Today is Day 1 of training for my first marathon. Since it's a Monday, it's actually a day of rest, but nonetheless, it's Day 1. I'll be running in the Chicago Marathon on October 9, 2016.
I started running for fun about a year ago when a friend of mine from Desert Storm asked me to go do a half-marathon with him. I didn't really think that I would, but since I was working out at the time at my local gym, and I needed to do a bit more cardio, I figured I'd give it a shot. The first few weeks or so, I'd pretend to like it, but there was a time when I actually did start to love it! I followed a training plan for my first half-marathon that was part of my runkeeper app, and I stuck to it pretty religiously. The only times I strayed at all was when I couldn't keep a certain pace for a few of the interval runs, and there was a day when a thunderstorm cut short a run.
Once I had set my mind to actually doing the half, I set an initial goal of 2 hours. I was running over 10 minute miles at the time, and to get under 2 hours for a half, I'd have to have an average pace of 9:10 or under. The first several long runs were well under that pace and for a while, I was wondering if I would achieve the goal. I stopped wondering a few months before the race, however, since I did a sub-2 hour half during a training run. I was actually doing a 15 mile run that day, and within that run, I went under 2 hours for 13.1 of those miles. I adjusted my goal for 1:55 and drove on.
On race day, I was very confident that I would finish under 2 hours, and thought I had a good chance at 1:55. I listened to all of the races with experience telling me not to go out too fast, but I ended up doing a bit faster than I had planned anyway! I did slow myself when I checked my pace in the first few miles, but I ended up doing negative splits, and my fastest 4 miles were my last 4...my fastest mile was my last. I ended up with a time of 1:50:52 and was very happy with my race.
I ran another half marathon months later, on a course much more challenging. The weather was also much, much warmer, and I ended up with a time of 2:01:28. I hadn't trained like I did for the first race, but even if I had, I doubt that I would have been able to beat my time from earlier. The first race was in Birmingham, AL and the temperature was around 30F at start time. It was maybe 35F as I finished. This is perfect weather for me! The second race was not such ideal conditions. It was very humid, and the temp in Nashville that day was around 61F at the start. I was hot during most of the race, and very uncomfortable compared to Birmingham. But it was a great experience, and it really drove home to me how important training is. Not that I didn't run between the races, but they were so close together that I was not able to dedicate an entire 16 weeks like I had for the first.
Now begins the training for the full marathon! I am a bit nervous to start this one, but mostly because I really want to do well. I have set a goal of 4 hours, and I will be using training paces based on the finish time that I had in the first race. If things go as well as my first half, I'll be able to get under 4 hours. The key will be staying healthy and injury free. One thing that I will really try to do is also add some supplemental training in the form of core and strength training along with a regimented stretching routine apart from post-run stretching.
I am going to try and put some initial thoughts down about each of the training runs, so that someone else thinking about running a marathon can read a perspective of a first timer like me. I'll also point out that at race day, it will be two weeks removed from my 52nd birthday. (also for perspective!)
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