Phase Two: Initiated

After a bit of a break following my half marathon, I am happy to say that I am finally back at it. Last weekend, I met the other members of the Bottom Line marathon team at the first Marathon Coalition run of the year. I'll be building up mileage with this group every Saturday from now until race day. While it is a comforting familiarity to be back on a running schedule, I must say that getting my individual runs in during the week has become an additional challenge, since the morning temperature has dropped about 40 degrees since I was last training. While it was once easy to get myself motivated and out the door to avoid running in the 90-degree heat, I now find myself pushing my runs later and later in the morning, praying that the temperature might edge above freezing before I have to step outside. I have also come to the conclusion that I may need to change my favorite running route. I used to be able to head out the door and zone out; my feet already knew where to avoid the cracks in the sidewalk, the bushes that stuck out too far, and the ever-present broken glass on some street corners. I've recently noticed, however, that my route was so enjoyable in the summer because it is shady and breezy--two things I am NOT looking for at 8am in December.

Though I am glad I trained over the summer to test my limits and build confidence in my ability to take on this greater challenge, I can tell that marathon training will be a different kind of beast. Our running coach already has me making small tweaks to my running form, meaning I do considerably more thinking about my running, which brings on new kinds of muscle soreness and mental exhaustion. I will be spending this month learning all over again how to psych myself up in the morning, to plan my running schedule around my relatively unpredictable work schedule, and to push myself on the pavement every time I'm out there. Establishing the routine is half the battle. Bring it on, phase two.