I joined the marathon training class offered by Go Far Sports (see link to their website below). I'm excited to have instruction from experienced runners. I also look forward to the information from the weekly guests including doctors, nutritionists, etc. At today's introductory meeting I visited with Rick Wagar (see link to his blog Ultra Life below) who runs ultramarathons and is one of the coaches. I first met Rick after the YMCA Chase Race last summer, and I have bumped into him a couple of other times. I appreciate the advice and encouragement he has given me.
I have been doing my long runs on Sundays, but the training classes have long runs on Saturdays. I decided to do this weeks long run today in an effort to get used to the class schedule. One of the things Rick mentioned this morning was to concentrate more on the time spent running and less on the mileage. That's what I did today. My goal was to run for two hours. I made it, but there were some challenges along the way. Some of the sidewalks still had several inches of snow on them. They REALLY worked the legs. I ran through these snowy stretches at the beginning, but as my legs tired I walked through the deep stuff. I was afraid of injuring myself on the very uneven footing. It was a very pleasant run with the temperature at about seven degrees, no wind, and a bright blue sky.
I have also registered for the Earth Day Half Marathon in St. Cloud on April 16th. It will be great training for the Fargo Marathon. It will give me a chance to get used to pacing during a longer race and navigating aid stations. It's also nice to have a smaller goal to work toward.
Until next time.
Keep up the great work! (There's no snow on the ground here at the Cochise Stronghold - A training jaunt to Arizona! What a concept) We so enjoy hearing about your progress toward this great goal. Dave and Barbara
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