Monday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: Pilates (to counteract all this running!)
Saturday: 6 miles
Weekly Total: 15 miles
Training Total to Date: 15 miles
Finally. After all the weeks of waiting, the training finally started! My plan was to run my first 3 miles at 6:00 Monday morning before my husband went to work. Given the arctic temperatures we've been having for weeks now (maybe months!) and the fact that it’s still quite dark at 6:00, I knew that running outside was probably not an option, so I had resolved myself to kicking off my training on the treadmill at the gym. However, I was not prepared for the 12+ inches of new snow that I awoke to on Monday morning! The snow and the fact that I don’t know how to use the snow blower, combined with my husband being in bed with a violent stomach bug, all worked against my getting to the gym for my 6:00 run. School was cancelled, which meant no childcare at the gym, so going later and taking the kids with me was also out. Seriously? I had been planning this run for months! Was I really going to have to miss the first run of my marathon training? Not a good way to start.
Later in the morning the kids and I got all bundled up and went out to play/shovel. I dug and dug and dug and dug and finally got the driveway cleared enough that I thought I could get the car out. And I got the kids tired enough to take a good afternoon nap so my recovering husband would only have to worry about sleeping kids while I was gone. A perfect plan B! Or maybe Plan C, if you count running outside on clear, dry roads in perfect temperatures Plan A. So, off to the gym I finally went!
In recent weeks, as I was “training to train”, I discovered the wonders of the Cardio Cinema at my gym. It’s a small dark room with several tiers of cardio equipment and a big screen on which they play movies. Turns out it’s the coolest place in the gym, temperature-wise, and a movie to distract me from the act of running is quite helpful. I credit my friend, Erin, for introducing me to the joys of running in the Cardio Cinema. You never know what movie will be playing or where in the movie you’ll join in. This week I saw the end of 17 Again one day and then the beginning of it the next time. Still haven’t seen the middle, but I think I get the gist. Another day I saw the last 20 minutes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and then watched the DVD menu for the next 10 minutes because no one ever restarted it.
Then came Saturday and the first long run, which Deb and I planned to do together. I have never run more than 4 miles on a treadmill and have always said I would never run even that far again. As far as I was concerned, three miles was my treadmill limit! Well, as anyone who lives in the Northeast this winter knows, things are pretty brutal around here and not very conducive to outdoor anything. The snowbanks are high and what’s left of the shoulders of the roads are covered in snow and ice, making it pretty dangerous to be a runner. Temperatures with highs in the single digits and wind chills below zero just add to the problem. The weather had us questioning whether or not we would actually run outside or be forced to run 6 miles on treadmills. Then my husband ended up being away for the weekend, leaving me with a childcare conundrum which forced our hand. So, Saturday morning Deb and I took the kids to the gym (so thankful for childcare at the gym!) and prepared to endure over an hour of treadmill running. We trotted along on side-by-side treadmills for over an hour watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and successfully completed our first long run! I hope to never have to run that far on a treadmill again, but with the company of Deb and Ferris, it was tolerable, and maybe almost enjoyable. Almost.
One week down, 17 to go.
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: Pilates (to counteract all this running!)
Saturday: 6 miles
Weekly Total: 15 miles
Training Total to Date: 15 miles
Finally. After all the weeks of waiting, the training finally started! My plan was to run my first 3 miles at 6:00 Monday morning before my husband went to work. Given the arctic temperatures we've been having for weeks now (maybe months!) and the fact that it’s still quite dark at 6:00, I knew that running outside was probably not an option, so I had resolved myself to kicking off my training on the treadmill at the gym. However, I was not prepared for the 12+ inches of new snow that I awoke to on Monday morning! The snow and the fact that I don’t know how to use the snow blower, combined with my husband being in bed with a violent stomach bug, all worked against my getting to the gym for my 6:00 run. School was cancelled, which meant no childcare at the gym, so going later and taking the kids with me was also out. Seriously? I had been planning this run for months! Was I really going to have to miss the first run of my marathon training? Not a good way to start.
Later in the morning the kids and I got all bundled up and went out to play/shovel. I dug and dug and dug and dug and finally got the driveway cleared enough that I thought I could get the car out. And I got the kids tired enough to take a good afternoon nap so my recovering husband would only have to worry about sleeping kids while I was gone. A perfect plan B! Or maybe Plan C, if you count running outside on clear, dry roads in perfect temperatures Plan A. So, off to the gym I finally went!
In recent weeks, as I was “training to train”, I discovered the wonders of the Cardio Cinema at my gym. It’s a small dark room with several tiers of cardio equipment and a big screen on which they play movies. Turns out it’s the coolest place in the gym, temperature-wise, and a movie to distract me from the act of running is quite helpful. I credit my friend, Erin, for introducing me to the joys of running in the Cardio Cinema. You never know what movie will be playing or where in the movie you’ll join in. This week I saw the end of 17 Again one day and then the beginning of it the next time. Still haven’t seen the middle, but I think I get the gist. Another day I saw the last 20 minutes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and then watched the DVD menu for the next 10 minutes because no one ever restarted it.
Then came Saturday and the first long run, which Deb and I planned to do together. I have never run more than 4 miles on a treadmill and have always said I would never run even that far again. As far as I was concerned, three miles was my treadmill limit! Well, as anyone who lives in the Northeast this winter knows, things are pretty brutal around here and not very conducive to outdoor anything. The snowbanks are high and what’s left of the shoulders of the roads are covered in snow and ice, making it pretty dangerous to be a runner. Temperatures with highs in the single digits and wind chills below zero just add to the problem. The weather had us questioning whether or not we would actually run outside or be forced to run 6 miles on treadmills. Then my husband ended up being away for the weekend, leaving me with a childcare conundrum which forced our hand. So, Saturday morning Deb and I took the kids to the gym (so thankful for childcare at the gym!) and prepared to endure over an hour of treadmill running. We trotted along on side-by-side treadmills for over an hour watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and successfully completed our first long run! I hope to never have to run that far on a treadmill again, but with the company of Deb and Ferris, it was tolerable, and maybe almost enjoyable. Almost.
One week down, 17 to go.