Back in the Marathon Training Groove

Marathon training is my favourite time of year.

Some say fall or summer is their favourite time of year, but for me, it’s when I’m running.   I lost count of half marathons and 5ks a long time ago, but my real passion are marathons.  I’ve completed 10 marathons in just about as many years – including two Goofy Challenges at the Walt Disney World Marathon and three Abbott World Marathons.

I’m not sure what really started my marathon bug because I never was a runner growing up. I remember volunteering (around 13ish?) for the Walt Disney World Marathon water station at mile 18 along with my mom.  At that time, I was convinced runners should be institutionalised.  I scoffed at the discarded paper water cups on the street and hated my wet socks from failed water cup/runner handoffs – but what struck me the most is how happy the runners looked as they passed.

Most of them were smiling and pretty much everyone thanked the volunteers.  The runners were enjoying this.  I just couldn’t fathom why anyone willingly signed up for a running race or could be smiling after 18 miles of running.

A Change of Perspective

Somewhere between that volunteering experience and running my first marathon, my thoughts on running (obviously) changed.  It all started with a 5K, but I think it really started with a base of fitness I earned through college gym classes.  After finishing that first 5K without walking, I remember getting a tree seedling at the end of the race – and as I held that seedling, I realised something odd had happened.

I had fun.  I had fun running.

Hell hath frozen over.

I then started running various 5Ks and somewhere, somehow, I started to want to run a marathon.  I thought it best to start with a half – and that was when I signed up for my first marathon.  Yes, I typed that right.

The only race I knew from my earlier volunteering experience was full – the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.  I knew they had a half distance in addition to the marathon, but I was too late.  The half was already full.   So I wanted to check my next running wish-list item: a marathon.

Now, this logic may be comparable to buying a Ferrari before I was sure I could drive stick.  But I knew I loved to drive and I was willing to take the risk.

So that’s how I came about to run my first marathon and I’ve been addicted ever since.

Marathon Training…Again

The last marathon I ran in September 2016 for various reasons (some of which I outlined in my post from last week, My reflections on 2017) and, to be honest, I sorely miss it.  I missed the marathon training schedule, the sense of accomplishment after my long runs on Sundays, the shorter runs during the week after a long day at work; I really just missed everything about marathon training in general.

So in the last few months, I’ve started to lace my Asics up again and hitting my paths, and finding a sense of peace I’ve been missing for quite some time.  I can’t wait to run two marathons later this year – one in May and the New York Marathon in November in my quest to become a Six Star Finisher of the Abbott World Marathon Majors – and starting to get my groove back.

I am still in the beginning stages of my marathon training, but I already feel energised – something I haven’t felt in quite some time.

I’m ready – bring it on!

Running