Jesse Mendoza, 40
IT Guy
Round Lake, Ill.
Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2008, 04:54:38
Why did you decide to give up your Marathon V-Card?
I loved the challenge of finishing all 26.2 miles, and I just love to run. Period.
How did you select your race?
I was a spectator at the 2007 Chicago Marathon, and was deeply inspired by the finishing runners and the thousands and thousands of spectators. I live near Chicago, and my family lives in the area, so it would be easy for them to come to spectate.
What shape were you in when you began your training?
I hadn’t run since high school- 25 years later and I ran a mile around my block and was too out of shape to finish it. Having worked with computers for most of my life, I led a mostly sedentary lifestyle before I started running again.
What was your training plan?
I trained with a slightly modified plan put together by the Runners’ World SmartCoach.
What was your motivation for running?
I saw my younger sister run and finish her first half-marathon a year before I started running again. At the time, she was a single mom with three kids. Seeing her finish was very inspiring for me.
What was your biggest mistake in training?
I didn’t have any major mistakes. If I was to pick one it was not joining a running group before my first marathon. I joined a group the winter before my second marathon and it taught me a lot about pace, strategy, and confidence in my abilities. Because of this, I was able to best my first marathon time by 43 minutes.
What was your eating plan?
I completely removed fast food restaurants from my diets, stopped drinking soft drinks, and pretty much kept with a three-meal-a-day plan. I made sure to fuel up an hour or two before my longer runs and races.
How did you deal with any injuries?
Rest, icing, and lots and lots of patience.
What was your pre-race ritual?
Have a bagel or oatmeal at least an hour before a race. Prepare all of my gear the night before. Stretch two or three days before.
Be brutal, what was the race like?
Brutal is the only way to describe it. I’ve never known so much pain in my entire life, but it was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had, and it was enough to do it again the next year.
How did you celebrate your marathon?
A giant, greasy, messy grilled cheeseburger and fries!
What’s your running schedule now?
I will be turning 40 this year, and am celebrating by running four marathons this year along with a 200 Mile Relay.
What advice do you have for first-timers?
Be patient and start out slowly. Start with a couch-to-5K plan. I always recommend you sign up for a race so you have something to shoot for.
Anything else?
Training for a marathon is not easy. It takes dedication, persistence, and most of all, guts. You will either love it, or hate it. But I will say that crossing that finish line for the first time was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Yes, I cried like a baby, but I didn’t care, I had just done what most people can’t do in a lifetime- run and finish a marathon!
