Running...

Since I hatched my plan to qualify for the Boston marathon, I've been reading a lot more on the subject of running. I'm now sure that if I have and implement an actual training plan I could reach my goal.

I base this on the fact that I've only run two marathons in my life and I didn't train at ALL for the first one.
Sure I had run the various distances, including several half marathons, but even those I didn't train for. The longest run I had been on other than a race was about 6 miles. I hadn't run in weeks before the marathon.

I finished the Myrtle Beach Marathon in 4:53 with an average pace of 11:20.
When Lissa and I decided to run a marathon together the idea was that through the training process she would reach some of her fitness goals. With that in mind I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be smoked on race day. Even with that motivation I left my training off until the last minute. Most marathon training programs are 16 weeks, but I only had 11 until race day.
Even though I didn't reach any of my race day goals (other than finishing) I knew that if I hadn't been running on a hurt knee I would have made a sub 4 hour marathon, and that was exciting. It was exciting because if I could improve my time that much by just logging miles without doing any of the other stuff (speed training, or even tracking my time) imagine what I could do if I actually put the work in!?
I really enjoyed reading "Personal Record: A Love Affair with Running" by:Rachel Toor
It's a great book, that talks about what motivates the author to run, and what she gets out of running. I enjoy these types of books because they talk about the same things that make running enjoyable for me. For years I told myself "I'm not fast, but I'll finish" and while that is still somewhat true, I've learned that I'm not slow either and I can get to the finish line faster than I thought I could even a year ago. The author of this book ran fast, but she wasn't an elite athlete and she didn't do it to win races. She ran because when she got in the "zone" it was amazing. And when she reached a goal or set a PR it energized her in her life. Running helps me get out of my comfort zone, and set goals that make me work. I acutally I wish I could take that feeling outside of running and get it to work in my daily life...motivation is somewhat lacking there.