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Training for a marathon - Body talk: black health and fitness - Natalie Mitchell

Ebony, March, 2003 by Glenn Jeffers

NATALIE MITCHELL likes to run. During her college days at the University of California-Santa Barbara, friends could find Mitchell after classes either running with the cross-country team or pacing with the track team. But after graduation, Mitchell felt she needed a new challenge. Something more demanding. That's when a former running buddy suggested the Los Angeles Marathon.

Today, the 30-year-old marketing coordinator and voice-over actress from Los Angeles is a marathon junkie. She has completed three marathons over the past five years and is training for her fourth L.A. Marathon, scheduled for March. "I'm really addicted to it," she says. "I thought it would be the ultimate running goal and a big accomplishment. And I love how good I feel after a long run."

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Mitchell, like many devoted marathoners, discovered the addictive aspects of 26.2-mile runs. Not only does marathon running provide great cardiovascular exercise and helps burn excess fat, but the thrill of setting long-term goals and accomplishing them is just as exhilarating and beneficial to the soul as any workout for the body.

"The benefits are a tremendous boost in self-accomplishment," says Dr. Brooke Jackson, a dermatologist and program director for Chicago Fit, a Hyde Park, based marathon training group. "You look at people who run marathons and they weigh 90 pounds and have 2 percent body fat and you say, `I can't do this.' But once you realize you're not going to win the big money, you can just have fun."

For her first marathon in 1999, Mitchell began training in September, six months before the race. beginning with runs of 5-to-9 miles in length. Gradually, she increased the length and time she ran until she could, run 20 miles nonstop. But marathons are more than just physical exertion. Mitchell was at mile 23 when, she says, "I hit the wall," meaning she had reached the limit of exertion. But her mother, Brenda Owens, told her, "You have to finish. This is your ultimate goal." With spectators and fellow runners cheering her on, Mitchell finished the marathon, exhausted and happy, with a time 4 hours and 6 minutes.

And she was hooked.

"That's when I really got the bug," Mitchell says. "You're tired and exhausted, but it's such an accomplishment that you want to keep doing it and keep getting better."

Mitchell set a new goal for herself, to complete her next marathon in less than four hours, and she started training with a running club in L.A. There, she got expert instruction from a coach and ran with other people of similar speed. The running club also helped discipline Mitchell, giving her a structured training schedule to follow and a small group that together decided when and how to train. "You wanted to be there with your group," she says. "Everybody's running the same pace. Everybody gets to encourage one another. And you are accountable to be there on Saturday morning to run with your group. It's inspirational."

Mitchell finished her second marathon in 3 hours and 54 minutes, realizing her goal. That's when Mitchell set her sights on two loftier goals--finishing under 3 1/2 hours and qualifying for the Boston Marathon. In order to qualify, Mitchell would have to finish in less than 3 hours, 40 minutes. Her training became year-round and intense, she says. Mitchell added cross-training, mountain biking, hiking, and weight lifting to her workout. Additionally, Mitchell focused on her food preparation, determining what would give her the most energy, the right amount of protein and carbohydrates, which is fast, high-octane fuel to the active runner. During her off-season training, Mitchell included spinning classes, swimming and yoga.

When March came that following year, Mitchell was ready and received even more of a boost when her boyfriend, Jerold Mitchell, surprised her by pulling off his sweatpants and revealing a pair of racing shorts and a registered marathon number. He had been training in secret for the race and wanted to surprise her.

The weather was less than ideal when race day arrived. Running through rain and blustery conditions, Mitchell finished with her best time yet of 3 hours and 32 minutes, and qualified for Boston. But the biggest event of the day came later that night at a hotel when Jerold, who had never run a marathon and finished 90 minutes after his girlfriend, pulled out an engagement ring from his waist pack and proposed.

"His plan was to finish shortly after me and get down on one knee [at the finish line]," Mitchell says. "He carried the ring in a pack all the way. But we kind of got separated, and I ended up getting hypothermia and had to go to the medical tent. So he proposed after we met again. It was such a great day."

The year 2000 was the last time Mitchell ran a marathon. Since then, she has married Jerold, bought a home and concentrated on furthering her voice-over career. She does commercial work for McDonald's and Verizon.

But the running bug has bitten her again, she says. She started training again last year and, this time, she wants to break the 3:15 mark and run in the Boston Marathon.

Training for a marathon - Body talk: black health and fitness - Natalie Mitchell

Ebony, March, 2003 by Glenn Jeffers

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