As I mentioned in my bio, I’m training to run the Portland Marathon this October. You should know that I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to run a marathon. For anyone that is interested, I’ve shortened my story that began several years ago to a (mercifully) brief summary below.
I, not unlike others before me, woke up one day and realized that calories had overtaken my metabolism in the daily struggle for supremacy in my body. I wasn’t really overweight – but I was very out of shape. Sitting at a desk daily for almost two decades didn’t exactly help as it turns out. And, in retrospect, working for a very, very large software company located in the state of Washington for almost 6 years wasn’t a great fitness move for me personally either. In all fairness, some of my peers stayed active and fit. Me, I gleefully lapped up all of the company sponsored team lunches, customer lunches, partner buffets & trade show spreads that I could. And there were many, many I tell you – but I digress.
So, back to my story. I did what most all inexperienced runners do – I bought a cheap pair of (Saucony) running shoes and hit the pavement. In the short span of a couple of weeks I had broken just about every rule pertaining to running (and ramping up in moderation). Needless to say, I endured some pain in a few places. Well, actually a lot of pain in a lot of places as I recall. Anyhoo – fast forward a few years, and I’ve managed to educate myself on the finer points of running (building a base, limiting mileage increases, stretching, crosstraining, listening to your body, etc).
To date, I’ve enjoyed running a couple of 5k’s, an 8k, a sprint triathlon and a half marathon. I’m planning to run the Helvetia Half Marathon this June, and then the Portland Marathon in October. Assuming I remain injury-free, the half marathon should be a breeze. However, I’m not so confident about the full marathon. I’ve joined Portland Fit, which is a 27 week training program for the Portland marathon. We are in week 4 and it has been a great experience so far. We have an information seminar and then do a training run every Saturday morning. They also provide a free 5 minute massage after the run also.
I’m currently logging around 12-15 miles mid-week and a 6-7 miler on the weekend. I’ll continue to post updates on this blog periodically as well.
Bunchgrasser's World 