Four weeks down, 12 to go
Really, I didn’t mean for this to become only a running blog. But the subject keeps popping to the top of my head, so I’ll run with it. (Okay, you’re right. That was dumb.)
Here I am a month in to training. Weather extremes bookend my progress so far. I started during a week I spent in Florida, sprinting along St. Petersburg’s bay shore in 70-degree weather. I slogged through the fourth run of my fourth week, a 4-miler, Sunday in my hometown of Saginaw, Mich. The wind whipped across open fields on one side of the road in 30-plus mile gusts, making the upper-20s temperature feel a helluva lot colder. I think that last one earned me a deserved spot in a loony bin running merit badge. It at least earned me 20 miles for the week.
Santa brought me a bunch of goodies to fill out the running kit: space-age polymer pants and long-sleeve shirt for harsh weather; a jacket; wicking socks; wicking skull cap; and a mini wallet to strap to my shoe. (Okay, so the last two I bought myself, but Santa can’t always fit everything into his sack.) The pants and shirt got their trial run Sunday and I was amazed at how warm they kept me.
With all this Christmas booty, I’m much more prepared for the next two months of cold-weather training. Next week’s a cutback week of 15 miles with a 6-mile long run, then I step it up for 22 miles in week six with a 9-mile long run.
I’ve been thrilled with training results so far. Over the month, I’ve averaged 7:44 per mile, which translates to a marathon in just under 3 hours, 23 minutes if I can maintain. During my half marathon in October, I ran about 40 or 50 seconds faster than I trained. I kinda hope that’s the case this time out. If so, I could manage a Boston qualifier on my first marathon. While that’d be nice, I’m just going to focus on finishing and try not to worry too much about a target time.
In non-running related gifts, I got a new fly pole, a fly-tying vise and materials, Simpsons X, and an array of other loot. Thanks, guys, you’re the best.