Marathon Training: Week 2

Heat and Hydration

I’ve just completed the second week of the marathon training program and I am still encouraged; albeit, a little sore. My favorite thing to do when I arrive home after a run is to refer to my training spreadsheet and turn the cell containing the day’s run green. The eight mile long run was particularly difficult, but putting Eminem on my playlist for this run was the best music decision. 8-Mile? B-Rabbit? In the movie B-Rabbit struggled to face his fears. This is something that resonates with me, because I’m so full of doubt that I will be able to complete the Athens Marathon even as I progress.

Due to the extreme heat in Europe this year, I have to break up my four mile runs or I will overheat. On Tuesday and Wednesday this past week, I ran to the Tot 1 Euro bar which is exactly 2 miles from my house. This place offers me an opportunity to cool down from the heat and drink a few baby beers for hydration and added carbs for fuel. This bar is a pretty interesting place with a wide array of people that patronize this establishment. Everything in this bar is 1 euro. A coffee, water, beer, cava, shot of liquor, potato chips, hot dog, hamburger, sandwich or a croissant can be had for 1 euro.

I’m a bit of an outlier in this place. I usually enter the bar super sweaty in my running gear and ask for a beer with a fast follow for a second beer (never a third). I basically quickly drink these two little baby beers, hit the loo, and get running within 10 minutes. I get a few side stares when I’m in there and I don’t really think people appreciate me coming in to such a low energy place, amped up from running. On the way back, I try to keep pace with my time that it took to run to the bar. I will try to avoid stopping here in the future, but it serves its purpose while the weather is so painfully hot. I don’t know of any marathon training plans that advocate for stopping for a beer during a run, but I’ve never been the conventional type.