Went Where Never Been Before

Up until today, the longer I've ever had to run was 13.1 miles. That's the half marathon distance. That has been my focus for the past couple of years, even for triathlon training, I was never asked to run longer than that.

As I approach the end of the first quarter on my full marathon training, it was in the plan to run 14 miles this morning. That is a distance unfamiliar to me. I was nervous and somewhat apprehensive for I could not imagine what was in store for me. But it's only .9 miles longer? Right? Should be no problem, right? Right?

The issue here is not so much physical but mostly mental. I have been focused on one distance for so long that asking my body something new was somewhat overwhelming. All week long my thoughts were on 14m. Last night was a restless night. First woke up at 2am. Never went back to sleep. 5am came fast. I planned to meet my running club at 6am, which I did.

I had my plan all set. Would run a 9m20s pace. And it worked like a charm. Most everyone of the Yayhoos, which according to our club leader is a person that likes to run in the cold/dark morning, runs a much faster pace than mine. But no worries. I would keep my pace, not follow theirs.

When it was all said and done I had finished my 14m in 2h14m, that's a 9h35s pace. But I must tell you that everything hurt. My toes hurt, my ankles hurt, my knees and back as well as my hips. I think even my hair hurt. An ice bath and a warm shower, a two hour nap and all's good.

Breaking new ground is a wonderful thing. A very, very wonderful thing. I just have one question: "WHEN'S THE NEXT RUN?"

491 Miles to CMM

Yesterday afternoon I did some minor adjustments to my personal training plan for the Country Music Marathon (CMM). The date for this event is April 25th. Slight adjustments to the long run miles. Now it's all set, not in stone but set nonetheless.

Earlier today I was curious. Just how many miles will I log before the marathon? So added I did. The answer shocked me. 491 miles! It may not be shocking to some of the more serious marathoners for it is not unlikely that you log upwards of 2,000 per year. But remember that for an ex-couch potato like myself, this is huge!

Then I wanted to know how far 491 miles really is. So I went to google maps and found that the distance from Nashville to Atlanta and back is a little over 500 miles, and my legs began to hurt!

Good Enough for the Military, Good Enough for ME

What runners can learn from Military Basic Training

And so it begins!

I have taken the plunge and officially registered for the Country Music Marathon on April 25th. I chose to do this already so as to ensure that my mind became focused on the task and goal at hand... a full Marathon in '09. As of this writing it's only 15 weeks away. I have set a plan to pace the marathon at 9:45 minute/mile, that'll give me a total time of 4:15:38, but I'll be happy and content with a 10 minute/mile pace and chip time of 4:22.