Sunday, January 15, 2017

Feels Like The First Time (Marathoning)

This is the 100th post on Five by 35! Thanks to everyone for reading the blog and supporting me and my running. You're the best. And hey - if you haven't yet given to my Team Diabetes fundraiser in memory of my dad, maybe now is a good time (just saying!). 

Some of you may be wondering what it actually takes to train for a marathon. In all honesty, given that I haven't run one in nearly three years, I'm kind of wondering that myself.

Don't get me wrong. Logically, I know what I need to be doing. To sum it up, see below. 


But mentally? That's another question. 

Training for number five feels like training for the first marathon, all over again. According to the schedule, I ran 13 km this morning; I haven't run that distance since January 2015 (yes, I checked - thank you, Garmin Connect stats). 

Over the next 16 weeks, the long distances are going to slowly creep up, from 13 km to 16, 19, 23, 26, 29 and finally, 32 km. And with each increase in distance, I'll have to answer this question for myself: can I do it? The only way to find out is to put my shoes on, force myself out there and take it one step at a time.

It's terrifying. But hopefully, it will all be worth it.

Today's run: 13.5 km. Weather: 0°C and overcast. Feeling: a little frustrated at first, as I inadvertently forgot to turn my heart rate monitor on and so freaked out a little because I really wanted to track how things were going. But I decided to stop, turn it on, and then kept going. 

P.S. A special shout-out to my friends and fellow runners, Chelsea W. and Christina S., who ran the Star Wars Half Marathon - The Light Side at the Disneyland Resort today. Great job, ladies! Very proud of you both.

No comments:

Post a Comment