Marathon Training Week 1

I've completed my first week of marathon training and already I feel a bit like a pregnant woman.  Hear me out...  I am obsessed with my training program.  I don't want to run too much or too little.  I started doing yoga, again.  (The last two times I did yoga, I was pregnant.)  Calories and food are always on my mind.  Weight gain or loss is of definite concern.  I feel fit and beautiful in a new, goal-oriented sort of way.  And, I feel exhausted looking at the 18 weeks ahead.  I am not in the meat of the program and just like my first prenatal visits, the enormity of the task at hand is hitting, hard. 

Last year, I ran some really tough races.  I put my body through a plethora of tests and after my final race of 2012, I was confident that I could run and finish a marathon.  It is easy to talk about it.  Anyone can sign up to run a race, but the training itself is alarming!  I decided to use Hal Higdon's Novice II Marathon Training Schedule and like a good little runner girl, I immediately marked my calendar dutifully with each daily distance requirement. 

Two days later, I went back to that calendar and added up the required weekly distances.  It started out as expected, but I quickly found my jaw dropping as I saw 33 miles, 36 miles, 45 MILES!  Anyone with heart can finish a marathon.  I have heart, but I know I will need some extra encouragement to get through this.

Just like pregnancy was a long road, that ended with a rather painful, exhausting, and exuberant end, I know the marathon will too.  When I complete 26.2, I will learn more about what kind of a woman I really am.  I am not talking about life-changing, mind-altering, realities mid-race.  Being a mother taught me a different kind of strength.  The kind that is hidden deep within until you really need it to care for someone you truly love, or to push through pain unlike any other and know you can do it again.

This is the first time I have been truly nervous for a race.  If I didn't hit my ideal pace or time for a 5K, it bothered me but I didn't loose sleep over it.  The idea of running 13.1 never felt daunting.  I like 8-10 mile runs and I knew I could finish, even if I had to walk.  This is the first time I see a formidable distance glaring me down from afar, but I am motivated to finish.

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