Diary of a Want-To-Be Marathoner!

So, it’s been about 7 weeks since I began training with the Frontrunners marathon clinic for my first full marathon this October. I am still smiling. Still loving every minute. Still saying ‘Bring it on!’

I ran in the heat while I was in Winnipeg for a week, that was exhausting! 28C at 8:30 a.m. is just too much; actually, it felt more than a little foolish (read: stupid) to be running any real distance in that heat. Boy was I glad to run on the one morning of rain (used that for my long run), and even more glad to get back to more moderate temps in Victoria. And, even in my brush with celebrity (I sat next to a few guys from Canadian rock band Trooper on the flight home), we talked running – awesome!

Currently we are up to 2 1/4 hours of running at a time on our long runs, and are increasing the intensity of the workouts on our Wednesday evening meetups at the store. It’s still hard to find the energy for an intense run at the end of a work day, but totally worth it. And I feel like I am actually running LESS on the clinic’s set schedule. But likely running smarter. Last Saturday we ran 2 hours, and Silvia, our run leader, told me that I should run even slower. Guh. I may never finish the marathon at this pace.

We have been through all the different workouts on Wednesdays, and I was very surprised to find that I *really like* the hill training, and *love* the tempo runs. It is a new challenge to introduce these things into my other, shorter runs, and I know that it will make me stronger. And I can keep doing them, even when I’m not ‘training for a marathon’. Oh, and my running group has decided that we are going to do a half marathon race in place of one of our regular runs in September. Aaaaahahahahahahaha! That’s like saying ‘half marathon for fun’. I think I have crossed the line.

However…. True confession: I still haven’t signed up for the marathon. But before you give me that knowing smirk, it’s not about ‘if’, just about which start time. I’m a bit afraid that I will go out too hard if I start with the masses, and then not be able to finish; starting early on the other hand (the other option, for walkers and slow runners) means getting up even earlier to start in the dark but it will definitely be cooler and there will be waaaay less people to contend with. But for the early start you have to estimate a 5h30+ race time… I don’t know if I can even entertain the thought of running that long. Ultimate goal: to finish the race, period. Oh, and have fun doing it!

Carol works for a local coffee roaster and compensates for her excess caffeine (and love of bacon) by running as far and as fast as she can in her free time, when she’s not singing in a choir or knitting a sweater.

Running Clinic by Victoria Frontrunners