Back indoors

It was snowing and 30 degrees outside today, so another outdoor run was out of the question. So it was back to the rec center and the treadmill. After a five minute walk, I ran for 30 minutes straight, doing just over 3.1 miles. Stayed at the same pace until the last 100 seconds, when I increased it by one mph to finish strong. I then walked on the treadmill for another five minutes, and then walked around the hall for about ten. It was pretty warm in there, so I was feeling pretty thirsty. So the official training program starts in a little over a month, and I'm already at the "able to run for 30 minutes straight" level, so hopefully I can get some good runs in between now and then so those first couple weeks of the official training program go pretty easy, and maybe I can have my pace up a little bit by then.

afternoon in the park

Went to the park today and took a run along the canal towpath. First time I had been down there, and it looks like it is going to be an excellent place for me to train. Lots of bikers, but they were all courteous.

After taking a long walk through the park to get to the path, I ran 2.5 miles. I then walked halfway back, 1.25 miles, before running the remaining 1.25 miles back to where I got on the path. Need to get a stopwatch one of these days to get an idea of what speed (or lack thereof) I'm at. I think the 1.25 miles was around 10 minutes, so an 8 minute mile pace. Not exactly blazing speed, but it's a start.

Welcome to "My First Marathon"

I started this site to log my personal progress as I begin preparing for my first marathon. For the last few years, I have had a goal of running a marathon, but it has never gotten beyond the wishful thinking stage. I am a beginner runner, so I am pretty much starting off at square one with this whole thing. I try to run on the treadmill at the gym every now and then to help stay in shape, but I usually never last more than 20 minutes of straight running...and even then, it's pretty slow.

So my goal is to run in and complete the Akron Marathon on October 1, 2005. As my training guide, I will be using The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. It was written by a couple college professors who teach a course at Northern Iowa University, which basically teaches the students the physical and mental things they need to do and know to be ready for the marathon. And all but 1 of their students was able to complete it by the end of the course, and many of the students were first-time runners. So, I have a 174 days to prepare.

This afternoon, I went to the gym, walked for 5 minutes, then ran for 20 minutes straight at a 6mph pace, then walked for another 25 minutes, and then ran another 5 minutes at a 6mph pace. I then walked around the hall for about 10 minutes to cool down. I weighed in at 172.5.