Wannabe Marathoner

I finally made the leap today and signed up for my first ever road marathon. I began my training two weeks ago, but needed to make the final commitment by actually signing up for the event. Duh! I’ve been spending a disproportionate amount of time on the roads, lately. But, it makes the trail that much sweeter. Last night was really cool because I worked out in my local apartment gym and, then, literally, walked out the door of the gym and was on the trail after walking less than 100 feet. How sweet is that!?! I’m focusing my efforts on base building my aerobic capacity and it is taking a lot of mental fortitude to stay focused on it. There’s an upcoming 50k/25k this weekend and I’ve been entertaining the idea of busting out a 25k on the trails, but I need to stay disciplined and not make a last minute decision this Friday night and drive the 2.5 hours one way to a race that would take me less time than that to complete. I did have a less than stellar run this morning, which I attribute to the weight lifting and trail run I completed less than 12 hours before this morning’s run. One thing I have learned within the past two weeks is how important rest is during training. I’ve put forth a lot of effort in getting 8 hours of sleep each night and taking it easy during my runs. It has resulted in being able to run a faster pace with a lot less effort. I have a lot of work ahead of me to prepare for February and I am looking forward to it. Although, I have a finish goal in mind, I realize I need to focus on giving my best effort now during each training session, whether it be running, weight training, or yoga. The same goes for my daily nutrition. The great thing about my training is it has brought better balance in my life, mainly because I am spending less time training than in the past. I’ll just keep plugging along and doing the best I can. That’s all I can do.