Marathon Training Begins Today!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Training for the Lincoln Marathon/Half Marathon has officially begun. Woo hoo! Here we go!

This morning I had my first long run with my training class. I’m lucky that the local YMCA offers a class during the next four months to prepare people of all levels and abilities to run either the full or half-marathon.

Today was bone-chillingly cold, something like -4 degrees. And my schedule called for eight miles. While I was getting up and getting around in the pre-dawn hours, my head wasn’t in the game: “It’s so early. It’s dark. It’s really, really cold. Do I really want to do this? It’s the dead of winter. Do I really need to do this? What’s the point, anyway? Ugh. This sucks.”

But I layered up, got my gear together, met up with the group at the Y, and together we braved the Arctic air mass.

It really wasn’t too bad. In fact, it was actually fun! Considering that it wasn’t snowing, and there was no wind at all, the running part felt sort of easy. Of course, ice formed on everyone’s eyebrows and eyelashes, which were the only parts of most people’s faces you could see. There were a few icy patches on the roads. And at the turn-around point, my legs didn’t feel as great as they had four miles earlier. But I enjoyed chatting with several people during the run. I loved hearing them share stories of past marathons and other runners. In fact, one runner said, “I run so I can eat!” Me, too.

So, what’s the point of all this anyway? Have you ever seen a little kid run? Or a dog run? Have you seen the look of sheer delight and pleasure and fun that they’re having?

Running is fun, even in cold weather!