Day 1... First Day of Training

With a little less than 11 weeks until race day, I don't have any time to waste getting ready for what will most definitely be the biggest accomplishment to date if I can finish.

I went out last night, but didn't go too crazy knowing that today I needed to have a good start for my return to a consistent running schedule.

Waking up this morning I could see the sun was making it's way out for the day, and I couldn't have asked for better weather for my first day at it.  The temperature was a cold 24 degrees so I found my Nike warm spandex, a tank top, t-shirt, long sleeve, a windbreaker/running jacket, and some running gloves and bundled my body in a running friendly way. I made sure my phone was charged, my headphones were still working, and double-checked a couple different training guides to see what would be a smart distance.

[As you can see, this is my "Welpppp... here goes nothing face"]

After some research I decided a 10k/6.1 miles would be a good starting point.  I made my way outside, took a deep breathe, and headed down to the Harbor Walk. Not without getting a nice little motivation text from my best friend.

It was gorgeous out for a cold day, nice and warm in the sun, no wind to deal with, and a beautiful view of the ocean as I made my way towards Dorchester/UMass for an out and back route. I didn't push myself extremely hard as I want to be sure to avoid injury and not push myself too fast too soon. I know I already have an extremely accelerated training schedule, so I know I need to pace myself.

With my knee problem history I've never been able to just run straight through without stopping to jog or walk at certain points (even if nothing else in my body is needing the break) which can be extremely frustrating, but just something that I am going to have to watch and take care of. So I pushed myself to go for a certain amount of time, and only allowed small walks at a minimum.

Upon finishing my run, I could feel the familiar pain within my knees, but told myself that it's going to happen. They are going to HURT. I just need to take care of them. So I've decided to really become diligent on adding glucosamine to my diet, taking some Tylenol pre-run, icing down post-run, and making sure I give my body the rest days/cross training days where the schedule requires.

After showering and eating some lunch, the pain in my knees subsided, and the anticipation for my entry packet to arrive in the mail heightened. I know I've got a LONG (but really short) route ahead of me. But I'm finally thinking I have the complete motivation and mindset to get this done.

I look forward to repeating this route, and adding some additional miles as well. Definitely not a "fast" start, but I'm training with the goal to simply finish the marathon, in whatever time that may be, I just need to prepare my body for the mileage... although I know my speed/endurance will improve as my running becomes back to a consistent practice. Stay tuned.