You may have missed the news, but I’ve decided to start marathon training. My first marathon post-baby will be Rock n Roll San Antonio. I’ve run this marathon before and it’s not one of the easiest courses, but the time limit, 7 hours, is the thing that is most important to me. My PR on the marathon is 4:49:34 and I know I won’t be hitting that time this time around. I wanted to pick a race that had a “generous” time limit.
It’s been a week in my house. I thought I had everything together and was ready to start first week of marathon training with a bang. I wanted everything to go right to set the tone for the plan.
I am one of those people who believes in setting a good tone from the start because I know it leads to success. It doesn’t matter what the goal is from weight loss to business success or in this case marathon training. I was ready to go when the alarm went off Monday morning and got my miles. I didn’t care about my pace or time. I just wanted to get it done.
I got sick on Monday night which brought on a not so great Tuesday. All I could keep down was smoothies and some soup. The soup was a bit questionable.
To my surprise, I was able to run on Wednesday afternoon with no problems even though it was raining. I may have called myself lazy for not wanting to drive to the gym to do my run. It was just easier to run in the rain even though the humidity was out of control.
My Friday run was a little less than desirable but I made it through and when Saturday morning rolled around, I needed a little extra sleep. I slept in for an extra 30 minutes which put me an hour behind. I was a bit worried because it was supposed to rain and I wanted to get my run done.
The best feeling was hitting those 6 miles on my Saturday run. I had convinced myself that I wasn’t ready for the 6-mile run and that I should just try to make 4 miles which then turned into 5 miles and then I’ll stop my watch when I get to the stop sign but that was almost to six miles. That just goes to tell you that your mind can be your greatest enemy or your greatest cheerleader.
That just goes to show you that your mind can be your geatest enemy or your greatest cheerleader.
You may be thinking, “she’s run plenty of marathons before.” I was a different runner three years ago. For starters, I was a faster runner and I never really worried about making time cut-offs. I don’t know why it’s so important to me because I need to run another marathon. I’ve had a lot of challenges post pregnancy so I need to prove to myself that I am capable. It’s not to impress anyone else, but myself.
The first week of marathon training went well. My paces weren’t as off and what I thought. I’m hoping the heat and humidity will lead to faster times come the fall. I’ve run Rock n Roll San Antonio many times and the weather is always different. One year it rained horribly, one year it was HOT as all get out, and one year was perfect weather. I just want to be prepared and properly trained.
I’ve had a few people ask about running so there will be a few more run focused posts coming up. It’s really just about getting healthy and getting active. I don’t expect everyone to run marathons. The thing about running or walking is there’s a distance for everyone. The mileage you choose is all your own and I want you to OWN YOUR MILES and if I can offer any assistance along the way I want to help.
Do you have any running/walking questions?
