I need a big goal. I am so unenthused about exercise and diet. I went looking online for new athletic shoes last night (and concluded I really need to talk to the shoe store, because I haven't been happy with my latest round of New Balance, which is what I've been using for about 12-14 years now -- Mom hasn't liked hers, either, so they've changed something) and got sidetracked on the NB site looking at their running training plans. I found I was somewhere way beyond "beginner" but nowhere near "intermediate", so they've got some huge gaps in their plans. This then motivated me to visit Jeff Galloway's site, and I don't know what it is about that guy, but every time I read his articles or his books, I find myself thinking, Hey! This is easy! I could totally do this! And somewhere last night I went from thinking I'd like to have a comfortable 5k and 10k to thinking I should aim for a marathon.
The training plan is 30 weeks and there's a marathon in Baltimore in October, which is pretty much perfect. (The only marathons local to southwest Virginia are in the spring, as far as I can tell.) I'd need to commit pretty soon, though, because there's a good chance the race will fill up. I'd hate to get 20 weeks into this and think, wow, looks like I might actually get there, only to find out that my goal race was inaccessible.
Am I crazy for considering this?
6 comments:
Nope, you aren't crazy. You can totally do this. Go for it. Then you can get your "26.2" tatoo :-)
Yup, you're crazy. After three miles I want to throw myself into the path of an oncoming train.
But go for it! I think the best way to reach a goal is to register for the event first and then you're forced to train for it.
I couldn't find a pair of New Balance shoes the last time I went shopping, so I ended up with a pair of Brooks. They felt great (still do) but it was a week after I got them that I fell while running. I know it was the terrain and my stupidity, but I always wonder if the shoe had anything to do with it.
I do get bored on 5k-ish runs. But the one time I went on a long run (8 miles or so?) after the first three miles my brain kind of switched into a different gear, so that by the time I made the turn for home I realized I could have kept running twice the distance if I'd needed to.
Today I did a 30-minute run on the treadmilll (as per Galloway's weekday running schedule) doing the walk/run ratio he proposed. The occasional walking breaks up the monotony quite a bit, and it allowed me to go at a higher speed when I *was* running. But it was also annoying to have to stop and *think* about the walking so much. So I'm not sure if I like it yet or not. I really liked being in the zone when I did that long run a millennium ago and I don't know if that's possible using the Galloway method.
The longest race I did was the Army 10-miler. I thought that was enough. I like half marathons. But that was 10 years ago. So ... But if you need that kinda motivation I know it can be a huge mental boost to do it.
Go for it!
I don't think you are crazy at all. Marathons have always seemed appealing to me. And personally, I think your would get into a much better groove on a long run than on a short one. I would join you, only I think I am about 2 years behind you in training...
Amy, you're not getting out of it that easily! Start with the conditioning program:
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/condition.html
and train for the half marathon. You could TOTALLY do this. And once you can do the half marathon, you can start working on the marathon for next year.
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