One Step At A Time

The time has come for me to officially start training for the Boston Marathon.  It's not until the middle of April but  I've been pretty lax on my running for the last month or so, therefore necessitating a longer training period than I normally do since I have a lot of miles to log.

People generally tend to be impressed when I tell them I'm running a marathon and I often get comments like, "I could never do that" or "Good for you! I can't imagine running for that long."  I'm here to tell you that anyone can run a marathon.  ANY.  ONE.  My philosophy on marathons is this: If you can run a mile, you can run a marathon.  Seriously.  All it takes is one foot in front of the other, step by step, as you cover those miles.  It may seem intimidating but it's a slow and gradual build-up of mileage that if done properly, can get anybody over the finish line after 26.2 miles.

When I'm marathon training, I start pretty small and every week add one or two miles to my long run.  So if you can run 3 miles comfortably, the next week you would push yourself to run 4, then the next week 5 and so on.

For example, on Thanksgiving Day I ran 6 miles at a comfortable pace.  It's probably the longest run I've done since September.  Now, I'm a slight mis-example because I work out enough that I can almost always run 5 miles easily, so for this recent run I pushed it to 6 miles.  I'll do a few 30 minute runs this coming week and probably at least one 45 or 60 minute sesh on the ol' elliptical before trying for 7 miles next weekend. And so on and so forth, until April!

Completing a marathon is one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences I've ever had in my life.  If you've ever thought about trying to run one, DO IT.  You will not be disappointed, I guarantee it.  I really believe in the powerful and positive benefits of running and personally, I think running a marathon should be on everyone's "Bucket List." The rewards, both mental and physical (hello, fitting into your wedding dress!) are beyond limitless.

If you would like more advice how to train for a marathon or how to get started, feel free to PM me and I'll happily answer any questions you might have...Now go get running!