Please read this and take it to heart!

I forgot how much I like blogging. I was thinking all day today what I might post. I'm sure that if you are reading this blog now, that eventually you'll get tired of reading it, because it will be all about me and my training. I'll try to make it entertaining, but really, who am I kidding?

Don't feel compelled to stay. Feel free to stop by occasionally to see how I'm doing. I don't expect anyone except maybe family to read this on a regular basis (my family is awesome).  It's really just a way for me to motivate myself.

I never understood why people are obsessed with having people read their blogs. It's a bit narcissistic, isn't it? Unless you are a writer, or promoting something, I don't know how anyone can find a blog about you and your life to be interesting. But then again, people watch "Reality TV."  Which isn't really real reality anyway.  But I digress....back to ME.

What I really wanted to write about was how excited I am to start my training.  I got my first email from MIT today.  The advice was about what your pace should be while training.  Apparently this is VERY important, because it was prefaced with this statement:  "If you read nothing else throughout the course of the season, please read this and take it to heart!"   I've already paid enough for this training to ensure that I will read each and every email they send me.  Still, it seemed important, so I read it closely.

We are advised not to train at "race pace," but to train at a pace a whole minute slower than your expected race pace.  Since your training will not take you to a full 26.2 miles, you need to be able to be on your feet running the length of time it will take you to complete the marathon while running likely no more than 22 miles at the longest. Running slower ensures you can endure the hours it will take.  And it will definitely take me hours!

I had an average race pace of 11:30 minutes per mile for my last race, which was a half marathon. 13.1 miles. In two and a half hours.  So I'd like to run a five hour marathon.  Yes, that's correct. Five hours. First, I can't imagine being out there for five hours. I'm going to get hungry.  I'll have to pee. I'll be bored. My music player batteries will die.

Second, if I take the advice to go slower in training, one minute slower is 12:30 minutes per mile! I don't know if I can go that slow.  It's hard enough running as slow as I do (I imagine people put quotes around the word "running" when I tell them how slow I "run"), but I know people who walk races faster than that!  Even worse, if I figure out a pace for 22 miles (which will likely be the longest I will run in training) for 5 hours,  that's 13:38 minutes per mile.  At that point, why bother "running" at all?

Oops I think I just talked myself out of this crazy thing. Maybe blogging about it is not the best way to stay motivated. I have two more days before training starts.  I might not make it.

Pictures

It's all about ME ME ME!  I promise to find some better pictures to liven up the blog, but for now, you get me. Hey, it is all about ME anyway.  So there.

Try Try Again (even if it takes 2 years)

Wow, it's been a long time. I'm not sure why I feel compelled to blog again, except that I'm excited about running again. And nervous. I'm going to train for my first marathon.

Yeah yeah if you have read this blog before (like two years ago) you know that I tried this once before. All I had to show from it was a stress fracture.  And then a sprained ankle.  Several months of physical therapy and a gradual training plan brought me back to my feet and running again.  I've completed 5 half marathons, with the last one in October 2010 and a PR.  I'm not much faster than when I started (well, a little faster) and I don't expect to get any faster.  For some reason, I thought I should try the marathon again.  My husband didn't laugh when I mentioned it, and other friends thought I could do it (one even offered to babysit - no excuses! she said).

So this morning, I signed up for the Marathoners in Training (MIT) group again. I don't think I'd be able to follow a training plan without some support, and MIT was a great way to stay motivated and meet people when I started running.  More people than ever before are running, and I have a lot of friends who are running, so that helps to keep me motivated as well.

But I'm getting bored with my same old races and mileage.  I just need to try something different.  I'm not getting any younger, and while I enjoy riding my bike, it's just not the same (I'm not constantly worried about a flat tire or someone running me off the road).

I'll be using this blog to keep me motivated as I hope to progress through my training.  Anyone who wants to join me on this journey is welcome, and I can use all the support I can get!