Countdown to the Marathon – T Minus 22 Weeks

I originally planned for this blog to chronicle my running exploits.  Discussing stuff like how I became a runner at the ripe young age of 37, the joys of running with your children in tow, what it means to be a runner in the midst of a mid-life crisis, etc. Thus, this blog’s web address:  run-janie-run.   But by the time I got around to actually blogging, I decided to impart all my vast wisdom about everything, not just running. 

You’re welcome.  :-)

2013 Disney Marathon Medal

I have written about running from time to time: my Racer’s Serenity Prayer, the Mile 2 Suckfest, and Running Like a Mother, but nothing about running too regularly. But since last week I signed up to run the Disney Marathon on January 13, 2013 and I’m going to try to keep track of some of my training here.

Training for a marathon can get pretty tedious.  If I follow my current training plan, I’ll run over 500 miles between now and January. I figure if I’m going to run all those miles I might as well keep some sort of public record. Maybe it will help keep me honest.  But I doubt it.

Training at T Minus 22 weeks (Aug 7-14)

Miles ran:  21.44 (12 mi, 5 mi, 4 mi)

Miles scheduled: 18

Cross training: None

My weight:  X (yeah, no need for us to get that intimate. I’ll just call it X and then hopefully subtract from there every week)

Running song o’ the week: “Sweeter” by Gavin DeGraw

Audiobook: You Are An Ironman by Jacques Steinberg

General Notes: First, let me say that even though I ran a marathon in 2011, 26.2 miles seems impossibly beyond what I am capable of running now. Of course, that is why it's called training.

Second, thank goodness for Audible.com and that you can play books a 1.5 (or faster) speeds which has made audiobooks bearable to me. Discovering I can run to audiobooks has honestly given me a new interest in running. Now I can multitask while hitting the pavement, something I’ve never been able to do before, and makes it seem more worthwhile.  I’ll be interested to see if it is just this type of motivational book about overcoming physical barriers that keeps my interest while running, or if I can listen to other types also. I have about 4.5 hours of this book left. Thinking about The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey for my next book.