Bring it on....the marathon!

Tomorrow I am starting my training for the Boston Marathon. I confess, yet again, that this was a bit of an impulsive decision. Last year I considered running a marathon, but then I developed a stress fracture, and told myself that perhaps marathons are not for me. In order to avoid feeling bad about this, I kept telling myself bad things about "the marathon" and in the process discovered trail running - still my biggest love. Boston came about because of my friend Sue, who wanted to do something for Mass General, because they saved her life 3 times in the past year. So when she mentioned that she signed up, and signed up to. Yes, peer pressure never fails to work for me. For the past month I have been agonizing about whether my body is made for marathons. I mean, I know I have the mind for the marathon, no doubt about it, I can easily push through pain, I have a bull's stubbornness and I never give up. But my body? My biomechanics? My on and off unpredictable knee pain (I can run 3 miles slow and be in agonizing pain, and run 11 miles the next day and have no pain at all)? I am the type of person that does not set goals that I can't achieve. I set gradual goals, when I know that, with hard hard work and determination, I can achieve them. The marathon is a tricky goal, because it does not take only hard work - in fact, I think I need to work less hard for it - or perseverance, it takes uncertainty, it makes you rely on your body, which, albeit is connected to the mind that is supposed the dictate what it does, can and may fail you. So this will be taking a chance for a woman who sets goals that she knows she can achieve.

Life is all about uncertainty and adjustments. This is what I preach about all day long. The marathon will be a great exercise for me. Working hard but maybe not too hard (to avoid injury), backing out for a few days at times, when life gets in the way (and being OK with that). It is also a great opportunity to do something for others. Although I would love to BQ someday (and I know that I can), I may never run for a charity again. I have never raised money, so this will be a nice opportunity to learn about that, and raise money for a good cause. In the process, I will also strengthened my friendship with the Sue(s). Oh, yes, I did coerced Sue M into the marathon. As she put it "I need to make sure when I open my mouth around it...you make it happen".

So, tomorrow I start the training. I will post my training schedule as well. I have a hefty goal for the marathon, but I don't think I'll share it as of now. It's to intimidating for a first marathon, yet I know I am capable of it unless I get injured.

Goals for training:
1. Stick to schedule, don't go faster than you are supposed to.
2. Take the rest day weekly, complete rest.
3. Continue strengthening the core.
4. Start experimenting with gels during runs.
5. Sleep, sleep, sleep - in the train, naps during weekends.
6. Eat for performance.
7. Don't get to serious about this. Life is a marathon, Boston is only a small part of it.

So now I am truly excited. I can't wait for the long runs. I feel ready. I got fitted for new shoes at Marathon Sports yesterday, got myself some gels, and am ready to go. I am also planning on taking lots of pictures during the marathon training journey, since I got a nice small camera for Christmas (thank you Margaret). Oh, and I did not mention that Bill Rogers is coaching the Mass General Team, so I plan to pester him with lots of questions about my running biomechanics and such.

Let the journey begin...