Distance dreaming! Yes, I am. As I said a while back, I am running my first marathon this fall. The great thing is I have found a whole group of people who are also first time long distance runners.
Abbi of Higher Miles decided that support is helpful to all of us. Abbi and I met on DailyMile.com and I realized we are both following the same marathon training program. Abbi decided to create a group on her blog that is all about first time half or full marathon runners. There are a ton of us and it is fantastic! I am sure it is more work than Abbi thought there would be a she wrote a great post yesterday that linked to all of us. She also polled us on a name for the group, created this great logo, and now has put out prompt questions and a poll. She is going to be doing a similar post each Wednesday until the end of the year or maybe longer. I am not quite sure.
So, on to the prompt. It is all about the whys – why distance? why now?
If you follow my blog regularly, you will know I came out in January with a goal of running a race a month. I did this in a guest post at Motherese. At that time, I decided that my first long race would be a half marathon in March. I moved from that to another half in April. I did not have a full marathon on my plate – some longer runs like a 20K and a 15K but not a full marathon. I was having dinner with a friend who ran Boston this past April before the 15K we both ran in July. He asked why I didn’t run Wineglass this year. I think I may have asked him if he was nuts.
I decided I would do two weeks of training where I was. I was already running between 25 and 35 miles a week. I looked at several training plans and decided on one and then looked at where the marathon was. I started running with Wineglass in mind. I have decided I try to tell everyone I know that I am going to run a marathon. The support is important in keeping me on track.
I am running Wineglass on October 3. I will finish it in a respectable time for a first marathon – haven’t quite decided what that is yet. I will keep running after Wineglass.
August 5th, 2010 at 6:54 am
Really enjoyed this post. I’m doing my first marathon a week after you. If you could take a look at my blog and you’ll see info on a contest I’ve entered where I’ll try to run 40 races next year. If you like maybe you could spread the word I need votes? Voting ends Monday.
Either way I did enjoy today’s post!
August 7th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
John, Thanks for stopping by. Trying to run 40 races in one year is awesome. Good luck. I can’t imagine it as I am trying to do one a month and get tired.
August 5th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Thanks for posting! It’s great to see how and why others are tackling this challenge. I’m also happy there’s someone else I can follow along with on our training!!
August 7th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
I love to follow others’ trainings. We are so close, except for I switch days around all the time to fit in my schedule.
August 5th, 2010 at 9:31 am
I’m happy and excited to be a part of the distance dreamers too! Thank you for alerting me to it. I can’t wait to cheer you along in your marathon journey.
August 7th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Thanks, Katie. Hope you got your run in today.
August 5th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Hi Nicki, I am excited to be part of this amazing group too! Congratulations on signing up for your first marathon and good luck with your training!
August 7th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Heather. Good luck on your training and race, also.
August 6th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
I am so in awe of your ability to do this – the discipline, the commitment, and of course, physically. I can imagine the first two (I have the work ethic), but not the third. And it takes all three. Good for you, and all the other distance dreamers.
August 7th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Thanks, BLW. I am a tad sore today. Did 17 miles this monring.
August 6th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Distance Dreamers is great!I’m having a great time finding a bunch of new running friends! Way to go on your training! Looking forward to following your training!
August 7th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Erika – thanks for coming by. Isn’t it great to have people who have a common interest you can “talk” to?