The Return Of the PIC: Training Time

When last we left our hero, he was wondering how to explain to his wife that he had signed up for a marathon after swearing off running forever…


Well, it turns out I didn’t have to break the news myself as someone else did the honor for me on Facebook. After posting an innocent entry about how my dear friend in PA dragged me out on my first run in quite some time, a yoga friend of mine who was in the know on my marathon plans decided to reply with “awesome…you will do great in the marathon!!” or something to that effect. Crap! So that left me with no choice but to reply with, “Thanks! Oh, and by the way wifey, did I forget to mention that I am running a marathon in October?”.

Needless to say, she was not entirely thrilled about my news as she had previously dealt with my incessant whining each of the 4 years I ran the 10-Mile race. I did my best to convince her that this was different and there would be no whining and that I was planning on properly training for this thing. She didn’t give me too much grief, but seemed somewhat unconvinced.

Anyway, after my visit, I did start to run regularly again. I wasn't following a training plan...I wasn't tracking my distances...I wasn't tracking my pace...but I was running. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten on an official training plan earlier than I did. That being said, I was mostly pleased with my progress.

In August, I actually ran in this crazy 200 mile 12-person team relay event...(another story for another day maybe). Completing that event gave me a lot more confidence that I wasn't going to die during the marathon. Shortly thereafter I actually got to briefly visit PA again, this time with the whole family. Our families seemed to get along swimmingly, which pleased me greatly as this would likely lead to future opportunities to get together.

Upon my return home, I kicked it into high gear with my training. I acquired a GPS watch, started following a training plan, and just kept running! As a numbers guy, tracking and charting my progress with my GPS data was very rewarding and motivating...I should have gotten the watch sooner. I was seeing significant improvement in both my endurance and pace.

The big day was rapidly approaching and I was surprised to find myself fairly confident and ready to do this thing. The initial dread I felt when I signed up for this insanity was slowly being replaced with a feeling of excitement and anticipation. What the hell did this girl do to me? Excited?!? About running?!? 26.2 miles?!! ME????

Stay tuned for my final entry in this series to find out how race day actually turned out.