lightning marriage’s haiyang ma: is pb difficult? i’ll teach you
I say, running a marathon in new shoes is no different from a 'flash marriage.'
——This 'flash marriage' is not that 'flash marriage'
If your strength is lacking, make up for it with gear.
The race is on Sunday, and on Thursday night, I dragged my best friend to go shopping for shoes... I said, I have no shoes to wear.
From the first floor to the fourth floor, and back down again... My best friend was speechless at my indecisiveness: I don't think you'll buy shoes today! Just go home and wash your old ones and wear them again! You've run so many marathons, and I've never seen you buy shoes specifically for a race before!
Haven't you heard of 'if your strength is lacking, make up for it with gear'? I haven't been training much lately, so I'm feeling insecure...
After about an hour of shopping, I finally liked Nike's Zoom Fly fp Fast, but my best friend said the React Flyknit looked better, so I bought the React Flyknit. However, Nike fan Mr. Zhou told me—
He told me at 8 PM, and by 9 PM, I was on my bike to exchange the shoes... a round trip of over 20 kilometers, with about 3 kilometers without streetlights. Only God knows if it was Liang Jingru who gave me the courage.
In the end, I found out that the Zoom Fly fp Fast was about half price on the official website, ¥579, compared to ¥1169 in the store. So I bought it online, thinking it wouldn't arrive before the race, but it arrived the next morning. It felt like destiny.
However, many people advised me not to run a full marathon in new shoes... I actually knew this myself. Running a marathon in new shoes is no different from a flash marriage; the risk is too high since there's no break-in period.
But I really had no shoes to wear! I didn't have any comfortable running shoes... Even after buying the Zoom Fly fp Fast, I felt the size was wrong because the shoes run small. They were so tight that even sitting on the high-speed train felt uncomfortable. I was constantly worried about the shoes...
God knows, I was really just going to Haiyang to take it easy. I didn't expect to achieve any results, especially since I hadn't trained well recently. That's why I chose to wear new shoes.
I know you all will say I'm making excuses... So I prepared evidence: photos to prove that I hadn't run long distances this month and hadn't run at all in the four days before the race.
By the way, I want to tell those who only focus on quantity:Although quantity can lead to quality, in the world of runners, the quality of training and pre-race recovery are also very important. Why work twice as hard for half the result when you can achieve more with less effort?
Facing the sea, with a gentle breeze
Growing up in a coastal city, I was never really impressed by the sea. However, the sea-view king bed room I booked this time amazed me—
The view from the 17th-floor window was breathtaking. They say,As you get older, you become more calm in the face of setbacks and are less likely to cry, but you are more easily moved to tears by the beauty of the moment.
As for me, I often prefer to be alone when I'm feeling down, but when things are beautiful, I always feel like someone is missing.
Fortunately, no matter where I go to run marathons, I always meet fellow runners from different cities—
On the shuttle bus from the high-speed train station to the starting point, I met an elderly man from Beijing, 71 years old,who started running marathons after retiring in 2008... He has run for 11 years and completed over 100 marathons! He had just finished the Lanzhou Marathon and was heading to Haiyang, with plans to go to Chengde on June 27th... I felt both ashamed and inspired: if I follow his example, I can run for another 40 years!
Old Zhao said, in 40 years, you'll be 58, so take care of your body!
In the supermarket, I ran into Brother Yang. We both stood in front of the instant noodle shelf for a long time, and suddenly he said: You're that girl from Codoon, right? I follow you... You run really fast.
I... always feel awkward when people recognize me, so I usually end up taking a selfie with them. I'm truly grateful to everyone who follows and acknowledges me. I often feel undeserving of their admiration; I'm just an ordinary girl, not as amazing as they think.
And then there's this young man who said I was his idol! He specifically arranged to meet me at the starting point for a photo and even brought me local Yantai cherries.
No need to say more, come to Beijing and let me know in advance, I'll prepare Peking duck for you.
And then there's the 'Labor Commissioner' from my group, a guy from Linyi, who promised to run a 3:30 with me but secretly got drunk on Friday and wanted to eat seafood on Saturday! He took a terribly ugly photo of me and bragged about it in the group for half a day. The only thing he did that didn't make me want to hit him was saying that the sea in Haiyang isn't as good as the one in Rizhao, where the water is clearer, the sand is softer, and the grains are finer...
No problem! I love it when people praise my hometown, Rizhao. Even though I can't go back...
I think the reason we love running is not just because it changes our physique and mental state, but more importantly, because it makes us think and meet new people...
From 42.195km of solitude to 42.195km of companionship. Still the same old saying: go run, go meet the people you want to meet, don't wait, there's no need.
The course is smooth, and the experts are numerous.
Since I placed eighth and won 3000 yuan at the Jinzhong Marathon with a time of 3:39, I've been feeling a bit overconfident. I thought that in a bronze-level event like Haiyang, I should at least make it to the top ten, even though I didn't feel capable of breaking 3:30...
Then at the starting point, I met Yan Zhiyou Li, a sub-3-hour marathoner. I asked if he would place around third or fourth, and he said that making the top 100 would be good enough. So I readjusted my expectations: just take it easy.
But I forgot: taking a photo with an expert can help you achieve a personal best.
I've run many marathons and been an 'elite' runner in many races, but Haiyang was different: first, it was the only race I got into through a lottery; second, my bib number was different from others, just three digits with no division, only a number and name; and third, the elite runners had their own section, with the official pacers and A-group runners behind them...
The feeling of being treated specially was inevitably exciting.
The gun went off, and everyone rushed out. I was the slowest. With a pace of 4:30, I was constantly being overtaken. From the second kilometer, I started to slow down, maintaining a steady pace of around 4:50.
The weather was perfect, not too sunny, with occasional breezes... I was in good shape, with a heart rate just over 160 before the halfway point. There were always a few girls running at a similar pace beside me, some with private pacers who carried water and supplies for them and occasionally handed me a cooling sponge...
Running alone, I felt a huge psychological shadow: I had no private pacer and could only rely on myself.
I realized the level of competition at the Haiyang Marathon from the 18th kilometer. At the Jinzhong Marathon, there were no runners on the return leg even at the 24th kilometer, but at Haiyang, I could see female runners on the return leg at the 18th kilometer! I counted the number of female runners ahead of me... Before reaching the turnaround point, there were already over 20, so there was no hope for a good ranking, but I still had a chance to achieve a personal best.
So in the second half, I had only one thought: don't slow down. From 21km to 42km, I overtook countless girls and boys... Every time I saw someone stop to walk, I would say, 'Keep going,' to encourage both them and myself.
In the end, I finished in 3:26. I achieved a personal best! This might have been the most effort I've ever put into a marathon, with no sprint finish and no immediate screenshot to report my result.
Crossing the finish line, I immediately drank all the liquids in my finishers' bag: a bottle of glucose drink, a bottle of water, and a bag of milk, and devoured a banana. I felt like I could faint at any moment if I didn't replenish immediately...
The Haiyang Marathon taught me a hard lesson: Shandong is indeed a sports powerhouse, full of experts. I placed eighth with a time of 3:39 at Jinzhong, but only 24th with a time of 3:26 at Haiyang.
Although I didn't place, I was lucky enough to qualify for the elite honor award and accidentally shared a prize of 150,000 yuan.
Loving something and striving to excel at it, while also earning some money, feels really great!
Running has always taught me to grow—
Whether in work or life... decide what kind of person you want to be and what kind of life you want to live, then just go for it! Daydreaming, hesitation, and doubt are useless.
Thank you, Codoon, thank you, Rudy, thank you, my idol, for the vest...
Finally, let me share my training plan with you all—
Is achieving a personal best difficult? Let me teach you!
Besides regular training, energy distribution during the race is also very important: for the first 5km, run at your target pace plus 10 seconds; for the second 5km, run at your target pace minus 10 seconds to make up for the time lost in the first 5km. From the third 5km onwards, run at your target pace steadily... When encountering hills or feeling off, you can slow down by 10-20 seconds per kilometer to adjust, and then make up the lost time when you feel better. Repeat this process...
If you haven't hit the wall by 35km, you probably won't hit it! Speed up if you can, sprint if you can.
Alright, train well! See you in Taiyuan.