精品国产_亚洲人成在线高清,国产精品成人久久久久,国语自产偷拍精品视频偷拍

立即打開(kāi)
跑馬拉松十年,我收獲了什么?

跑馬拉松十年,我收獲了什么?

PHIL WAHBA 2021-10-16
《財(cái)富》編輯王波非跑遍美國(guó)所有州的全馬賽事,他從中收獲了什么?

2019年2月,《財(cái)富》資深作者王波非(Phil Wahba)完成路易斯安那州的馬拉松比賽。圖片來(lái)源:MAARTEN VANDERSMAN

這個(gè)標(biāo)題提出的問(wèn)題非常具有阿拉斯加特色。今年6月,在安克雷奇市長(zhǎng)馬拉松比賽進(jìn)行到一半時(shí),我正在一條綠樹(shù)成蔭的碎石小道上跑著,另一位跑者指給我看,我那時(shí)并不害怕。我抓緊時(shí)間跑步,我只想安全地完成比賽,最終實(shí)現(xiàn)跑完美國(guó)各州(以及額外增加的華盛頓特區(qū))全馬公路賽的目標(biāo)。

多年來(lái),我在參加馬拉松比賽時(shí)遭遇了各種挑戰(zhàn)和不幸:由于訓(xùn)練不足,我經(jīng)常會(huì)感到不適;在離終點(diǎn)線不遠(yuǎn)處嘔吐,我在羅德島州和弗吉尼亞參加比賽時(shí)就出現(xiàn)了這種情況(每次比賽用時(shí)不到四個(gè)小時(shí),但就在最后不到一分鐘功虧一簣!),因?yàn)槲业奶妓衔镅a(bǔ)充策略不當(dāng);由于虛脫被抬入醫(yī)療帳篷(兩次!分別在威斯康星州和愛(ài)荷華州);乳頭擦傷(只需一次就會(huì)得到教訓(xùn))等等。但要是遇到熊?那就太糟了。

在阿拉斯加比賽中,我很幸運(yùn)。我剛剛從那只熊和她的兩個(gè)幼崽休息的地方跑過(guò)。熊的出現(xiàn)迫使比賽總監(jiān)不得不臨時(shí)為我身后的數(shù)百名選手重新安排了比賽路線,但我仍沿著原定路線跑。

比賽順利結(jié)束。(當(dāng)我發(fā)現(xiàn)只有我一人出現(xiàn)在樹(shù)木茂密的賽段時(shí),我唱起了“Fozzie Bear stay away, Fozzie Bear stay away”,我感覺(jué)不那么害怕了。)最終,我越過(guò)了設(shè)在市中心安克雷奇公園的第51條終點(diǎn)線。共有389名選手完成了此次馬拉松比賽,我是其中之一,還包括當(dāng)日和我一起加入50州完賽俱樂(lè)部的少數(shù)人。

比賽期間,傾盆大雨,人群稀少,所以沒(méi)有多少歡呼聲。盡管這是我長(zhǎng)達(dá)十年追求到達(dá)的巔峰,但那一刻對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)有點(diǎn)平淡,這也說(shuō)明這并不是什么大不了的事。我至少贏得了獎(jiǎng)牌發(fā)放者的喝彩。我向她喊道,“我剛剛完成了我的50個(gè)州馬拉松比賽目標(biāo)!”她聽(tīng)到后,熱情地與我擊掌祝賀,但仍與我保持社交距離,我們只有指尖碰在一起。

奔跑十年精彩瞬間(從左上角開(kāi)始順時(shí)針?lè)较颍鹤髡叻謩e在北卡羅來(lái)納州法戈;西雅圖;夏威夷州希洛;新墨西哥州希普克;孟菲斯;密蘇拉;南達(dá)科他州米切爾;及加利福尼亞州大蘇爾。

就這樣,多年來(lái)主宰我生活的挑戰(zhàn)最終完結(jié),在參加馬拉松比賽期間,我游覽過(guò)很多美麗壯觀的地方,如北卡羅來(lái)納州阿什維爾的比爾特莫爾莊園、加利福尼亞州大蘇爾的懸崖,以及位于阿拉巴馬州亨茨維爾的美國(guó)太空火箭中心等。

在實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)時(shí),我加入了一個(gè)馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員小團(tuán)體:50州馬拉松俱樂(lè)部(50 States Marathon Club)。是的,我們有一個(gè)俱樂(lè)部——由一群業(yè)余跑者志愿組成的團(tuán)體,為完賽者提供認(rèn)證,并決定在哪個(gè)州舉辦馬拉松比賽。俱樂(lè)部要求提供完成的每場(chǎng)比賽的證明,已為1,821人認(rèn)證。(還有很多人也完成了比賽,但尚未經(jīng)俱樂(lè)部官方認(rèn)可。)最終會(huì)有更多的鐵桿馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員加入這一隊(duì)伍:俱樂(lè)部擁有近 5,000 名會(huì)員,并且仍在不斷發(fā)展壯大。

目前,馬拉松比賽的整體情況并非如此。根據(jù)貿(mào)易組織Running USA的數(shù)據(jù),2019年,美國(guó)馬拉松參賽人次從2014年的峰值55.1萬(wàn)降到42.7萬(wàn)。(由于2020年大多數(shù)比賽被取消,因此無(wú)2020年數(shù)據(jù))。可供選擇的比賽也越來(lái)越少——現(xiàn)在仍有約 1,000 場(chǎng)美國(guó)馬拉松比賽,低于 2015 年1,200 場(chǎng)的歷史最高水平。幾十年風(fēng)靡之后,馬拉松漸漸失去了一些人氣,因?yàn)榕苷呦矚g半程馬拉松等短距離比賽以及鐵人三項(xiàng)、最強(qiáng)泥人(Tough Mudder)和主車(chē)團(tuán)(Peloton)等替代項(xiàng)目。

50州馬拉松俱樂(lè)部的會(huì)員包括大量退伍軍人和航空公司工作人員,他們可以享受機(jī)票和酒店折扣價(jià)格,旅行更加實(shí)惠。俱樂(lè)部往往會(huì)吸引多產(chǎn)馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員,而不是超快馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員。(跑完全程馬拉松需要三小時(shí)以下的人一般不會(huì)參加那么多比賽。)

盡管追逐目標(biāo)很有趣,但我很快發(fā)現(xiàn),跑步和生活一樣,無(wú)論你取得的成就多么令人印象深刻,總會(huì)有人超越你。一名50州俱樂(lè)部會(huì)員已經(jīng)七次完成了這項(xiàng)壯舉。還有一組跑者也跑完了50州馬拉松,且每場(chǎng)馬拉松用時(shí)均不到四個(gè)小時(shí)。(我必須重新參加18場(chǎng)馬拉松才能獲得資格。)此外,還有一個(gè)高級(jí)俱樂(lè)部,會(huì)員全部是至少完成300場(chǎng)馬拉松的跑者。

“這是一種承諾,一種愛(ài),有時(shí)簡(jiǎn)直會(huì)讓人覺(jué)得精神失常,”俱樂(lè)部主席洛伊斯?伯科維茨說(shuō),她已經(jīng)五次跑完50州馬拉松,最近一次比賽是2019年底在華盛頓貝靈厄姆。“我想說(shuō),我們很多會(huì)員都有些不正常,”這位前人力資源專家開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō)。

我完全同意。當(dāng)人們問(wèn)我這些年來(lái)我為什么堅(jiān)持跑馬拉松時(shí),我會(huì)開(kāi)玩笑地說(shuō):“因?yàn)檫@50個(gè)州就在那。”但說(shuō)真的,我這樣做有多種原因。首先,我只是喜歡馬拉松的長(zhǎng)距離,我共參加了71場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽。其次,我喜歡旅行。但還有一些其他因素:我是一名相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的跑者,只是不是一名出色的跑者。在這71場(chǎng)比賽中,沒(méi)有一場(chǎng)比賽的速度足以讓我獲得參加波士頓馬拉松比賽(美國(guó)最負(fù)盛名的比賽)的資格。我重量不重質(zhì)。盡管如此,隨著我參加的馬拉松越來(lái)越多,并在2017年終于戰(zhàn)勝了困擾我的傷病,我終于意識(shí)到,只要訓(xùn)練更加嚴(yán)格、更加科學(xué),我可以跑得更快,比賽對(duì)我這個(gè)中年人的身體帶來(lái)的傷害也會(huì)越小,這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)本身就是一大回報(bào),是我要追求的更高成就中的另一個(gè)目標(biāo)。

純屬偶然

和人類(lèi)的每一項(xiàng)活動(dòng)一樣,長(zhǎng)跑也有自己的文化和亞文化。一些跑者把參加馬拉松視為一項(xiàng)遺愿清單,是一勞永逸的努力。一些跑者則是速度狂人,他們唯一的目標(biāo)是獲得像波士頓馬拉松比賽這樣的精英賽事的參賽資格,有些人則是自豪的背包客,樂(lè)于在六小時(shí)以上跑完一場(chǎng)馬拉松。還有一些人主要是為了收集獎(jiǎng)牌,獎(jiǎng)牌越大越俗氣越好。還有一些50州馬拉松跑者,喜歡將“耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)”中的“耐力”理念發(fā)揮到極致。

1997年,我搬到紐約,一年后,我開(kāi)始跑步,主要為了緩減這座城市給我?guī)?lái)的壓力。我發(fā)現(xiàn)長(zhǎng)跑可以讓我進(jìn)入一種冥想狀態(tài),比短跑、快跑更吸引人,因此,我選擇跑馬拉松。

作者參加1998年紐約市馬拉松比賽,這是他首次參加馬拉松比賽,也是最后一次穿棉質(zhì)T恤跑步。(棉質(zhì)衣服容易擦傷皮膚。)圖片由作者提供。

我追逐50州馬拉松目標(biāo)幾乎純屬偶然。我的一位跑友基思?拉斯卡萊亞是紐約的一位醫(yī)生,他已經(jīng)追逐(并已經(jīng)實(shí)現(xiàn)了)50州馬拉松目標(biāo),他說(shuō)服我和他一起參加2011年12月在特拉華州雷霍博斯海灘舉辦的馬拉松比賽。他認(rèn)為,我?guī)字芮皡⒓恿思~約市馬拉松比賽,因此我仍然處于馬拉松狀態(tài)。我為什么沒(méi)有先訓(xùn)練幾個(gè)月再參加全馬比賽呢?

次年一月,我和丈夫馬爾滕去邁阿密海灘度假,正好趕上邁阿密舉辦馬拉松比賽。我認(rèn)為基思的提議不錯(cuò),于是報(bào)名參加了那場(chǎng)比賽。不久之后,我又參加了新澤西州開(kāi)普梅和羅德島州普羅維登斯馬拉松比賽,不知不覺(jué)中,我已經(jīng)跑了五個(gè)州,或已實(shí)現(xiàn)了目標(biāo)的10%。不知何故,這種做法看起來(lái)更加可行。

在生活和工作中,我在許多重大方面都是采取這種做法,如寫(xiě)一篇長(zhǎng)篇文章和騎一整天自行車(chē):我把一項(xiàng)大任務(wù)分解成更小、易消化的小任務(wù)。跑馬拉松時(shí),在6.55英里處,我告訴自己,“完成了四分之一”;在10英里處,我想,“不錯(cuò),你已經(jīng)跑了兩位數(shù)。”在13.1英里處,我知道前面的路比后面的短;在16英里處,我想,“還有不到10英里。”在20英里處,我開(kāi)始將余下的距離想象成在中央公園跑一圈,我已經(jīng)在中央公園跑了幾千次了。

跑馬拉松也是到一個(gè)新的地方游玩的好方法,比如底特律、德盧斯、圣路易斯和辛辛那提,否則我可能不會(huì)去這些地方旅游。我想,“進(jìn)展如何,非常輕松,”之后,我不停地參加比賽。2014年末跑完達(dá)拉斯馬拉松后,我已跑完了19個(gè)州的馬拉松,于是,我決定跑完50個(gè)州的馬拉松。由于當(dāng)時(shí)我跑完一場(chǎng)馬拉松的時(shí)長(zhǎng)一般在3小時(shí)32分到4小時(shí)24分之間,介于穩(wěn)定成績(jī)至馬拉松公路殺手之間,我并沒(méi)有強(qiáng)迫自己跑更快。但是,我的成績(jī)顯然不是很好,我深知我可以跑更快。

2012年5月6日,作者跑過(guò)羅得島州普羅維登斯馬拉松終點(diǎn)線。圖片來(lái)源:由FinisherPix?

警鐘

跑26.2英里聽(tīng)起來(lái)很簡(jiǎn)單:一步一步,幾個(gè)小時(shí)就跑完了。一開(kāi)始,我主要進(jìn)行跑步訓(xùn)練,有時(shí)進(jìn)行爬坡訓(xùn)練,再輔助做一些速度練習(xí)。在跑步訓(xùn)練上,我從不偷懶。但我不愿進(jìn)行力量訓(xùn)練和伸展訓(xùn)練。我也不愿鍛煉心臟,但鍛煉心臟是讓運(yùn)動(dòng)員在訓(xùn)練中改變運(yùn)動(dòng)強(qiáng)度,根據(jù)運(yùn)動(dòng)強(qiáng)度,從而使心臟有效地泵送血液和氧氣。多年來(lái),對(duì)于那些在訓(xùn)練期間不停地盯著其精美的GPS手表或胸前佩戴心臟監(jiān)護(hù)儀的跑友,我一直不屑一顧。我認(rèn)為這些人有些自戀,他們把訓(xùn)練和自己看得太重了。我覺(jué)得他們未能領(lǐng)會(huì)到跑步的禪意,過(guò)于注重心率似乎會(huì)破壞跑步的禪意。

盡管我的訓(xùn)練有這些不足之處,但多年來(lái)我基本上避免了受傷。我確信4小時(shí)完成馬拉松(我當(dāng)時(shí)的平均水平)已經(jīng)足夠好了,特別是因?yàn)槲乙荒昱芎脦讏?chǎng)馬拉松。雖然4小時(shí)是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的成績(jī),但我仍未接近獲得波士頓馬拉松參賽資格的成績(jī),一些朋友告訴我,“你知道該怎么做。”好多次,我不得不步行走完馬拉松的最后六英里,這明顯說(shuō)明我的跑步策略不對(duì)。

盡管如此,我每年的參賽頻率仍然很高,平均每年跑六、七個(gè)州。我的目標(biāo)是:50歲前跑完50個(gè)州,我將在2020年實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)。一場(chǎng)馬拉松成了下一場(chǎng)馬拉松的訓(xùn)練場(chǎng)地,如此反復(fù)。但我很快就為此付出了代價(jià)。

2016年10月至2017年5月是我的爆發(fā)期,我跑了八場(chǎng)馬拉松。果然,不可避免的事情終于發(fā)生了。 2017年5月,我在俄勒岡州尤金參加太平洋西北馬拉松比賽,快到22英里時(shí),困擾我好幾個(gè)星期的小腿疼痛進(jìn)一步惡化,我最終不得不一瘸一拐地走到終點(diǎn)。即使經(jīng)過(guò)幾天冰敷和消炎治療,疼痛仍未能緩減,我意識(shí)到我可能不能跑步了。

回到紐約,一位體育醫(yī)生告訴我馬上停跑兩個(gè)月。他的建議是對(duì)的,但診斷卻有誤。原來(lái),這位著名的醫(yī)生誤讀了我的X光片,他以為我的兩條小腿都發(fā)生了雙應(yīng)力骨折。那年9月,隨訪檢查發(fā)現(xiàn),我的小腿疼痛仍未能好轉(zhuǎn),他建議我做手術(shù),但這也可能意味著我再也不能跑馬拉松了。

眼看要失去生命中最重要的解壓方法,我有些恐慌,但很快,曾擔(dān)任紐約市馬拉松醫(yī)療顧問(wèn)的一位整形外科醫(yī)生給出了其他建議。他認(rèn)為我得了脛骨骨膜炎(診斷正確),對(duì)于經(jīng)常跑步的人,這種病雖然痛苦,但很常見(jiàn),也易于治療。

這位醫(yī)生給我開(kāi)了理療處方,他敦促我要認(rèn)真進(jìn)行力量訓(xùn)練。例如,誰(shuí)知道臀部肌群越強(qiáng)壯,小腿越省勁?或者仰臥起坐可增強(qiáng)核心肌群,增強(qiáng)支承力,膝關(guān)節(jié)承重能力更強(qiáng)?似乎除了我,每個(gè)人都知道。

于是,我行動(dòng)起來(lái),做理療,進(jìn)行跑步訓(xùn)練,同時(shí)進(jìn)行交叉訓(xùn)練,增加騎自行車(chē)和游泳的次數(shù),讓我的骨骼得到休息,并鍛煉在跑步中起到支撐作用的肌肉。我還在我的跑步俱樂(lè)部紐約領(lǐng)跑協(xié)會(huì)(Front Runners New York)幫助下進(jìn)行速度訓(xùn)練,我也像我經(jīng)常嘲笑的那些跑友一樣,戴上了智能手表。

我的努力取得了立桿見(jiàn)影的效果。在被診斷為脛骨骨膜炎后的兩個(gè)月,我又開(kāi)始參加全程馬拉松比賽。 2017年11月,我以3 小時(shí)49分的成績(jī)跑完了在堪薩斯州奧弗蘭公園(Overland Park)舉辦的全程馬拉松比賽,這是我一年來(lái)跑得最快的一次。接下來(lái)的幾周里,我跑完了西雅圖和圖森省馬拉松比賽,用時(shí)更短。在我的目標(biāo)清單中的最后15場(chǎng)比賽中,我平均用時(shí)3小時(shí) 40分左右。有時(shí),我很后悔,我用了這么長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才最終明白了其他跑友堅(jiān)持的顯而易見(jiàn)的真理。

跑了數(shù)十場(chǎng)馬拉松之后,我終于學(xué)會(huì)了另一件事:跑太快不能建立時(shí)間緩沖。我至少在20場(chǎng)比賽中嚴(yán)重受挫。學(xué)習(xí)需要時(shí)間,但確實(shí)有效,要跑慢一點(diǎn),掌握節(jié)奏,為比賽后期存儲(chǔ)能量絕對(duì)是明智的。

2018年,我在北達(dá)科他州法戈市參加了馬拉松比賽,這也是我的第41個(gè)州馬拉松比賽,盡管我覺(jué)得我很強(qiáng)壯,但3:40組的一名領(lǐng)跑員告訴我,跑到16英里標(biāo)記處時(shí),才能離開(kāi)她。艾比戴著長(zhǎng)頸鹿似的耳朵,用她的便攜式音箱播放尼爾?戴蒙德的歌曲,她告訴我:保持冷靜,我不讓你離開(kāi),你不能離開(kāi)。當(dāng)我們跑到16英里標(biāo)記處時(shí),我確認(rèn)我感覺(jué)很好,她讓我快跑,我迅速跑離了她的視線。在整場(chǎng)比賽中,我在最后六英里跑得最快。

在接下來(lái)的幾場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽中,我仍采用這一策略,取得了不錯(cuò)的成績(jī),最終在 12 月夏威夷馬拉松比賽創(chuàng)造了 3小時(shí)24分 的個(gè)人記錄,當(dāng)年我 48 歲。我的接受新事物的速度明顯很慢,但我終于學(xué)會(huì)了。 我現(xiàn)在是紐約市馬拉松比賽的一名領(lǐng)跑員,并向跑友傳授我的法戈馬拉松比賽領(lǐng)跑員傳授給我的來(lái)之不易的智慧。

賽前和賽后跑步裝備。圖片由作者提供。

營(yíng)養(yǎng)問(wèn)題也讓我花了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才弄明白。在20世紀(jì)90年代,傳統(tǒng)智慧是在比賽前幾天像惡魔一樣大量攝入碳水化合物,并在比賽當(dāng)天早上大量飲水,以免在馬拉松比賽期間耗盡體力或脫水。但在比賽前幾天里,包括比賽前夜,我經(jīng)常會(huì)吃很多意大利面,吃得過(guò)飽,我的消化系統(tǒng)不堪重負(fù)。我最終發(fā)現(xiàn),胃腸道不適對(duì)馬拉松比賽不利。

現(xiàn)在,我在馬拉松比賽前一天吃得比平時(shí)多一點(diǎn),但在比賽當(dāng)天早上我只吃一個(gè)花生醬百吉圈和一根香蕉,我再也不會(huì)吃得過(guò)飽了。我過(guò)去常常在比賽當(dāng)天早上和比賽期間喝很多水,以至于我的鈉含量極低,極其危險(xiǎn)。在多場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽中,我都會(huì)在比賽期間或之后嘔吐;事實(shí)上,如果我不嘔吐,朋友們反而會(huì)感到驚訝。

旅行欲望和隱藏的珍寶

如果我的目標(biāo)只是盡快跑完一場(chǎng)比賽,我就不會(huì)一年跑六、七場(chǎng)馬拉松。我會(huì)選擇不同的馬拉松。我跑過(guò)的兩條最美麗的賽道是加利福尼亞州大蘇爾(Big Sur)和緬因州阿卡迪亞國(guó)家公園(Acadia National Park)的芒特迪瑟特島(Mount Desert Island),這里多山,也是我跑得最慢的賽道之一。

事實(shí)上,對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō),像最終破解馬拉松密碼一樣,能夠滿足我的旅行欲望的景色也是我跑馬拉松的一大動(dòng)力。美國(guó)到處都是隱藏的珍寶,探索這些珍寶充滿樂(lè)趣。比如:2017年,在南達(dá)科他州揚(yáng)克頓馬拉松比賽途中,我在弗米利恩(Vermillion)大學(xué)城停下來(lái),喝了杯咖啡。我發(fā)現(xiàn)國(guó)家音樂(lè)博物館就在此地,國(guó)家音樂(lè)博物館是世界上最著名的樂(lè)器博物館之一,收藏了15,000件樂(lè)器,其中包括17世紀(jì)的中提琴和1890年的馬丁吉他等珍品。

參加法戈馬拉松比賽時(shí),我參觀了附近明尼蘇達(dá)州穆?tīng)柡诘碌木S京海盜船博物館(Viking ship museum)。路易斯維爾的肯塔基德比馬拉松賽道穿過(guò)丘吉爾?唐斯賽馬場(chǎng)(Churchill Downs racecourse)。綠灣馬拉松賽道穿過(guò)標(biāo)志性的藍(lán)堡球場(chǎng),這里是美國(guó)職業(yè)橄欖球聯(lián)盟包裝工隊(duì)的主場(chǎng)。還有一些比賽有著奇怪的傳統(tǒng):在Go St-Louis馬拉松比賽中,一名牧師會(huì)在8英里處向跑者灑圣水,而在大蘇爾比賽中,一名男子在比賽前半程結(jié)束處的太平洋海岸公路上彈鋼琴。

不可思議的是,我只取消了一場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽(2013年達(dá)拉斯比賽,因冰暴被迫取消)。旅行可能會(huì)很累,但到一個(gè)新地方,尋找最好的意式餐廳,或者享用賽事主辦方提供的意大利面晚餐,或者只是找個(gè)地方吃煎餅,補(bǔ)充碳水化合物,都很有趣。(尤其向往懷俄明州卡斯珀的Eggington’s!)盡管每場(chǎng)比賽各有特色,但無(wú)論是有52,000 名完賽者的紐約馬拉松比賽還是有 41 名完賽者的揚(yáng)克頓 River Rat馬拉松比賽,每場(chǎng)比賽都有一種部落感。

目標(biāo)達(dá)成:2021年6月,作者在安克雷奇市長(zhǎng)馬拉松比賽終點(diǎn)線拍照留念,這是他50+州比賽清單中的最后一場(chǎng)比賽。圖片由作者提供。

無(wú)論人數(shù)多少,大家聚在一起就會(huì)充滿樂(lè)趣。每場(chǎng)比賽都會(huì)發(fā)生一些有趣的事情:一些觀眾會(huì)用音響大聲播放歌曲《Eye of the Tiger》或《Chariots of Fire》,他們確信自己是第一個(gè)想到這樣做的人。在18英里處(我也想尖叫,但精力有限),總有一些善意但有點(diǎn)煩人的人大喊“你就快到了”或者“快跑,福勒斯特快跑”。 還有一些人會(huì)開(kāi)玩笑地打出標(biāo)語(yǔ)“誰(shuí)需要腳趾甲?” 或者“我和馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員約會(huì)是因?yàn)樗麄兡軋?jiān)持很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。”

現(xiàn)在,我完成了我的目標(biāo),很多人都問(wèn),你下一步想做什么?再來(lái)一遍?(不)跑完加拿大的10個(gè)省份?可能。(我完成了10%)參加鐵人三項(xiàng)?很可能在2022年參加,因?yàn)槲椰F(xiàn)在也對(duì)鐵人三項(xiàng)有點(diǎn)著迷。

但我的馬拉松參賽目標(biāo)還未全部實(shí)現(xiàn):盡管我后來(lái)的成績(jī)不錯(cuò),但波士頓馬拉松仍在嘲笑我。本周,我通過(guò)一場(chǎng)援助紐約路跑協(xié)會(huì)兒童組的慈善活動(dòng)參加了波士頓馬拉松比賽。但我深知,以我的馬拉松成績(jī),我仍然無(wú)法獲得波士頓馬拉松參賽資格,但是只有獲得波士頓參賽資格,我才會(huì)真正感到滿足。以我的年齡,我應(yīng)該能取得比3小時(shí)25分更好的成績(jī)。這就是我的下一個(gè)目標(biāo)。當(dāng)然,我已經(jīng)從50州馬拉松比賽中積累了豐富的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))

譯者:李亞男

審校:汪皓

這個(gè)標(biāo)題提出的問(wèn)題非常具有阿拉斯加特色。今年6月,在安克雷奇市長(zhǎng)馬拉松比賽進(jìn)行到一半時(shí),我正在一條綠樹(shù)成蔭的碎石小道上跑著,另一位跑者指給我看,我那時(shí)并不害怕。我抓緊時(shí)間跑步,我只想安全地完成比賽,最終實(shí)現(xiàn)跑完美國(guó)各州(以及額外增加的華盛頓特區(qū))全馬公路賽的目標(biāo)。

多年來(lái),我在參加馬拉松比賽時(shí)遭遇了各種挑戰(zhàn)和不幸:由于訓(xùn)練不足,我經(jīng)常會(huì)感到不適;在離終點(diǎn)線不遠(yuǎn)處嘔吐,我在羅德島州和弗吉尼亞參加比賽時(shí)就出現(xiàn)了這種情況(每次比賽用時(shí)不到四個(gè)小時(shí),但就在最后不到一分鐘功虧一簣!),因?yàn)槲业奶妓衔镅a(bǔ)充策略不當(dāng);由于虛脫被抬入醫(yī)療帳篷(兩次!分別在威斯康星州和愛(ài)荷華州);乳頭擦傷(只需一次就會(huì)得到教訓(xùn))等等。但要是遇到熊?那就太糟了。

在阿拉斯加比賽中,我很幸運(yùn)。我剛剛從那只熊和她的兩個(gè)幼崽休息的地方跑過(guò)。熊的出現(xiàn)迫使比賽總監(jiān)不得不臨時(shí)為我身后的數(shù)百名選手重新安排了比賽路線,但我仍沿著原定路線跑。

比賽順利結(jié)束。(當(dāng)我發(fā)現(xiàn)只有我一人出現(xiàn)在樹(shù)木茂密的賽段時(shí),我唱起了“Fozzie Bear stay away, Fozzie Bear stay away”,我感覺(jué)不那么害怕了。)最終,我越過(guò)了設(shè)在市中心安克雷奇公園的第51條終點(diǎn)線。共有389名選手完成了此次馬拉松比賽,我是其中之一,還包括當(dāng)日和我一起加入50州完賽俱樂(lè)部的少數(shù)人。

比賽期間,傾盆大雨,人群稀少,所以沒(méi)有多少歡呼聲。盡管這是我長(zhǎng)達(dá)十年追求到達(dá)的巔峰,但那一刻對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)有點(diǎn)平淡,這也說(shuō)明這并不是什么大不了的事。我至少贏得了獎(jiǎng)牌發(fā)放者的喝彩。我向她喊道,“我剛剛完成了我的50個(gè)州馬拉松比賽目標(biāo)!”她聽(tīng)到后,熱情地與我擊掌祝賀,但仍與我保持社交距離,我們只有指尖碰在一起。

奔跑十年精彩瞬間(從左上角開(kāi)始順時(shí)針?lè)较颍鹤髡叻謩e在北卡羅來(lái)納州法戈;西雅圖;夏威夷州希洛;新墨西哥州希普克;孟菲斯;密蘇拉;南達(dá)科他州米切爾;及加利福尼亞州大蘇爾。

就這樣,多年來(lái)主宰我生活的挑戰(zhàn)最終完結(jié),在參加馬拉松比賽期間,我游覽過(guò)很多美麗壯觀的地方,如北卡羅來(lái)納州阿什維爾的比爾特莫爾莊園、加利福尼亞州大蘇爾的懸崖,以及位于阿拉巴馬州亨茨維爾的美國(guó)太空火箭中心等。

在實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)時(shí),我加入了一個(gè)馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員小團(tuán)體:50州馬拉松俱樂(lè)部(50 States Marathon Club)。是的,我們有一個(gè)俱樂(lè)部——由一群業(yè)余跑者志愿組成的團(tuán)體,為完賽者提供認(rèn)證,并決定在哪個(gè)州舉辦馬拉松比賽。俱樂(lè)部要求提供完成的每場(chǎng)比賽的證明,已為1,821人認(rèn)證。(還有很多人也完成了比賽,但尚未經(jīng)俱樂(lè)部官方認(rèn)可。)最終會(huì)有更多的鐵桿馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員加入這一隊(duì)伍:俱樂(lè)部擁有近 5,000 名會(huì)員,并且仍在不斷發(fā)展壯大。

目前,馬拉松比賽的整體情況并非如此。根據(jù)貿(mào)易組織Running USA的數(shù)據(jù),2019年,美國(guó)馬拉松參賽人次從2014年的峰值55.1萬(wàn)降到42.7萬(wàn)。(由于2020年大多數(shù)比賽被取消,因此無(wú)2020年數(shù)據(jù))。可供選擇的比賽也越來(lái)越少——現(xiàn)在仍有約 1,000 場(chǎng)美國(guó)馬拉松比賽,低于 2015 年1,200 場(chǎng)的歷史最高水平。幾十年風(fēng)靡之后,馬拉松漸漸失去了一些人氣,因?yàn)榕苷呦矚g半程馬拉松等短距離比賽以及鐵人三項(xiàng)、最強(qiáng)泥人(Tough Mudder)和主車(chē)團(tuán)(Peloton)等替代項(xiàng)目。

50州馬拉松俱樂(lè)部的會(huì)員包括大量退伍軍人和航空公司工作人員,他們可以享受機(jī)票和酒店折扣價(jià)格,旅行更加實(shí)惠。俱樂(lè)部往往會(huì)吸引多產(chǎn)馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員,而不是超快馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員。(跑完全程馬拉松需要三小時(shí)以下的人一般不會(huì)參加那么多比賽。)

盡管追逐目標(biāo)很有趣,但我很快發(fā)現(xiàn),跑步和生活一樣,無(wú)論你取得的成就多么令人印象深刻,總會(huì)有人超越你。一名50州俱樂(lè)部會(huì)員已經(jīng)七次完成了這項(xiàng)壯舉。還有一組跑者也跑完了50州馬拉松,且每場(chǎng)馬拉松用時(shí)均不到四個(gè)小時(shí)。(我必須重新參加18場(chǎng)馬拉松才能獲得資格。)此外,還有一個(gè)高級(jí)俱樂(lè)部,會(huì)員全部是至少完成300場(chǎng)馬拉松的跑者。

“這是一種承諾,一種愛(ài),有時(shí)簡(jiǎn)直會(huì)讓人覺(jué)得精神失常,”俱樂(lè)部主席洛伊斯?伯科維茨說(shuō),她已經(jīng)五次跑完50州馬拉松,最近一次比賽是2019年底在華盛頓貝靈厄姆。“我想說(shuō),我們很多會(huì)員都有些不正常,”這位前人力資源專家開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō)。

我完全同意。當(dāng)人們問(wèn)我這些年來(lái)我為什么堅(jiān)持跑馬拉松時(shí),我會(huì)開(kāi)玩笑地說(shuō):“因?yàn)檫@50個(gè)州就在那。”但說(shuō)真的,我這樣做有多種原因。首先,我只是喜歡馬拉松的長(zhǎng)距離,我共參加了71場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽。其次,我喜歡旅行。但還有一些其他因素:我是一名相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的跑者,只是不是一名出色的跑者。在這71場(chǎng)比賽中,沒(méi)有一場(chǎng)比賽的速度足以讓我獲得參加波士頓馬拉松比賽(美國(guó)最負(fù)盛名的比賽)的資格。我重量不重質(zhì)。盡管如此,隨著我參加的馬拉松越來(lái)越多,并在2017年終于戰(zhàn)勝了困擾我的傷病,我終于意識(shí)到,只要訓(xùn)練更加嚴(yán)格、更加科學(xué),我可以跑得更快,比賽對(duì)我這個(gè)中年人的身體帶來(lái)的傷害也會(huì)越小,這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)本身就是一大回報(bào),是我要追求的更高成就中的另一個(gè)目標(biāo)。

純屬偶然

和人類(lèi)的每一項(xiàng)活動(dòng)一樣,長(zhǎng)跑也有自己的文化和亞文化。一些跑者把參加馬拉松視為一項(xiàng)遺愿清單,是一勞永逸的努力。一些跑者則是速度狂人,他們唯一的目標(biāo)是獲得像波士頓馬拉松比賽這樣的精英賽事的參賽資格,有些人則是自豪的背包客,樂(lè)于在六小時(shí)以上跑完一場(chǎng)馬拉松。還有一些人主要是為了收集獎(jiǎng)牌,獎(jiǎng)牌越大越俗氣越好。還有一些50州馬拉松跑者,喜歡將“耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)”中的“耐力”理念發(fā)揮到極致。

1997年,我搬到紐約,一年后,我開(kāi)始跑步,主要為了緩減這座城市給我?guī)?lái)的壓力。我發(fā)現(xiàn)長(zhǎng)跑可以讓我進(jìn)入一種冥想狀態(tài),比短跑、快跑更吸引人,因此,我選擇跑馬拉松。

作者參加1998年紐約市馬拉松比賽,這是他首次參加馬拉松比賽,也是最后一次穿棉質(zhì)T恤跑步。(棉質(zhì)衣服容易擦傷皮膚。)圖片由作者提供。

我追逐50州馬拉松目標(biāo)幾乎純屬偶然。我的一位跑友基思?拉斯卡萊亞是紐約的一位醫(yī)生,他已經(jīng)追逐(并已經(jīng)實(shí)現(xiàn)了)50州馬拉松目標(biāo),他說(shuō)服我和他一起參加2011年12月在特拉華州雷霍博斯海灘舉辦的馬拉松比賽。他認(rèn)為,我?guī)字芮皡⒓恿思~約市馬拉松比賽,因此我仍然處于馬拉松狀態(tài)。我為什么沒(méi)有先訓(xùn)練幾個(gè)月再參加全馬比賽呢?

次年一月,我和丈夫馬爾滕去邁阿密海灘度假,正好趕上邁阿密舉辦馬拉松比賽。我認(rèn)為基思的提議不錯(cuò),于是報(bào)名參加了那場(chǎng)比賽。不久之后,我又參加了新澤西州開(kāi)普梅和羅德島州普羅維登斯馬拉松比賽,不知不覺(jué)中,我已經(jīng)跑了五個(gè)州,或已實(shí)現(xiàn)了目標(biāo)的10%。不知何故,這種做法看起來(lái)更加可行。

在生活和工作中,我在許多重大方面都是采取這種做法,如寫(xiě)一篇長(zhǎng)篇文章和騎一整天自行車(chē):我把一項(xiàng)大任務(wù)分解成更小、易消化的小任務(wù)。跑馬拉松時(shí),在6.55英里處,我告訴自己,“完成了四分之一”;在10英里處,我想,“不錯(cuò),你已經(jīng)跑了兩位數(shù)。”在13.1英里處,我知道前面的路比后面的短;在16英里處,我想,“還有不到10英里。”在20英里處,我開(kāi)始將余下的距離想象成在中央公園跑一圈,我已經(jīng)在中央公園跑了幾千次了。

跑馬拉松也是到一個(gè)新的地方游玩的好方法,比如底特律、德盧斯、圣路易斯和辛辛那提,否則我可能不會(huì)去這些地方旅游。我想,“進(jìn)展如何,非常輕松,”之后,我不停地參加比賽。2014年末跑完達(dá)拉斯馬拉松后,我已跑完了19個(gè)州的馬拉松,于是,我決定跑完50個(gè)州的馬拉松。由于當(dāng)時(shí)我跑完一場(chǎng)馬拉松的時(shí)長(zhǎng)一般在3小時(shí)32分到4小時(shí)24分之間,介于穩(wěn)定成績(jī)至馬拉松公路殺手之間,我并沒(méi)有強(qiáng)迫自己跑更快。但是,我的成績(jī)顯然不是很好,我深知我可以跑更快。

警鐘

跑26.2英里聽(tīng)起來(lái)很簡(jiǎn)單:一步一步,幾個(gè)小時(shí)就跑完了。一開(kāi)始,我主要進(jìn)行跑步訓(xùn)練,有時(shí)進(jìn)行爬坡訓(xùn)練,再輔助做一些速度練習(xí)。在跑步訓(xùn)練上,我從不偷懶。但我不愿進(jìn)行力量訓(xùn)練和伸展訓(xùn)練。我也不愿鍛煉心臟,但鍛煉心臟是讓運(yùn)動(dòng)員在訓(xùn)練中改變運(yùn)動(dòng)強(qiáng)度,根據(jù)運(yùn)動(dòng)強(qiáng)度,從而使心臟有效地泵送血液和氧氣。多年來(lái),對(duì)于那些在訓(xùn)練期間不停地盯著其精美的GPS手表或胸前佩戴心臟監(jiān)護(hù)儀的跑友,我一直不屑一顧。我認(rèn)為這些人有些自戀,他們把訓(xùn)練和自己看得太重了。我覺(jué)得他們未能領(lǐng)會(huì)到跑步的禪意,過(guò)于注重心率似乎會(huì)破壞跑步的禪意。

盡管我的訓(xùn)練有這些不足之處,但多年來(lái)我基本上避免了受傷。我確信4小時(shí)完成馬拉松(我當(dāng)時(shí)的平均水平)已經(jīng)足夠好了,特別是因?yàn)槲乙荒昱芎脦讏?chǎng)馬拉松。雖然4小時(shí)是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的成績(jī),但我仍未接近獲得波士頓馬拉松參賽資格的成績(jī),一些朋友告訴我,“你知道該怎么做。”好多次,我不得不步行走完馬拉松的最后六英里,這明顯說(shuō)明我的跑步策略不對(duì)。

盡管如此,我每年的參賽頻率仍然很高,平均每年跑六、七個(gè)州。我的目標(biāo)是:50歲前跑完50個(gè)州,我將在2020年實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)。一場(chǎng)馬拉松成了下一場(chǎng)馬拉松的訓(xùn)練場(chǎng)地,如此反復(fù)。但我很快就為此付出了代價(jià)。

2016年10月至2017年5月是我的爆發(fā)期,我跑了八場(chǎng)馬拉松。果然,不可避免的事情終于發(fā)生了。 2017年5月,我在俄勒岡州尤金參加太平洋西北馬拉松比賽,快到22英里時(shí),困擾我好幾個(gè)星期的小腿疼痛進(jìn)一步惡化,我最終不得不一瘸一拐地走到終點(diǎn)。即使經(jīng)過(guò)幾天冰敷和消炎治療,疼痛仍未能緩減,我意識(shí)到我可能不能跑步了。

回到紐約,一位體育醫(yī)生告訴我馬上停跑兩個(gè)月。他的建議是對(duì)的,但診斷卻有誤。原來(lái),這位著名的醫(yī)生誤讀了我的X光片,他以為我的兩條小腿都發(fā)生了雙應(yīng)力骨折。那年9月,隨訪檢查發(fā)現(xiàn),我的小腿疼痛仍未能好轉(zhuǎn),他建議我做手術(shù),但這也可能意味著我再也不能跑馬拉松了。

眼看要失去生命中最重要的解壓方法,我有些恐慌,但很快,曾擔(dān)任紐約市馬拉松醫(yī)療顧問(wèn)的一位整形外科醫(yī)生給出了其他建議。他認(rèn)為我得了脛骨骨膜炎(診斷正確),對(duì)于經(jīng)常跑步的人,這種病雖然痛苦,但很常見(jiàn),也易于治療。

這位醫(yī)生給我開(kāi)了理療處方,他敦促我要認(rèn)真進(jìn)行力量訓(xùn)練。例如,誰(shuí)知道臀部肌群越強(qiáng)壯,小腿越省勁?或者仰臥起坐可增強(qiáng)核心肌群,增強(qiáng)支承力,膝關(guān)節(jié)承重能力更強(qiáng)?似乎除了我,每個(gè)人都知道。

于是,我行動(dòng)起來(lái),做理療,進(jìn)行跑步訓(xùn)練,同時(shí)進(jìn)行交叉訓(xùn)練,增加騎自行車(chē)和游泳的次數(shù),讓我的骨骼得到休息,并鍛煉在跑步中起到支撐作用的肌肉。我還在我的跑步俱樂(lè)部紐約領(lǐng)跑協(xié)會(huì)(Front Runners New York)幫助下進(jìn)行速度訓(xùn)練,我也像我經(jīng)常嘲笑的那些跑友一樣,戴上了智能手表。

我的努力取得了立桿見(jiàn)影的效果。在被診斷為脛骨骨膜炎后的兩個(gè)月,我又開(kāi)始參加全程馬拉松比賽。 2017年11月,我以3 小時(shí)49分的成績(jī)跑完了在堪薩斯州奧弗蘭公園(Overland Park)舉辦的全程馬拉松比賽,這是我一年來(lái)跑得最快的一次。接下來(lái)的幾周里,我跑完了西雅圖和圖森省馬拉松比賽,用時(shí)更短。在我的目標(biāo)清單中的最后15場(chǎng)比賽中,我平均用時(shí)3小時(shí) 40分左右。有時(shí),我很后悔,我用了這么長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才最終明白了其他跑友堅(jiān)持的顯而易見(jiàn)的真理。

跑了數(shù)十場(chǎng)馬拉松之后,我終于學(xué)會(huì)了另一件事:跑太快不能建立時(shí)間緩沖。我至少在20場(chǎng)比賽中嚴(yán)重受挫。學(xué)習(xí)需要時(shí)間,但確實(shí)有效,要跑慢一點(diǎn),掌握節(jié)奏,為比賽后期存儲(chǔ)能量絕對(duì)是明智的。

2018年,我在北達(dá)科他州法戈市參加了馬拉松比賽,這也是我的第41個(gè)州馬拉松比賽,盡管我覺(jué)得我很強(qiáng)壯,但3:40組的一名領(lǐng)跑員告訴我,跑到16英里標(biāo)記處時(shí),才能離開(kāi)她。艾比戴著長(zhǎng)頸鹿似的耳朵,用她的便攜式音箱播放尼爾?戴蒙德的歌曲,她告訴我:保持冷靜,我不讓你離開(kāi),你不能離開(kāi)。當(dāng)我們跑到16英里標(biāo)記處時(shí),我確認(rèn)我感覺(jué)很好,她讓我快跑,我迅速跑離了她的視線。在整場(chǎng)比賽中,我在最后六英里跑得最快。

在接下來(lái)的幾場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽中,我仍采用這一策略,取得了不錯(cuò)的成績(jī),最終在 12 月夏威夷馬拉松比賽創(chuàng)造了 3小時(shí)24分 的個(gè)人記錄,當(dāng)年我 48 歲。我的接受新事物的速度明顯很慢,但我終于學(xué)會(huì)了。 我現(xiàn)在是紐約市馬拉松比賽的一名領(lǐng)跑員,并向跑友傳授我的法戈馬拉松比賽領(lǐng)跑員傳授給我的來(lái)之不易的智慧。

營(yíng)養(yǎng)問(wèn)題也讓我花了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才弄明白。在20世紀(jì)90年代,傳統(tǒng)智慧是在比賽前幾天像惡魔一樣大量攝入碳水化合物,并在比賽當(dāng)天早上大量飲水,以免在馬拉松比賽期間耗盡體力或脫水。但在比賽前幾天里,包括比賽前夜,我經(jīng)常會(huì)吃很多意大利面,吃得過(guò)飽,我的消化系統(tǒng)不堪重負(fù)。我最終發(fā)現(xiàn),胃腸道不適對(duì)馬拉松比賽不利。

現(xiàn)在,我在馬拉松比賽前一天吃得比平時(shí)多一點(diǎn),但在比賽當(dāng)天早上我只吃一個(gè)花生醬百吉圈和一根香蕉,我再也不會(huì)吃得過(guò)飽了。我過(guò)去常常在比賽當(dāng)天早上和比賽期間喝很多水,以至于我的鈉含量極低,極其危險(xiǎn)。在多場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽中,我都會(huì)在比賽期間或之后嘔吐;事實(shí)上,如果我不嘔吐,朋友們反而會(huì)感到驚訝。

旅行欲望和隱藏的珍寶

如果我的目標(biāo)只是盡快跑完一場(chǎng)比賽,我就不會(huì)一年跑六、七場(chǎng)馬拉松。我會(huì)選擇不同的馬拉松。我跑過(guò)的兩條最美麗的賽道是加利福尼亞州大蘇爾(Big Sur)和緬因州阿卡迪亞國(guó)家公園(Acadia National Park)的芒特迪瑟特島(Mount Desert Island),這里多山,也是我跑得最慢的賽道之一。

事實(shí)上,對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō),像最終破解馬拉松密碼一樣,能夠滿足我的旅行欲望的景色也是我跑馬拉松的一大動(dòng)力。美國(guó)到處都是隱藏的珍寶,探索這些珍寶充滿樂(lè)趣。比如:2017年,在南達(dá)科他州揚(yáng)克頓馬拉松比賽途中,我在弗米利恩(Vermillion)大學(xué)城停下來(lái),喝了杯咖啡。我發(fā)現(xiàn)國(guó)家音樂(lè)博物館就在此地,國(guó)家音樂(lè)博物館是世界上最著名的樂(lè)器博物館之一,收藏了15,000件樂(lè)器,其中包括17世紀(jì)的中提琴和1890年的馬丁吉他等珍品。

參加法戈馬拉松比賽時(shí),我參觀了附近明尼蘇達(dá)州穆?tīng)柡诘碌木S京海盜船博物館(Viking ship museum)。路易斯維爾的肯塔基德比馬拉松賽道穿過(guò)丘吉爾?唐斯賽馬場(chǎng)(Churchill Downs racecourse)。綠灣馬拉松賽道穿過(guò)標(biāo)志性的藍(lán)堡球場(chǎng),這里是美國(guó)職業(yè)橄欖球聯(lián)盟包裝工隊(duì)的主場(chǎng)。還有一些比賽有著奇怪的傳統(tǒng):在Go St-Louis馬拉松比賽中,一名牧師會(huì)在8英里處向跑者灑圣水,而在大蘇爾比賽中,一名男子在比賽前半程結(jié)束處的太平洋海岸公路上彈鋼琴。

不可思議的是,我只取消了一場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽(2013年達(dá)拉斯比賽,因冰暴被迫取消)。旅行可能會(huì)很累,但到一個(gè)新地方,尋找最好的意式餐廳,或者享用賽事主辦方提供的意大利面晚餐,或者只是找個(gè)地方吃煎餅,補(bǔ)充碳水化合物,都很有趣。(尤其向往懷俄明州卡斯珀的Eggington’s!)盡管每場(chǎng)比賽各有特色,但無(wú)論是有52,000 名完賽者的紐約馬拉松比賽還是有 41 名完賽者的揚(yáng)克頓 River Rat馬拉松比賽,每場(chǎng)比賽都有一種部落感。

無(wú)論人數(shù)多少,大家聚在一起就會(huì)充滿樂(lè)趣。每場(chǎng)比賽都會(huì)發(fā)生一些有趣的事情:一些觀眾會(huì)用音響大聲播放歌曲《Eye of the Tiger》或《Chariots of Fire》,他們確信自己是第一個(gè)想到這樣做的人。在18英里處(我也想尖叫,但精力有限),總有一些善意但有點(diǎn)煩人的人大喊“你就快到了”或者“快跑,福勒斯特快跑”。 還有一些人會(huì)開(kāi)玩笑地打出標(biāo)語(yǔ)“誰(shuí)需要腳趾甲?” 或者“我和馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員約會(huì)是因?yàn)樗麄兡軋?jiān)持很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。”

現(xiàn)在,我完成了我的目標(biāo),很多人都問(wèn),你下一步想做什么?再來(lái)一遍?(不)跑完加拿大的10個(gè)省份?可能。(我完成了10%)參加鐵人三項(xiàng)?很可能在2022年參加,因?yàn)槲椰F(xiàn)在也對(duì)鐵人三項(xiàng)有點(diǎn)著迷。

但我的馬拉松參賽目標(biāo)還未全部實(shí)現(xiàn):盡管我后來(lái)的成績(jī)不錯(cuò),但波士頓馬拉松仍在嘲笑我。本周,我通過(guò)一場(chǎng)援助紐約路跑協(xié)會(huì)兒童組的慈善活動(dòng)參加了波士頓馬拉松比賽。但我深知,以我的馬拉松成績(jī),我仍然無(wú)法獲得波士頓馬拉松參賽資格,但是只有獲得波士頓參賽資格,我才會(huì)真正感到滿足。以我的年齡,我應(yīng)該能取得比3小時(shí)25分更好的成績(jī)。這就是我的下一個(gè)目標(biāo)。當(dāng)然,我已經(jīng)從50州馬拉松比賽中積累了豐富的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))

譯者:李亞男

審校:汪皓

This is a very Alaska question to be asked. And since it was being posed to me by a fellow runner as I ran along a tree-lined gravel trail, halfway through the Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon this June, it was not one I was thrilled to hear. I was making good time, and I just wanted to safely complete the course—and finish, at long last, my quest to run a 26.2-mile road race in every U.S. state (along with Washington, D.C., for good measure).

Over the years, I’ve faced all manner of challenges and mishaps during marathons: hitting the wall (often) due to inadequate training; throwing up mere yards from the finish line, as I did in Rhode Island and Virginia (costing me sub-four-hour finishes each time—by less than a minute!) because of faulty carbo-loading and hydration; landing in the medical tent (twice! In Wisconsin and Iowa) from heat exhaustion; suffering chafed nipples (a lesson you only need learn once) and so on. But a bear encounter? That would have been an unwelcome first.

In Alaska, I got lucky. It turns out I had just run past the spot that the ursine miscreant and her two cubs had chosen for a short break. Their appearance caused the race director to temporarily re-route the race for the hundreds of runners behind me, but I ran on unhindered.

The race ended without incident. (It undoubtedly helped that I sang “Fozzie Bear stay away, Fozzie Bear stay away,” when I found myself alone in wooded sections of the course.) And I eventually crossed that 51st finish line in a downtown Anchorage park. I was one of 389 runners to complete the marathon, including a handful who joined the club of 50-state finishers with me that day.

It was pouring rain, and the crowds were thin, so there wasn’t much cheering. The moment felt a bit anti-climactic to me, suggesting that this wasn’t such a big deal even though it was the culmination of a decade-long pursuit. I did at least win some praise from the race employee handing out the medals: After I shouted to her, “I just finished my 50 states!”, she gave me an energetic, socially distanced high-five that saw only the tips of our fingertips touch.

Thus ended a challenge that has dominated my life for years and seen me run marathons in such wonderful locales as the Biltmore estate in Asheville, N.C., the cliffs of Big Sur, Calif., and a park for retired NASA rockets in Huntsville, Alabama.

In reaching this goal, I joined a tiny subset of marathoners: the 50 States Marathon Club. And yes, there is an actual club—a volunteer, amateur group of runners pursuing this goal that provides certification to finishers, along with ideas about which marathons to choose in what state. The club requires proof of each race finished, and it knows of 1,821 people who have completed the challenge. (An unknown number more have done it, too, without the club’s official recognition.) More hard-core marathoners will eventually join the cohort: The club has almost 5,000 members and is going strong.

The same can’t be said right now for marathons overall. Marathon participation in the U.S. fell to 427,000 finishes in 2019 from its 2014 peak of 551,000, according to the trade organization Running USA. (No data were compiled for 2020 because most races were cancelled.) There are also fewer races from which to choose—some 1,000 U.S. marathons still exist now, down from an all-time high of 1,200 in 2015. After a multi-decade boom, marathons have lost some popularity, as runners favor smaller distances like the half marathon as well as alternatives such as triathlons, activities like Tough Mudder, and Peloton.

The 50 States Marathon Club’s membership ranks include a disproportionate number of people such as military veterans and airline workers, who get discounted airline and hotel prices, making all the travel more affordable. And it tends to attract prolific marathoners rather than super-fast ones. (People who can run a sub-three-hour marathon don’t tend to run that many of them.)

As fun as it was to chase this goal, I quickly learned that in running as in life, no matter how impressive your achievement, there is always someone who has outdone you. One 50 States club member member has completed the feat seven times. There is a separate group of runners who have done all 50 states in better than four hours. (I would have to redo 18 of my races under that time to qualify.) And there is an exclusive club out there for runners who have completed at least 300 marathons.

“There is a commitment to it, it's a love, and sometimes it's literally insanity,” says Lois Berkowitz, who is president of the club and has completed the 50 states five times, completing her latest tour in late 2019, in Bellingham, Washington. “A lot of our members, I would say, are a little left of normal,” the former HR specialist jokes.

No argument from me. When people ask me what motivated me over all those years, I like to quip, “Because the states were there.” But in all seriousness, the desire to do this came from a variety of sources. For one thing, I simply love the marathon distance, and have run 71 in all. And I love traveling. But there was something else at play: the humbling fact that I am a quite good runner, just not a great one. Not one of those 71 marathons was fast enough to qualify me for the Boston Marathon, the most prestigious of America’s races. There was an element of trading quality for quantity in my quest. Still, as I knocked off more and more states, and overcame a worrisome injury in 2017, I finally started to see I could get faster and make the races less punishing on my middle-aged body if I took a more rigorous, almost scientific approach to my training—and that discovery was rewarding on its own, another goal to chase within the larger achievement

A quest begins, almost accidentally

Like every human activity, long-distance running has its own culture and subcultures. Some runners see marathons as a bucket-list, one-and-done endeavor. Others are speed demons whose sole goal is to qualify for an elite race like Boston, while others yet are proud back-of-the-packers happy to run one in six hours plus. There is also a cohort whose big motivation comes from collecting medals—the bigger and tackier, the better. And there are people like the 50-staters who take the idea of “endurance” in “endurance sport” to the extreme.

I started running a year after moving to New York in 1997 to combat the city’s stress. I found the meditative state I could reach on longer runs more appealing than the rush of a short, fast race, and so the marathon became my race of choice.

My 50-state quest started almost accidentally. A runner friend of mine, Keith LaScalea, a New York physician who was already pursuing (and has achieved) the 50-state goal, convinced me to join him for a race in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in December 2011. He reasoned that I was still in marathon shape from having run the New York City marathon a few weeks earlier. So why not literally get more mileage out of my months of training and do another 26.2-mile race?

The following January, my husband Maarten and I were going to Miami Beach for a short holiday that coincided with that city’s marathon. I used the same reasoning that Keith had suggested, and signed up for that race, too. Marathons in Cape May, New Jersey and Providence, R.I. soon followed, and before you know it, I had run five states, or 10% of the total. That somehow made the endeavor start to seem more feasible.

I take a similar approach to many big endeavors in life and work, including writing a long magazine piece and doing a day-long bike ride: I break down the large task into smaller, digestible pieces. When running a marathon, at mile 6.55 I tell myself, “One quarter of the way done”; at mile 10, I think, “ok, you’ve done double digits.” At mile 13.1, I know there is less road in front of me than in back; at mile 16, I think, “l(fā)ess than 10 to go.” And at mile 20, I start to visualize the remaining distance as one loop of Central Park, which I’ve run thousands of times.

My marathon-hopping was also proving to be a fun way to see new places, like Detroit, Duluth, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, that I would likely not have bothered visiting otherwise. I thought, “Let’s see where this goes, no pressure,” and I continued. But once I reached 19 states, with my Dallas marathon in late 2014, I decided to go for the whole 50. I did not hold myself to hitting fast times, given that my marathons had been all over the place at that point, from 3:32 to 4:24—a range that spanned from solid result to being marathon roadkill. Yet I was clearly underachieving, and I knew deep down I could get much faster.

A wake-up call

Running 26.2 miles sounds simple enough: Just put one foot in front of the next and continue for a few hours. Early on, my focus during training was simply doing the mileage, with some hill repeats and a bit of speed work to supplement it. I never skimped on distance. But I was lazy about things like strength work and stretching. I also avoided training by heart zone, which involves teaching the heart to be efficient in pumping blood, and therefore oxygen, according to effort levels, by having the athlete vary the intensity of effort within a workout. For years I rolled my eyes at fellow runners who were constantly looking at their fancy GPS watches during training or wearing heart monitors across their chests. I saw such behavior as self-absorbed, a sign that they took their training and themselves too seriously. I felt they were missing out on the Zen aspect of running, which obsessing about one’s heart rate seemed to undermine.

Despite those inadequacies in my training, I somehow largely avoided injuries for many years. I had convinced myself that 4:00 marathons, my average at that point, were good enough, especially since I was running several a year. But while four hours is a good time, I wasn’t even coming close to qualifying for Boston, and some friends were telling me, “You know what to do.” In addition, the number of times I had to walk for much of the final six miles of a marathon made it crystal clear I was not doing it quite right.

Still, I was knocking states off my list at a good clip, averaging six or seven states a year. My catchy goal: finishing the 50 states by age 50, which I would hit in 2020. One marathon became a long training run for the next one, and so on. I would soon pay a price for that.

In a particularly intense burst between October 2016 and May 2017, I ran eight marathons. Sure enough, the inevitable happened. As I neared mile 22 of the Pacific Northwest marathon in Eugene, Oregon, in May 2017, the pain in my shins, which had been nagging me for weeks, grew excruciating, to the point that I limped through to the finish. Even after a few days of icing and anti-inflammatories, running seemed to have become impossible.

When I got home to New York, I was told by a sports doctor to stop running immediately for two months. That was correct advice, but it was based on a misunderstanding. It turned out this prominent physician had misread my x-rays, which showed what he thought were twin stress fractures in each tibia. That September, during a follow-up visit that showed no change in my shins, he invoked the possibility of me needing surgery that would likely end my marathon days.

Panicked and worried about the loss of the most important outlet in my life, I quickly got a second opinion from an orthopedic surgeon, the former medical director of the New York City Marathon. He diagnosed my injury—correctly—as shin splints, a painful but common and manageable injury for runners.

This second doctor prescribed physical therapy, and he urged me to start taking strength work more seriously. Who knew that the stronger one’s glutes, for instance, the less work falls on the shins way down below? Or that sit-ups mean more support from your core and an easier load for your knees? Everyone but me, it seems.

So I got to work, began PT and started rebuilding my mileage, all while cross training with more biking and swimming to give my bones a break and build up muscles that played a supporting role in running. I also got very diligent about speed work and drills with my running club, Front Runners New York, and became one of those runners I used to mock for being so tethered to their smart watches.

The benefit to my performances was immediate. Only two months after my shin-splint diagnosis, I was running full marathons again. I clocked a 3:49 time in Overland Park, Kansas in November 2017, my fastest in over a year at that point. And I shaved off even more time in Seattle and Tucson in the following weeks. In the final 15 races of my quest, my average time fell to around 3:40. Sometimes I could kick myself for how long it took me to finally get what was obvious to other runners.

Another thing I finally, finally learned after running dozens of marathons: you cannot build a time cushion when you go out too fast. I had epic flameouts in at least 20 of my races. It took time, but it did sink in that it is infinitely smarter to store energy for later in the race by going out more slowly and learning discipline in one’s pacing.

In Fargo, North Dakota, which I ran in 2018 as my 41st state, a pacer for the 3:40 group forbade me from leaving her side until mile 16, even though I insisted I felt strong. Abby, decked out in giraffe ears and blasting Neil Diamond on her portable speakers, was direct: Cool your jets, she said, until I give you the green light. When we got to that point in the race, and I confirmed I still felt great, she told me to go, get out of her sight. The last six miles were my fastest of the race.

I repeated that strategy in my next few marathons to great results, culminating with a personal record of 3:24 in Hawaii that December, at the age of 48. I am slow on the uptake apparently, but I did finally learn. I am now a pacer at the New York City marathon and impart the same hard-won wisdom to runners that my Fargo pacer did to me.

Nutrition also took me ages to nail. In the 1990s, the conventional wisdom was to carbo-load like a demon in the few days before the race and drink a ton the morning before the race, lest you run out of gas or get dehydrated during the marathon. But I often would overeat and gorge on pasta for several days before the race, including the eve, overwhelming my digestive system. GI distress is not conducive to good marathons, I can confirm.

Now, I eat a bit more than usual the day before a marathon, but have only a bagel with peanut butter and bananas the morning of, and I never bonk anymore. I used to drink so much water the morning of and during my races that my sodium got perilously low. It got to the point where I would throw up during or after the race at most of my marathons; indeed, friends were surprised if I didn’t.

Wanderlust and hidden gems

If my goal had simply been to run a race as fast as I could, I would not have run six or seven marathons a year. And I would have chosen different marathons. The two most beautiful courses I ran, Big Sur and Mount Desert Island, Maine, home of Acadia National Park, were also the hilliest—so among my slowest.

Indeed, the prospect of satisfying my wanderlust was as big a motivation for me as finally cracking the marathon code. This country is full of hidden gems, and exploring it was a big part of the fun. Case in point: En route to my Yankton, South Dakota marathon in 2017, I stopped in the small college town of Vermillion for a coffee. I discovered the place was home to the National Music Museum, one of the best-regarded music instrument museums in the world, with a collection of 15,000 instruments that includes gems like 17th century violas and a Martin guitar from 1890.

In Fargo, my marathon took me through the grounds of a Viking ship museum in neighboring Moorhead, Minn. The Kentucky Derby marathon in Louisville steered runners through the Churchill Downs racecourse. The Green Bay marathon course goes through the iconic Lambeau Field, home to the NFL’s Packers. And some races have oddball traditions: Go St-Louis has a priest at Mile 8 to cast holy water at runners, while Big Sur has a man playing a grand piano on the Pacific Coast Highway at the halfway point.

Miraculously, I only had one marathon cancellation to contend with (due to an ice storm in Dallas in 2013). The travel could be exhausting, but it’s fun to get to a new town and look for the best Italian place, or go to the pasta party if the race organizer puts one on, or look for a place for pancakes for my carbo-loading rituals. (Special shout out to Eggington’s in Casper, Wyoming!) Even though each race was different, there was a sense of tribe at each one, whether running the 52,000-finisher New York race or the 41-finisher River Rat race in Yankton.

And the crowds, whatever the size, are a big part of the fun. There are some amusing things one finds at every race: Some spectators will inevitably blast "Eye of the Tiger" or the Chariots of Fire theme from their speakers, convinced they are the first ones to have ever thought of that. There are also always the well-intentioned but slightly annoying people shouting, “You are almost there” at mile 18 (I could scream but rarely have the energy to) or “Run, Forrest run.” And there are the jokesters with signs like “Who needs toenails?” or “I date marathoners because they last a long time.”

Now that I’m done, many have asked, what do you want to do next? Do it over? (No.) The 10 provinces in my native Canada? Possibly. (I am 10% done!) An Ironman? Quite possibly in 2022, since I’ve also caught the triathlon bug now.

But I have some unfinished business with marathons: For all my later-in-life improvement, Boston is taunting me. I am running that marathon this week via a charity entry, supporting New York Road Runners’ Team for Kids. But deep down, I know I won’t be truly satisfied until I have qualified for Boston based on my racing time. At my age, that means better than 3:25. So that’s my next goal. And I certainly have enough lessons from my 50-state quest upon which to draw to get there.

熱讀文章
熱門(mén)視頻
掃描二維碼下載財(cái)富APP

            主站蜘蛛池模板: 浮梁县| 准格尔旗| 准格尔旗| 洱源县| 文安县| 塔河县| 瑞安市| 洛浦县| 元阳县| 张北县| 沈丘县| 宁城县| 锡林浩特市| 石屏县| 布尔津县| 信阳市| 西峡县| 黄浦区| 大安市| 濉溪县| 和静县| 海原县| 文山县| 通道| 吉水县| 阜南县| 仁布县| 鲜城| 昌邑市| 香港| 郸城县| 寿阳县| 襄垣县| 余江县| 冷水江市| 中宁县| 集贤县| 沂源县| 明水县| 额敏县| 金平|