Week 5

Today I got to know my pace group a little better. My pace group is called the Cathy O'Brien's, for no apparent reason. There is no one named Cathy O'Brien in the group, at least not that I've seen. I wish we were called the Tigers or something tough like that. Everyone made a bunch of small talk today. My favorite guy was Craig, who mentioned that after runs he likes to reward himself by smoking a cigar. He wondered out loud whether his lifestyle and training for a marathon might be a clash of interests. I'll be keeping an eye on Craig. The run itself was great. That was the one upside of the Red Sox defeat last night. It depressed me so much that I was in bed, completely sober, at 11 o'clock. WHY DID SVEUM SEND THEM HOME?? WHY??? But I digress, top form today. First rate 7 miles.

Week 4

I wish so badly that I could have recorded my running inner monologue while I trained this week. Not only did I train by myself, since I was out of town over the weekend, it was pouring down rain. Like buckets. Like the thing that I remember thinking the most was "it can NOT get any worse than this." Other thoughts included congratulating myself on investing in non-cotton running wear and that after finishing fundraising for AIDS foundation I am going to have to fundraise for the Ali's Pneumonia Foundation. Song of the week stuck in my head: "Pay for what you get" by Dave Mathews. Just awful. I will say that at least the weather gave me something to think about besides just the running. I avoided stepping in puddles, which lasted about 30 seconds. Turned out that stepping ankle deep in cold water really wakes you up. But I did it, 6 miles, all on my own, in the rain. It cannot get much worse than that.

Week 3.5

From what I remember of my run 5 days ago, 5 miles is a lot more than 4. Although it's hard to tell how much my body was affected since I played softball the next day and put my body into a world of hurt. How could it be that there are so many muscles that I don't use on a regular basis. I was so sore I had to take 3 days off, and when I ran yesterday I was still stiff. I have yet to meet anyone in my pace group going to Ireland, which concerns me a little bit. Surely someone will pop up. I will be missing group training this weekend for a wedding, so I'll be training on my own. It will be a test of commitment, making it the whole 6 miles, or 72 minutes. I'd like to say I know I can do it, but we'll have to just wait and see.

Week 2

4 miles today. I mean, Saturday. In keeping with every other time I've tried to find a marathon meeting spot, I got lost this morning. Luckily mine was the last group to leave so showing up 20 minutes late was not a problem. Sunny day, almost warm, didn't trip and fall or anything. Nobody else tripped and fell. Pretty ordinary.

Week One

First day of training. The tempurature was in the high 50's, the rain was falling at pace not quite a drizzle, not quite a pour. But at least I got there on time, which is more than I can say for myself last Saturday. Orientation was 11 am last week, I was up and ready to go at 9:30. And somehow I missed it. I can't explain how terrified I was all week that the same fate would befall me today. Luckily no.

3 miles today, which is shorter than the usual runs I take. Today we ran to see which pace group we will train with. To my surprise, I finished at 29 minutes - putting me in the 11 minute pace group. I can't lie, I was pretty pleased. Although I do have to give some credit to the stranger who started at me about 200 yards before I was finished. He caught me off guard. The only person on the street I'm used to lunging at me is the crazy Asian guy near my work. Apparently this kid had nothing better to do than walk around in the rain at 8:30 on a Saturday morning and scare the crap out of me. He apologized after startling me...but my pace picked up markedly for the last few steps.

Last night was, obviously, my first "night before training" night. I had been dreaded it. Friday nights, for the last 3 years, have ended up similarly - usually involving a cocktail, some friends celebrating the fact we don't have to work for two days, and staying out well past what Reader's Digest will suggest is a suitable bedtime. But I made it home at a decent hour last night. Let me tell you one thing for sure. It sucked. It was as terrible as I had imagined it. For the first time since I don't know when, we had seats at Dan's. And I had to go home early like I had a curfew. But what I need to remember, is that it was easy to get up and run this morning. Eventually, I know I'm going to be out...and I'm going to think to myself...just a little bit longer...just another MIller Lite...I'll be alright... and I'm going to be wrong.

Well those are my thoughts for today. I never promised they would be interesting.

Here goes...

This seems a little odd seeing as how I have not even started officially training for the marathon yet. I guess I'm in the mental preparation phase. Phase one...create a web journal of my training. Phase two...? Phase three...win marathon. That's my plan of attack for now. No really, I'm freaked out. Until recently, my running history included the eight laps around the WHS gym we did before volleyball practice and the mile they made us run in freshman gym class. I ran track one year in high school. My event was the 50 yard dash, and I ran in that heat that didn't count towards anything. And I usually lost. So I think it will be amazing if I can pull off a marathon. Not to mention if I manage to keep up writing on this blog, or if it ever ends up to be interesting. Lofty goals.