Monday, May 23, 2011

On your mark, get set...

As I sit down to write this entry, there's officially 138:21:56:09 left until I take to the streets and drag my sorry ass 26.2 miles around Chicago. The goal? To make my ass not quite as sorry...

Welcome to the first official day of training!!

I've chosen a 20-week program, and if you do the math, that means today is the first day I'm "officially" training for the race. That being said, I've spent a good amount of time in the last few months making sure I run a few times a week - sometimes twenty or more miles in a week's time - so that I could be ready to train and improve. To date, my longest run has been somewhere between 8 and 9 miles, and in general, I keep a pretty steady pace between 10:45-11:30 min/mile. I consider this my baseline and hope to improve a bit from there.

The program I chose has two short runs weekly (Mon, Wed), a long run (Sat), and cross training/rest days. As far as the schedule goes, I won't be beating my personal best until week 6 when I run 9 miles. I feel like I've done a nice job preparing to train... which seems ironic, but necessary, I think!

Today is a big "beginning" for me, and it's making me a little nostalgic. Last week, I started to think about where I've come from. Sure, the past few years have been wrought with some exercise and weight loss ups and downs, but overall the big picture has been one of success.
I remember the day - four years ago - when I was at the gym, trying to get in shape and lose some weight, and I was able to run an entire mile on the treadmill without stopping. It was momentous for me. At >200lbs, running a mile without stopping is a big deal. I distinctly remember the feeling when I finished. I was so proud of myself, but I knew that this meant something big for me: I could never again let myself wimp out and run any less. Now look at where I am. Thinner, healthier, happier, more physically fit, and training for a marathon.

Positive attitude, hard work, small steps, confidence ---> success.

138:21:35:26

......GO!

1 comment:

  1. Yay Amy! Good luck on day 1!!!! We are so excited for you!

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