Marathon Training - 1st week

I'll do my best to make this interesting, but this is just to document a little about my running and serve as a record for me. I thought I might just put this on the journal blog, but someone might find this interesting so why not. And I'm also probably only going to do it on a weekly basis. That might change, but we'll see.

So of course, to start out, this part of the training is pretty light. After finishing the long run yesterday, I started to think if I should go with a more aggressive training plan considering how good I was feeling and how little soreness/tiredness I've been feeling. The training consists of 3 mid week runs that will gradually ramp up as I approach race day. The long run will be on Saturdays, starting out at 6 miles, and peaking at 20 miles 3 weeks before the actual marathon. If you're interested in what program I'm following then visit this website. And this is the running schedule that I'm following, although I've altered it a little to include Wednesday night soccer.

I didn't have any problems with the mid-week runs. My times are pretty modest, I think. I typically average a little over 8 minutes per mile. The prevailing knowledge suggests that to find out your potential marathon pace will be, add about 48 seconds to your 5k pace, 32 seconds to your 10k pace, and about 15 seconds or so to your half marathon pace and that will give you your average miles per hour/minutes per mile. Yesterday I covered the 6 miles much more quickly and easily than I had been expecting; i finished 6.2 miles in 50 minutes.

That was really encouraging for me because Saturday morning before I got out and actually running, I was feeling really intimidated. It has been a long time since I've run more than 5 miles. To be honest, I think the last time I covered that distance was during the Nike Run Hit Remix in LA. That was back in early September. Running 3-4 miles is easy for me now, but I wasn't sure that I would feel that great running 6 miles or more. With all of that thinking, I started to question whether or not doing this marathon was a very good idea. I have this internal battle all the time these days.

I think my primary concerns about running come with the impact of the running. Over the last 2 months as my running has become more consistent, it has taken a toll which I wasn't sure would go away. Especially in the beginning when I really started to run regularly, my shins and lower back would get really sore. I wasn't sure if the soreness was just me simply getting in better running shape, or if it was that my muscles, joints, and bones simply couldn't handle the impact. I wondered if my shoes provided enough shock resistance, or if my gait was poor. I guess this all comes mainly from the fact that I've never really maintained a consistent schedule of running. I've never had any problems doing it for soccer, but that kind of running feels so different when compared to the monotonous jarring that takes place when I'm pounding the pavement 3-4 days a week. To my surprise and satisfaction, besides the occassional aches and pains which I think are normal, I have more than ample strength and endurance to maintain the running.

I think that was what felt so encouraging about going out yesterday. Not only did I do it faster and with more energy than I had expected, but completing the run so pain-free and without feeling too drained throughout the rest of this weekend leaves me feeling really confident about how I'll be able to progress through the training. I had some really negative thoughts yesterday morning before I got out, but I feel full of confidence now and I think that's been the best part about this first week - feeling so encouraged about my ability to succeed.

If I had questions about my commitment to the training, I think I helped answer some of those when I ran Thursday night in spite of not being able to get out until pretty late (10:30pm), and fueled only by my burrito with steak, black beans, rice, and hot salsa. One of my favorite things about running this week has been the constant George Michael soundtrack running through my head. I have yet to take advantage of the modern technologies available to me, so running in silence leaves me either with my thoughts or the latest songs that have been stuck in my mind. Thursday night it was Father Figure and then yesterday it was I Knew You Were Waiting For Me.

One thing that I'm having a hard time with is not allowing myself to get too competitive with my running time in the race. If all the pacing is right that I mentioned earlier, than a reasonable expectation for me is to complete the marathon in about 4 hours. I guess I just don't want to get too wrapped up in making the time, or even improving it when I've yet to complete one of these races. I think everyone that I've talked to that has run a marathon before say to concentrate more on just completing the race and enjoying the experience than worrying about what my time will be.

What I really like is that now I'm actually really looking forward to the weeks ahead and the long runs on Saturdays. This upcoming Saturday will be 7 miles. By week 5 I will have to run 10 miles. Whereas yesterday morning I questioned whether or not I wanted to, or even would be able to run those distances, now I'm confident that I can.

I'm telling you...there are very few things that are more exciting than exceeding what you previously thought your capaciticies were.