A bike racer signs up for a marathon....

Okay I was thinking this would be like one of those ‘a guy walks into a bar’ jokes. I was then compelled to do some ‘guy walks into a bar’ jokes research and found a really good one.

A man walks into a bar and orders a drink.

A minute later he hears "You look great. Have you lost weight?" He looks around, but there's no one near.

Again, a minute later, he hears "You know, you don't look a day over 30." Looks around again, no one but him and the bartender, so he asks "Did you hear that?"

The bartender says "It's the peanuts. They're complimentary."

But really, what would compel a bike racer to sign up for a marathon? The New York City Marathon, no less? Bike racers are notorious for saying they will only run when chased by a mountain lion, and complaining vociferously about a bit of run training for cyclocross. I’m fully in my masters racing phase so the extra injury risk that comes with marathon training didn’t really sound like a Sunday picnic either.

Last February, when I was not super enthused to ride the trainer, my lifelong friend Cathy asked me to enter the lottery to run her last NYC Marathon with her. Cathy and I met when I was 23 and she was 44, in a running group that trained for the Bolder Boulder, a giant 10k that takes place every May in Boulder. Cathy is the most persistent friend I’ve ever had. In spite of my moving across the country 3 times since we met, she’s always stayed in touch, and we always met up to run when I was in town.

I hemmed and hawed for a minute and then figured I was very unlikely to get in. So why not enter the lottery and when I didn’t get in, I could offer to spectate. The universe has a sense of humor and I got the credit card charge early one morning and I felt a pit in my stomach. I was in.

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Barb and Cathy, circa 2015, running other races

I immediately started reading up on marathon training. A lot had changed in my years away from the sport. When I was on the cross country team in high school, we only drank water and wore spikes to compete. We did interval training like every day. It was… ill advised.

We did not exactly have 12 megapixel cameras in 1995!

I ran a marathon in 2006, following my college DIII career which was not exactly illustrious. I mostly hung out as the eighth fastest girl on a team that took the top seven to the big meets. I had fond memories of running the 5,000 and 10,000 meters on the track with two friends, exploring New England by bus. I also had a very serious amateur triathlete phase and did Ironman Wisconsin in 2011. All photographic evidence of this phase has thankfully gone the way of my Facebook account.

However, I’ve always loved running. There’s something so easy about it. I enjoyed going on work trips and being able to train without hauling a bike through the airport and trying to find routes in strange cities. Everything is so much more scientific now, as far as training, and don’t even get me started on shoe tech. And the nutrition! I’m pretty sure I had a swig of gatorade (literally one) when I competed in my first marathon. Now I’m practicing with 3 gels on a medium long run.

Gratuitous photo from my college career, honestly. No reason for it to be here except look! Cross Country in the snow!

I started training in earnest in the spring. I missed riding with my TBD pals, but luckily, several of them are easily influenced into signing up for running races and we had gotten a good-sized group to sign up for the Newport 5k in May. We got some extremely cute shirts made, so we all looked excellent, even though several of us went out way too hard and mostly died during the race. I limped in at 20:19, after being determined to go sub-20:00 for the first time since college (I’m 45! This is not that easy!) or to beat Zuck, who had recently run a 19:34. 5k’s are very similar to cyclocross. All out. But maybe they should be slightly less all out.

I have to say it’s honestly been an amazing journey. I am so proud of myself for gutting it out thru 18 and 20 mile runs, even in the blasted heat and humidity of a summer in NYC. I raced a lot, I scored for my running team, I freaked out over real and phantom injuries. It’s like I’m a real marathon runner. I’m writing this blog partly because i’m tapering now, and I needed something to focus on besides obsessing over the race.

Look at all those gels in my pockets!! Photo Credit: Dylan Wells, PPTC

There’s a quote we always used to hear from the most famous Bowdoin runner, Joan Benoit Samuelson - ‘hey, this isn’t that bad’. I think that’s largely how I would describe my summer and fall away from bike racing, focused on the marathon. In a lot of ways I love it. The longest possible run I would undertake is three hours, leaving way more time for brunch than I’ve had in years. I love brunch! I’m so happy my TBD pals have supported me thru my training and my obsessing over running topics. I’m glad they’re alway happy to see me at Friday coffee even if I never join for Friday laps. But I’m looking forward to some Friday laps.

If you, too, lose your marbles and decide to transition to marathon training from bike racing, here are some tips I’ve collected thru my training this year:

• Think about joining a running club. Or rather, just do it! After moving to Brooklyn last year, I signed up for the Prospect Park Track Club. It’s been amazing. The people are terrific, they are so helpful in marathon logistics, and I can always find a few folks to run with, most of whom are faster than I am.

• Start a strength training program. Do it now. Frankly, you should do it whether you’re running or riding. Strength training is your best defense against overuse injuries.

• Read up on nutrition. If you ran in high school or college, a lot has changed. A well-fueled runner is a happy, healthy, and fast runner.

• Try not to go totally overboard with shoe tech. Okay, good luck with that, but… try.

• Find a few running mentors. I have been so lucky to pepper a few good friends with questions about training, shoes, race logistics, and so many other things.

• Remember that you’re doing it for fun. Would I say running 20 miles when it’s 77 degrees with high humidity is fun? I mean, not that fun. But 90% of my runs are enjoyable, on balance. And I can’t wait to run the marathon. It’s going to be an unforgettable day.

Me and my PPTC friends after the Last 10 Miles organized run

Now you know why I’m running the NYC Marathon, and a little bit about my journey. Can I PR in the marathon at age 45? I promise I’ll have plenty of time for a race report in a little over a week!