Valid question. How the heck DID I get from 5k training to marathon training??? When I started the "Couch to 5k" program I was feeling pretty positive. I mean, the first workout was 20 minutes long...60 seconds of jogging followed by 90 seconds of walking repeated to a total of 20 minutes. That sounded easy enough to me. The first couple of intervals went great and then all of my muscles started screaming at me "Hannah, usually we're watching Oprah right now!" "FREAKING STOP ALREADY!" I made it through that workout, but not without some pain, a seriously RED face and a slightly bruised ego. It made the last workout of week #5 (a 2 mile jog with no walking) look pretty out of reach. But I powered on...what else was I going to do for my 30 days in a row of working out?! You can only plie so many times in your living room by yourself before your boyfriend starts to wonder if he's made a bad choice in a life partner. So I walked/ran my workouts and weeks #2-4 dragged by. I could see week #5 looming in the distance and sometimes I wished the treadmill would run backwards so I could go back to my 90 second walking intervals!
So the day came and I hopped on the treadmill...armed with an exciting episode of Oprah (puppy mills...scandalous!), a big bottle of water, and my Ipod (in case Oprah wasn't enough to distract me). I did a quick 5 minute walking warm up and promptly spilled a good quarter of my water bottle down my front. The first quarter mile went okay. By the time the first half mile rolled around I realized I had forgotten to turn on the fan...and either sweat or the water I had spilled all over myself was dripping down my knees. I made it 1.75 miles before my will power gave out. I was BORED. I was wet. I was hot. Oprah was depressing. I quit! I went back up the elevator to our place (yes, I was too lazy to walk up 3 flights of stairs) feeling defeated and decidedly wussy.
After stretching, a shower, and a big dinner, I decided I'd try again in a few days. And I did. I tried 3 more times. I never made it to the 2 mile mark....The end.
Okay, just kidding. Not the end. I didn't make it to the 2 mile mark on my own. My boyfriend, Kyle, finally convinced me to go run outside with him. He mapped us a 2 mile run around the neighborhood and off we went. He ran faster than I would have at first, but was receptive when I asked (BEGGED) him to slow down. And that day, I RAN 2 MILES WITHOUT STOPPING!!! I was so excited! I wanted to tell everyone (and did tell a few people who didn't care. Sorry friends.). I mean, don't get me wrong. I realize that 2 miles is really not all that far...but to me it was! It was 2 miles longer than I had been able to run a few weeks before!
By this time I had gone quite a ways passed my 30 days of working out and I was still working out every day. It had gotten to be part of my routine that I actually liked. I was feeling stronger and...drum roll please...I had lost 12 pounds! I got on some sort of delayed runner's high...I felt accomplished from the 2 mile run, the continuous days of working out, and the weight loss...just high enough to make an insane decision.
We were wandering around REI that Sunday. While Kyle looked at the $200 sunglasses I browsed the book section. For some reason I can not explain, the Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women stood out to me. I picked it up and flipped through it. Kyle came over to see what I was looking at. I put it back on the shelf. He walked away and I picked it back up again. That happened two or three more times before I finally admitted what I was looking at. Delayed runner's high kicked in here. I decided to buy it. Kyle didn't laugh. But he didn't cheer either. Maybe he thought it was just a book...Okay, it was just a book. But I finished the whole thing in two days and I was inspired. If you're looking for a good book about a woman who didn't run before she started her marathon training (and actually completed a marathon!), read it. That's when I decided I was going to follow the half marathon training program in her book, complete a half marathon, follow the marathon training program, and complete a marathon. Kyle said let's do it.
A long way to go from 2 miles...............
Hannah, you are such an inspiration, my love.
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