So… for years… at least 10, one of my “want to do” items has been to train for and run a marathon. Three years ago I registered for the 10-miler. I trained and trained and trained, but before the race day the farthest I ever ran was 8 miles. I ran the 10-miler in Lynchburg, VA, finished in about 90 minutes and quit running after that race…
Due to cross-country training in middle school, high school, and casual running in college, my body is accustomed to months of cross-training and then out of nowhere, a 4 mile run. It’s a pretty sweet deal that I definitely take for granted. BUT I out-ran my last pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS size 7B shoes to the point of knee pain. No running shoes was a great excuse to do my Iron Grip Muscle class, Pilates (at the YMCA) and Jillian Michaels (until you puke or die) work-outs and the stair-master-otherwise-known-as-my-back-steps instead!
A few weeks ago, a friend asked me to sign up for the VA Beach Rock & Roll 1/2 marathon and I missed the inexpensive sign up fee by one day… so I backed out graciously… a few weeks after that another friend asked if I wanted to run the Richmond Marathon… all the obstacles (except for shoes) were removed… (a place to stay- non-hotel; training buddy; training program; enough time to train)… so I signed up, ordered my shoes and began running….
yesterday. (oh dear)
Saturday will be exactly 18 weeks until the marathon.
Oh dear. What-in-the-world-was-i-thinking.
I’d also like to add, that my current stress level/schedule has resulted in an un-planned for and un-wanted weight loss of 5-7 pounds…. oh dear. Life-style change is in order!
I need to increase my calorie count, daily.
I need to increase my water consumption, hourly.
I need to start working my new “part-time-job” aka: training for a marathon.
I might need to buy a new pair of shoes before the race.
So, here we go…
I’m going to jump on the blogging a new-experience bandwagon and “journal” my progress as I’ve essentially taken 3 years off of regular running/training….
Wed- 3.75 mile run + .25 mile walk/jog (total mileage on the shoes: 4)
Thur- 3.25 mile run + .75 mile walk/jog (total mileage on the shoes: 8)
Cheers!