Quit or Commit

Quit or Commit. That's what I've been wrestling with these last few weeks. Not running of course, but weather or not I am going to really become a marathoner. I have come to that point where running has become just something you put on your checklist and there was one week in the past month where all I ran was 5 miles.

Not a good way to start off marathon training.

Running itself and the continuation of it is easy, but training I've learned is another thing alltogether. A runner can run her three to five mile loop every morning and call it good. A marathoner needs to make sure her workouts are meeting not just that day's objective of excercise, but that day's intended workout, that weeks intended mileage and that months bench mark of work completed. It is not just about running. It is about training and not about training harder. It is about training smarter.

However. I am not liking having all my workouts written out and decided for me before I even drink my morning Dr. Pepper. A few days after I ran my debut long run I scoured the internet for marathon training plans. I also reffered to back issues and current issue of Runnersworld magazine. I then applied to the plans what we runners do to our bodies: I honed and I fine tuned. I scheduled long runs for days that I believed I would have extra time. I scheduled rest days with optional or mandatory swim or weight lifting. I even carved out six weeks where I would be running hills ( or in my case walking hills, but in a weight vest.) and I begrudgingly started to inch up the mileage on speedwork days.And alas my longest long run since the 18th of June has been 11 miles and I have yet to run more that 22 miles in any single week since that run.

Talk about having an identity crisis.

I can blame my watered-down-oatmeal approach to training on alot of things. The heat. The power bump that rendered my alarm clock useless. My sweet boyfriend who showed up at my house one morning to take me to breakfast. ( where I ate way to much and called a long run at 5 miles instead of the prescribed 14 again.) Or I can blame it on one person who holds all the control when things get out of control: Me.

I think my problem is I was overwhelmed once the plan was out there in front of me. I need to take it the way I approach running itself - one mile at a time. I also need to realize not doing something 100% does not equate failure. I have to be willing to do the best I can while still maintaining the integrity of the training.

So here are three goals I am going to work on:

1. Make sure I run at least 3 times a week ( including a maintenance run, a speedworkout or tempo run, and a long run.) This will be a tough one I think. It is so easy to just do two 5 milers back to back and then a long run, but I know the speedwork is important, because it will help me improve and that will hopefully keep me interested. The key is to get in early in the week so that its not constantly hanging over my head.

2. Swim or weight lift at least once a week. This will be a sanity and time saver. Weights I can do just in my room on days when I am running out of time and swimming is really good for days when my right hamstring is talking too much.

3. Work on waking up earlier. I think just setting my alarm clock for six has not been working. I'm going to try to work up to that in increments of 15 min and see if that will awaken my inner morning person. I also think getting it done early would ensure that it does get done. My boyfriend doesn't support the running thing. I am trying to get him on board with it and he is doing better, but I know going out to dinner or to a movie will always take precedence because he will never understand that it is more than a way to stay fit.

On the schedule for tomorrow: A speedworkout. I'm thinking a 1.5 mile warm up with 4 repeats of 1200's and 1600's with a cool down of another 1.5 miles will be a great way to start to the week. However if I feel like I can do all 1600's or only 1200's then I'll consider it a successful day of training.

Here's to not only committing to the training, but to the actual workout itself and accepting it once its done, because I am committed. Quitting is not an option.

Meagan