Jogging my memory: I may have lost it!
This is a post I never thought I’d write. For someone as boring as me, it’s rather exciting then. Ok, here’s the news: I’ve registered to run a marathon. Yes, a whopping 26.2 miles. Yes I am crazy. Yes I hated running… oh, for the first 24 or so years of my life. But I’m hooked now — the same phrase used for dangerous drug addictions. Hmmmmm.
I signed up for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon held October 4, 2009. This has consistently been voted the most beautiful urban marathon in America. The course looks absolutely awesome — you start in downtown Minneapolis, head around four lakes, run beside the Mississippi for a while, then finish in St. Paul. Apparently the crowds are great (and I’ve got a deal with God that the weather will be also).
click on the map below to enlarge
The nutshell story re my running/jogging history is this: I ran my first 10k with some friends about 3 years ago — didn’t love it, but survived. I ran another a few months later than petered off to study for ordination exams. I went to Scotland ate lots of fish and chips and tea and biscuits and fried fill-in-the-blank and put on several pounds and just started feeling unhealthy. So after one particularly unhealthy night when I realized I just wasn’t happy with how I was taking care of my body, I decided the next day I’d begin jogging. That was about a year ago, and I haven’t stopped since. I ran a half marathon at Thanksgiving and another in March and I almost like it. I’m by no means fast, but I feel a ton healthier, crave healthy foods when I crave at all, and am much more in tune with my body and the world around me. A few years ago I’d have thought stories like this were ridiculous. Well, maybe it is. Ask me again the afternoon of October 4th.
So I’ll keep jogging for fun for a few weeks and then begin a training program. I’d love to hear any suggestions for marathon training programs from folks out there. I’ll probably go down the library and check out a few books. Advice is appreciated — as is interventions from friends who really think I’ve gone of the deep end. Peace out … I’ve gotta run.
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Justin has run this race. It is a gorgeous race at a great time of year. Better you than me!
You’re the second of my friends to register for this marathon in the last 24 hours….and the second of my friends to openly question their sanity for doing so.
@melissa, I think this may say something about you too, then
Congrats man. You’ll love it. My only advice is to walk the aid stations… It’ll be worth it at the end.
Adam – what res hall did you live in your first year? (And who were your JCs?)
Good for you, Adam! I’m running my first half-marathon in the morning… we’ll see how I feel after it, but the other day I had a similar crazy thought that maybe I’ll do a marathon in a year or so… we’ll see.
I’ve completed two marathons, and loved it (well, loved that I completed them. . . about mile 20, I wasn’t loving too much of anything). Your feet will be sore the next day (bruised feeling almost), your muscles will be numb. . . and you’ll just move slower–like trying to walk through water. But, it is worth it! I do have some training programs buries somewhere I can e-mail you if you want. For the first one, I just prepped by doing longer and longer runs, which got me through it okay. For the second, I actually trained (hill work, etc.) and it was much easier on race day. You’ll do great.
[...] that I have a real runners’ injury. You followers might remember me posting a while back about signing up for the Twin Cities Marathon. Well, my training had been going fairly well until [...]