Saturday, June 16, 2012

The First Day of Marathon Training: Back to School

My new year's resolution was to run 12 half marathons in 2012.  Here in the middle of June, I've logged 5 halfs on the way to that goal.  On June 10th, I completed the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon in Las Colinas, Texas.  The race started at 7:00 am and it was already 78 degrees and my weather app was registering a whopping 80% humidity.  Here's what went right with that race: I finished and I had the opportunity to contribute my racing dollar to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to support those injured in post 9/11 combat.

There was a lot more that went wrong with that race.  I hadn't done a long run since my last half marathon at the beginning of May.  We recently got a treadmill and I've been enjoying my miles indoors in front of the TV.  It was humid and hot and I was not acclimated for the time outdoors.  All of that resulted in my slowest half marathon time EVER.  How did I let that happen?  And, what can I do about it?

I let it happen by not training properly.  Since we moved away from my get-your-butt-out-the-door running buddy, I am more than reluctant to go for long runs alone.  So what does any logical, clear-thinking person do immediately following an epic fail half marathon?

Yep, that's right.  Sign up for marathon training.

So this morning, I put on my sassy new kicks and went to my first training run fueled with a lovely petit filet from last night's dinner at Artin's Grill, oh yeah, and maybe a glass of cabernet or two. 

Starting with a new training group is a lot like the first day of school.  Is anyone going to talk to me?  What if everyone else knows everything already?  What if I'm not allowed to use the bathroom?  Very quickly, those concerns disappeared and we were off for a warm-up, drills, and a 3-mile evaluation run. 

This is not my first time to train with this organization, but I have never completed a season with them.  I usually get bogged down with my own agenda of how the training should be going.  For example, those drills before running wear me out. Seriously drive me nuts.

I've decided that this year, I'm going to heed the plan of those who run stronger and know better.  I'm going to put only one thing on my agenda - run the plan.  We'll see what happens.  I can guarantee there will be a lot more running, a lot more eating, and a lot more in between in the coming months as I chase the elusive marathon medal once again.

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