Long Run 1

This was initially posted on July 20th 2008:

This week, I've debated whether I should try to run the Silicon Valley Marathon on Oct. 26, 2008. I've been doing some jogging lately but most of my activity has been either cycling or playing basketball. One of my goals before I turn 40 is to run a marathon. The Silicon Valley Marathon is only 14 weeks away. If it was 16 weeks away, I would go for it, but 14 is not a lot of time to train for my first marathon. Since I'm considering this a little late, so far it seems all the "team in training" sort of groups are closed. So, it seems best to maybe look for another Marathon.

However,

1. I'm not getting younger,
2. The Silicon Valley Marathon seems like a good Marathon for a novice . . . it's relatively flat and fast. It's also close.
3. I've actually run those streets before. About 5 or 6 years ago, I was hoping to train for a marathon (got up to about 14 miles) and then got too busy at work. In my training, I ran a lot of the streets set in the course for the Silicon Valley Marathon.
4. It will be nearly 1 year from my dad's death (Oct. 28, 2007). So, it will be a way I can remember him and a positive way to reflect on his life and passing.

So, I decided that I would register if I could do a long run this weekend. The goal was 6 miles. Then I could add a mile a week (for the one long run) and get up to about 18/19 miles in training.

I mapped out a course for a 6 mile run (it was actually 6.3).

This morning, I woke up for my first long run (I ran 3 miles yesterday as a warm up, took my dogs for the first two miles yesterday). Then off I went.

I felt good. About the 4 mile mark I started getting tired, but never the urge to quit or walk. I then made a change to my proposed route (I was not sure if the street went all the way through) so I took a slightly different route (the route I generally use to bike home from work). The last part of the run was the hardest. There was a large and long hill. My knees were hurting. But, still no strong urge to walk. Soon I was close to home and knew that I could keep going.

And, I made it! Yeah. It's just a start but it's a start. I came home and took the dogs for a walk to cool down. Then I checked the distance of the new route (the one I actually took). Turns out I ran 6.9 miles today. I'm really happy. Also happy that I ran about 11 minutes a mile. I want to get down to 10 minutes a mile, but right now the key for me is the distance.

I'm still not sure if I can train to run the full marathon. I have a lot of travel dates and a lot of speeches. But, I'm going to give it a shot. I remember after I got out of the Navy. I was working full-time and starting college (I was always horrible at school). I was not sure if I could do it (do well in school (taking a full load) and also work full-time). Heck, I was not sure I could do well in school, taking one class and not working. But, I was set to give it a shot. Do my best and not be afraid to fail. I got an A in every class and promoted at work.

So, although I have a very demanding job, I'm going to give this marathon training a shot. If I fail . . . well at least I tried. If I succeed, then it's one thing to cross of my list. More importantly, it will be a good way to remember my dad (I know I'm going to be thinking about him a lot in Oct. . . . I already do)

I'll provide updates whether I succeed or not. I'm going to give it a shot.