I’m training for my first marathon: NYC, November 6. I’m following – well, sort of following – a schedule. I’m ignoring “pickups” and “tempo pace”. I run for about an hour twice during the week, and on the weekend I go for a “long easy run” which increases most weeks. I was scheduled for 11 miles this past weekend, and I substituted the Queens Half-Marathon, which was long but not easy, because of the weather.
I was wondering whether I had ever been so disciplined before, even though it’s half-assed, to use an expression that my father loved. And then I remembered that I used to produce vocal recitals at least once a year. The preparation is similar. I had to learn the music and practice it, so that I perform it without stress or worry. There was the idea of being underprepared, and there was also an idea of overpracticing.
I hear and read conflicting advice about preparing for a marathon. “You need two 20-mile runs” vs “you need one 18-mile run; that’s enough!” “Follow your program” vs “that program is just a guideline.”
There are days when I wonder why I even imagine that I could run 26.2 miles in one day. Today, it seems possible.
I had a pleasant surprise during my morning run in Central Park today. A bicyclist came up beside me and commented on my hat, which had the logo of a running store. He got off the bike and handed me a $10 gift card to the store, explaining that it was a Facebook promotion this week. Every time he saw someone with the logo on a piece of clothing, he gave them a gift card and took their picture. Then he apologized for stopping my run and rode off to look for more logos.
