whole other level.

   I promised myself I would never run another marathon after this experience. It was just such a devastating blow to my ego and to my sense of determination. However, Mike mentioned to me that the Chicago marathon must be added to my bucket list. If he saw me at my absolute worst and in a fit state of mind suggested I might run another marathon maybe all hope isn't lost for me after all. I know one thing is for sure, I am taking a break from running. I feel like we need time apart. I might turn back to my true love (swimming) or maybe schedule in some yoga to sort out my hip but I need time to heal (physically and mentally) from this experience.

   What will the future bring? Stay tuned !  

Pre-Marathon Strategy

I can’t believe the marathon is this Sunday. Toronto held their Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon last weekend, I ran my first marathon there in 2011. That was an amazing experience and during that time I learned a ton of things I wanted to repeat and even more things I knew I would need to change if I wanted to do another marathon.

Reflecting back on my last marathon training plan, I realize now it was just way too much mileage for the type of marathon runner I was (a beginner). It called for over 950 km in 18 weeks which averages to just over 50 km a week. During my taper last time I just slept and when I got to the start line I still felt tired, sore and just didn't possess that “fresh” feeling tapers are supposed to instill in you. I also was skipping a lot of runs towards the end because I just couldn't push myself to get out and run. This time around I picked a less intense mileage plan. This one calls for 770 km in 20 weeks, averaging to just over 40 km/week. This plan has been much more enjoyable for me and has even allowed me to incorporate tempo, interval and distance training at desired speeds. For my last program I just went out and ran the distance with little respect to time or pace because whatever pace I wanted to run, I couldn't maintain it. This time around has felt much more like a training period as opposed to a just doing it period. I am very curious to what results this training program will produce as compared to the previous one.

This time around I was also much more flexible in my training. Last time I tried to follow the training program to a T (including which days each run should be done on) this created stress because sometimes I just couldn't run when I needed to (other things took priority). This time around I adopted a relaxed attitude. If I had to do a long run on Tuesday instead of Sunday, I did. If family or friends were over I would skip the 5 km planned for Saturday and not feel guilty about it. I also forced myself to run my slow runs SLOW. This might sound easy, but trust me, it can be difficult at times.

The things I repeated this time around were – to keep a daily running journal. I would log the exact mileage I had ran, what I had eaten and the amount of sleep I had gotten. This helped me keep on top of myself to make sure I was looking after myself. Half way through marathon training the idea I was marathon training had worn off and I was getting lazy/messy with my eating habits including skipping meals. This really decreased my energy reserves and I was struggling to finish long runs. Bad habit!! I was also cheating myself out of sleep. I realized sleep has a MAJOR influence on my running ability. Not only physically but also mentally. You slack off and let yourself get away with more shortcuts because you are “tired”. Don’t give yourself that excuse, make sure you are well rested. I really did pay more attention to my body this time around and let myself rest if I felt I needed it and pushed through times I was just being lazy. I think that has resulted in an overall more enjoyable experience.

Overall I really feel I just had more fun with marathon training this time around. I did have a few brutal long runs where I had to walk but I realized why that was (lack of sleep and poor diet). I think there were a lot less surprises this time around.

Looking forward to Sunday I have decided to set 2 goals. One that I hope can be more or less achievable and one that if I obtain would be a huge cause of celebration for me!

Goal #1 – Like I stated awhile back, my first marathon goal was to finish in under 5 hours. This caused me to run it in 5:00.35. This time, I REALLY want to run this marathon in under 5 hours. I honestly believe this is possible (fingers crossed).

Goal #2 – I would be extremely happy if I could run it around 4:50. As I am writing this, I feel my time will be around 4:55-4:57 so if I could shave about 5 minutes off of that predicted time I would really be proud. 7:00 min/km pace would get me around 4:55 but I am hoping to maintain a 6:45 min/km pace for the majority of the race, possibly slowing down to 7:00 min/km in the final stretch.

Goals are now set, the only thing to do is enjoy the final taper week, eat carbs like crazy (not a single complaint from me on this one) and load up on sleep.

Good luck to everyone else running this weekend, we are going to ROCK IT !!!!

My love hate relationship with interval training

Ahhh, interval training.

For the love part of this relationship, the only way to get faster is to run and to run fast. Makes sense.
Another pro is that after running fast, you get to run slowly for an interval of time. I like that.

Now for the hate part. You have to run really fast for a long period of time. I initially started off running 5 x 400 m intervals. This wasn't so bad. I was averaging 4:20 min/km (about 13.5 km/hr) but after talking to a veteran friend of mine she mentioned that 400 m intervals were too short for marathon training and that I should step it up to 800 m intervals. So I thought I would try that. I decided to start off with 3 x 800 m Wow. Those are tough. As a non-runner friend of mine stated - you can't run all out for 800 m. How truthful that statement was. I thought I was gauging my energy and time right but after 500 m I was losing steam quickly. A weird feeling is when your legs either feel like complete mush or they are numb. You gaze down just to make sure they are still running and just hope they can hang on for the remaining 300 m. Then you get that rush of lactic acid and the pain and stiffness follow. Interval training really is a strategic event - making sure you are running fast enough to get the benefits of that vs. making sure you can sustain that speed for a decent amount of time without losing consistency or stamina.

However, the net outcome of this is that short term pain really pays off in the long run (haha) for serious gain. Last week I was doing my weekly long run (23 km) and decided to run 1 min below race pace (5:30 min/km) for the last 2 kms and I was actually able to do it. This was purely due to interval training.

  Of all the different types of runs I do during the week; long run, recovery run (x2), tempo run and interval training, interval training is by far the hardest workout for me to get out there and do. Its funny, it is always the shortest run but is always the hardest (mentally) to do.

   Today is Sunday - long run day. The weather is gorgeous outside, full sunshine, warm and little to no wind perfect fall day. This is my second last long run (today will be 26 km) before I start to taper down. I am hoping to average 6:30 min/km about what I hope will be my race pace. This should comfortably allow me to run the marathon under 5 hours even allowing for some slow down in my last 10 km. I can't believe I'm already in week 17 of my training plan! I have so far logged 570 km and am feeling great! Can't wait for October 27th to roll around so I can see all of my hard training pay off!

The Long Run

Does this happen to other people?

     So I spent all day psyching myself up for my long run. Today was rainy and thunderstormy and a little chilly (perfect procrastination formula) for the beginning of August. I kept putting it off because I had decided today was going to be "the first 48" marathon watching day. After mentally battling myself all day I finally managed to kick my butt off the couch around 6 pm to go running. I had already complied the podcasts and playlists I wanted to listen to, turned on my Garmin, and prepared to embark on my 14.5 km Sunday long run. And what happens next? Well, nothing actually. My Ipod was dead. Apparently charging overnight for 10 hours isn't enough to breath life into this thing. I'm starting to think it needs nuclear radiation to power it. Like simple electricity from the wall is not enough for this thing (typical Apple arrogance right?). Anyways, HUGE mental block right? I'm all for running, but I also need the mental distraction or else ... I'm left with *gasp* my OWN THOUGHTS !!
 
   This little inconvenience brought me to the second mental battle of the evening. I can't possibly run that long without my Ipod right? I can put this run off another day (Kristin = 1 pt, run = 0 pt). But - I had already put all my running gear on, had actually managed to sync my Garmin to satellites (another battle) and we all know I wasn't going to get up early tomorrow morning ... so today it was (Kristin = 0 pt, run = victory).

   I set off on my run. The first 20-30 mins is the usual mental chatter you experience. Wow - I really accomplished nothing today. My apartment needs a clean. What work can I reasonably manage to get done this week? Did I leave the stove on? Why is it so cold? Will it stop raining soon? Why do 2 people manage to block an entire sidewalk? Then ... for some reason after the 40-45 min mark your mind starts to go into weird places. First weird thing - I was running past a bus stop and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a man standing inside with a hoodie on. My first thought? (For serious) was - He is trying to kill you. You need to run faster. He has a knife, no wait, probably a gun and he is going to run you down, drag you into the park and murder you. He is going to leave your body hidden in the bushes. Obviously you have no ID on you, so when some poor person (probably another runner) finds you nobody will know who you are. You didn't tell anyone your running route so nobody will even know you are gone until (at best) the next morning. You know what this all stems from? A full day of watching "The first 48!". For those of you that don't know it - it is a reality detective show that follows the detectives in the first 48 hours following a murder since if they don't solve it in the first 48 hours their chances of solving it are cut in half. Alright. So after calming myself down and reassuring myself no one was going to kill me I ran past a group of nice young men.

   So they decided to wait until I had run past (they always do ...) and then they shouted something. Not something encouraging like - Run harder! Or, you got this! Or wow, like your top! (Like the old Italian men do) they shouted something like, "huggrragfuuuuuuuuk". This word occupied my run for the next 20 minutes. Was it positive encouragement? Were they attempting to compliment my nice running gear? Maybe they didn't like it. I was told once orange wasn't my colour, maybe I should have listened ! Perhaps they had noticed my socks didn't match the rest of my nicely coordinated outfit. I finally decided I didn't care what their opinion was either way because they don't know me, they don't know who I am, WHY ARE PEOPLE SO JUDGMENTAL ?? !!!

   My last mental distraction tangent was a much more emotional one. Weird how your long run puts you through emotional changes (or maybe I'm just the only one ...). I ran past a park and there were two men in wheelchairs who had obviously lost the use of their legs. This made me instantly appreciative and humble for the fact that I could even decide whether I wanted to run today or not. Just the fact I had the complete use of my legs and it was more my mind that was the hindrance to getting out there - not any sort of physical disability. This happy almost meditative mood followed me to the end of my run when I could finally push the stop button on my handy Garmin. I am still in a post-run happiness/motivated/encouraged mood but I'm sure the instant I have to get out of bed tomorrow to run it will be long gone !!

    Point of today's blog post. Do other runners experience weird mental journeys on their long runs when they run without music? I'm deciding whether I might need to talk to someone or not, or whether tapering down on the First 48 might be enough ....

Blogging for the Niagara Falls Marathon

So I just found out something really cool. The Niagara Falls Marathon is linking individual runner blogs to their website and facebook page! I thought this was a fantastic idea and volunteered my own humble blog to the cause. I look forward to reading about and following the journeys of my fellow runners! I also look forward to other peoples comments and words of encouragement and wisdom.

I thought I would take a step back and introduce myself. My name is Kristin (in case you didn't see the huge blog title ...) and I have become an accidental runner. I used to hate running. I mean REALLY hate it. I signed up for a gym and they told me I would have to run on the treadmill for 15 mins to warm up, so I promptly left and joined another one.
(Don't believe me? Check out my first run as part of my first triathlon - do I look happy to you?)

  All my life I have been a swimmer. I love the water. I love the feeling you get when you dive into it, the feeling you get swimming through it and the feeling you get floating in it after a great workout. I then met two friends - a biker and a runner. This set me down the path of triathlons. I enjoyed triathlons. It turns out, most people can't swim. Or at least, they can't swim well. The first triathlon I did, I was one of the first out of the water. I will admit, this made me a little cocky. This isn't so hard I thought to myself. I'm going to win this thing! Then came the bike. Followed by the run. That sure showed me. I think I finished in the bottom 20%. Although discouraged I thought, if I can just decrease my run time, I would be a lot better. Then, Bam. I started running.  Well ... running is probably a bit to strong. I started jogging ... errr ... walking briskly. At first it was painful. Not physically, mentally. How boring is it to run alone, on a treadmill, facing a wall for an hour? Let me tell you (in case you couldn't guess) - it is really boring. I thought ... this isn't going to last long.
(A much happier me in a bathing suit as opposed to running gear)

   Then something changed. I started running outside (and having music/podcasts didn't hurt). I actually found myself enjoying it! (GASP!). Now. I'm going to be honest. There are days when I HATE running. Like days when the entire time I'm running I'm cursing myself for setting down this stupid path (after all WHO the HECK would want to run 42.2 km voluntarily?) but those days are made up for by the days when you feel like you are literally flying down the sidewalk. This is turning out to be longer than I had planned. I should hurry things along.

   The basics are this. I signed up to run the Niagara Falls Marathon in October, 2013. I have only ran one marathon previously with my only goal being to do it under 5 hours. What was my time you ask? No joke ... it was 5:00.28. Seriously. You know when you get really excited and then all of your happiness and joy comes crashing down in 29 seconds? Ya ... it sucks eh? So ! I decided, it can't be that hard to knock off 29 seconds over 5 hours right? So I am attempting this again. If anyone out there has advice/experiences/funny comments to add, I would be grateful ! Sometimes out there running for hours you need something to ponder over, so if people want to add some of life's unsolvable questions, maybe I can ponder those over as well (Not the usual ones like, why is chili called chili when it's hot? I need more originality here people).

    I hope at least 1 person reads this post and finds it somewhat amusing. That would mean - mission accomplished ! Good luck to everyone out there and I will try to update my blog more then once a year ...

  - Kristin

Niagara Falls - Here I come !!

I really am terrible with keeping on top of blog posts. I apologize.

I have realized that running reappears in my life during times of great unhappiness and uncertainty. It is a way for me to re-focus my life, set a goal, stick to training and hopefully accomplish what I set out to do. I have direct control over it and I get out of it exactly what I put into it. There is a peace that comes with that. When things around me fall apart, I always turn to running to bring me back to life so to speak.

In 2011 I was emotionally devastated. My heart had shattered into a million pieces and I was beyond miserable. Nothing was able to pull me back into my former self and I was scared I would never get back to the level of happiness I had felt before. I decided that now was the best time if any to sign up for a marathon and just do it. That experience was something I will never forget. I trained hard, like really hard, for 5 months and it became the center of my world. I was either eating, sleeping, working, or running. It give me purpose and a sense of drive back into my life. When October approached and I actually ran the full marathon it was one of the most freeing moments of pure happiness that I can't really even begin to describe. Before even starting the marathon I was an emotional mess. In the car, with my family, driving to the start line I had to pull back tears. When the race finally started and I ran past a woman holding a sign, "You are a true inspiration" I completely lost it. It was only kilometer 5 and I was practically sobbing while I was running. Months and months of hardwork had paid off and now I was here, running a marathon, something I have always said I would do, never fully expecting to actually be doing it. Crossing the finish line, or rather, approaching the finishing line is one of those moments in life, that unless you experience it for yourself, can't really be put into words. I would say it is a sense of accomplishment, but it really goes far deeper than that. I had hit rock bottom and I had slowly, with the help of running, clawed myself back to the top. Those 5 months gave me my life back, I was re-born. Running had put things back into prospective and I had found myself again. That was 2011. Oh ya, I also had an amazingly supportive family and friends (including my brother) who liked to remind me I was "only" running a marathon.

This year, 2013, has been amazing to me. I finally published two of my scientific articles, I was moving on in my PhD and had finally applied to medical school, another life goal I had always had but never thought I would seriously get out there and try to do. It was a long process, I had sent my application in for October 1st, 2012 for possible admission for September 2013. I was granted an interview (a great feat in itself!) and went to it in April 2013. The results were released on May 14th, 2013. After months and months of anticipation, sleepless nights, thoughts of where is my life going? I found out I was rejected. Like horribly rejected. I was once again devastated. A life goal that felt soooo close to coming true had once again shattered before my eyes. I lost my sense of purpose and drive again. What would I do now?? I felt lost and unworthy. Once again, I turned to running. I signed up for the Niagara Falls marathon in October 2013. If running was able to give me myself back 2 years ago, will it be able to do it again? Well, 2 weeks into training, time will tell.

Good luck to everyone else out there training for any running event!

Marathon training advice

I read a lot of other people's blogs about marathon training and advice on marathon training and I found it extremely helpful, hopeful, and encouraging.  Since I have basically been doing this on my own I have turned to the internet and people's typed words to give me inspiration and encouragement.  I therefore decided to compile a list of my own tips for new people setting out on the marathon training path.  The following tips are only my opinion and are only based on my own experiences.

1. Pick a program and stick to it. The hardest part is getting out there and just doing it.  Nobody else is going to run those miles for you, it is up to you and only you to kick your ass out there everyday and run.  A great quote for you:  "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."  -John Bingham  
2. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Training isn't all physical - it is also very mental.  It is very easy at the end of a long day to say, I'm too tired.  The more well rested and confident you are the easier it will be to do your runs.  Sleep also does wonders for the aches and pains associated with running.
3. Don't over-train! This might seem obvious, but trust me, its easier to do then you realize.  It took me lying in bed, crying on the phone to my mum at the thought of having to get an oil change for my car to realize I was over doing it just a tad.  Running more and more and more will not make you a better runner.  The body needs rest and you need to allow yourself to have it. 
4.  As much as you think you are an all star runner, you aren't. I started out with huge expectations for myself and when I started to feel tired and sore I was upset and hard on myself.  Why did I expect to push all my weekly runs hard and still have all the energy in the world to run a fast long run on the weekends?  I have only completed a handful of 10K's and one half - I am by no means an accomplished runner.  Be realistic and be kind to yourself.  We can all beat ourselves up over what we haven't accomplished, but try to remember what you ARE accomplishing. 
5. Buy a heart rate monitor! If you are like me and always feel like you have to be sweating buckets and huffing and puffing to have a good workout, you need to start heart rate training.  I feel it is incredibly frustrating to run at a pace I feel is slow.  This however, is crucial for endurance training.  I have a Garmin Forerunner 305 and it is amazing.  It has heart rate alerts (which are horribly loud and annoying) so if you are running too fast you will hear about it immediately and trust me you will WANT to slow down.  As an added bonus the alert scares people out of your way when running on busy sidewalks. 
6. Buy some sort of hydration device. The long runs are long - like 3-4 hours long.  If you are like me and decided to do the bulk of your training in the hot and humid summer you will need to hydrate.  Sure you can plan your route around fountains or stack water bottles around the city like a squirrel but I find having either a camelback (or any other make) or the waist water bottles is much more practical.  When I get into my running groove I like to stay in it, I don't want to stop and wait in a water fountain line while some dog ahead of me is drinking out of it, or digging around in the bush trying to unearth my water bottle.
7. 7. Realize bad days happen, you will doubt yourself and yes, this IS normal.  The worst run of my entire life was a long run of 29 km.  I started out WAYYY too fast and ended up walking the last 8 kms.  This killed my confidence and made me wonder what the hell I was doing. I told myself, phff, I don't even like running anyway!  Therefore quitting now isn't even a big deal because I will just be stopping something I don't enjoy.  Don't let yourself get away with this.  You have a goal, you are amazing, and if you stick to it you WILL finish it! 
8. 8. Keep a running log and update it daily. There are many reasons for this.  1) If you ever experience #7 above, you can look at everything you have done so far and remind yourself how awesome you are.  2) Some running days are better than others.  If you felt good one day and horrible the next, check your log.  Did you eat something off?  Was your sleep shorter than it should have been?  New stresses in your life? 3) It can help you prevent #3 above.  Are your times getting progressively worse and your heart rate is consistently elevated?  Sometimes you just need some extra days off to keep yourself in tip top shape.

I hope this can offer some help to anyone out there starting on the incredible journey that is marathon training.   Just remember this - you are not alone, you are awesome, and you CAN DO IT!