Jogging for Normal People: Now My Pride is at Stake
I have recently agreed to run 13 miles. That's 11 miles further than I've run in the last 3 months, and 8 miles further than I've ever run in my life. This may be a problem.
I'm a novice -- barely more than an interested third party when it comes to jogging, but I have an uncle who, over the course of many years, has become a masochist marathon enthusiast. He has running buddies, he trains, he's into it. So, when he asked me if I'd be up for one of these events in '08, I honestly thought he might be joking.
Me, committed to running? For miles? All at once?
Sure, there's all sorts of events -- a 10K, a 10 miler, even a 50 yard non-competitive race for children 10 years and older. But here's the rub: I'm about 20 years younger than my uncle. I'm certain that he's capable of running the entire marathon -- every last one of those 26 grueling miles -- and surely, if he can do it, so can I -- right? Right?
Riding on this wave of immature motivation, I boasted: "I bet I could do the half marathon," which was and is a total lie. I don't think I can do the half marathon at all. Nevertheless, backing out now would be worse than if I had chickened out in the first place. Because now, it is a competition. It is an issue of pride. My manhood is at stake.
It took about 5 seconds of bumming around the Internet to realize that, in light of my ill-advised, arrogant assertion, I'll need to start training now, if I don't want to look like an ass on race day next February. For those of you who'd like to take the challenge with me, here's a few helpful articles I stumbled upon.
Experienced or not, will any of you be running in Austin for '08? I'd love to hear about it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-30-2007 @ 12:05PM
Tim UF said...
I was wondering if you dealt with any over-use injuries as you’ve progressed with your running regimen. I've been dealing with shin splints for about a year now, and two orthopedist visits as well as two months of focused physical therapy couldn’t solve it. Rest doesn't seem to help much either; as soon as I bound up one flight of stairs, I’m back to hobbling.
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1-30-2007 @ 12:09PM
Jonathon said...
Tim, the answer, in short, is yes. I had shin spints and knee trouble -- especially at the beginning. On the advice of my girlfriend, I started stretching more after my run was over. This fixed the problem almost immediately.
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1-30-2007 @ 3:34PM
Tim UF said...
well, at least i'm not the only one.
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1-31-2007 @ 11:07AM
itgirl said...
good luck on the training. i recently encountered shin-splints for the first time on an unfortunate treadmill; and stretching does help;but some days it just seems you're screwed.
i run indoors during the winter; not for marathon training but just HIIT as part of an overall training routine. But reading about other people's experiences helps...i have a coworker who is all about triathalons mostly for the biking...i'm an exswimmer myself; and its tempting to train with them as a motivator. and swimmers don't always love dry-land exercise...
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2-01-2007 @ 10:08AM
Timd said...
I do not plan on doing the run down in Austin, but I am probably going to do the Half Marathon in Fort Worth (www.cowtownmarathon.org). If I do not feel ready I will drop back down to a 10k. In November, I ran my first 10k at a pace of 8.5 minute/miles. On my day to day jogs I am typically running 9-10 minute/miles.
www.mapmyrun.org
www.mapmyrace.com (The race you mentioned in ATT is on there with elevation data)
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