a bit late in coming...

This whole thing is a bit late in coming, really. it's long been past due that i kicked my butt into shape. i suppose when aman died last year, a few things came into focus for me - which is why i've decided to run a marathon this year. (note: this is the last time that I'll mention my brother here - but it is one of my main motivators in this journey)



So: I basically got off the couch two weeks ago (January 10th), and ran 9 miles all at once. and i'm here to tell you, it was AWFUL. i was overdressed, tense, and made a bunch of small changes to my usual routine that all added up to a very cranky runner. at the final mile, I told my running partner Amanda, 'I can't actually run any slower than I am right now.' but i DID finish it, and in the process made a huge leap in confidence. we did a couple of short runs later in the week, but that 9mile run was the real point at which i really started.

five days later (January 15th), I sailed through an 11 mile run that actually went over 12.5 (we got a bit lost).

now, we're (purportedly) on a routine, but getting Amanda and Rachel (my other training partner) together at the same time on a given day is proving troublesome. on top of scheduling conflicts, add injuries, transportation woes, and fluctuations in motivation, and a beautifully planned week can be undone in an instant.

case in point: this week, we went out for a six mile run (tempo/threshold pace) and Amanda and I were having such a bad time, we turned around in three. we averaged 9:18/mile overall, but it was far short of the mileage I wanted. so I went out with Kaley and a friend the next morning and i figure we did about 4 miles. so, on top of that 7, we'll be doing another seven tomorrow morning (2 easy, 1 hard, 2 medium, 1 easy), and on friday or saturday we'll knock out a 12-13 mile run (which I am going to run at a fairly easy pace - I'm feeling a bit run down this week. I need to eat more food and drink water far more than i thought.)

so - a 27+ mile week, not including a session or two of tennis/circuit training (more on how much I hate circuit training to follow in upcoming weeks). but the point is not to be counting miles - it's to have fun.

but, then again it can't be wrong to have fun counting...can it? or am I being a bit OCD about this? at this early stage, i'm really enjoying watching my mileage increase from week to week - so, I suppose i'll just keep the tally going.

i'll most likely end up posting to this blog twice a week: the day after the Long Run, and the day after the speedwork/7mile split thing. those are the major points in the week, and i'll fill in the blanks then...

okay? all up to date, then?

let's go.