Training Day
So a friend invited me to come to Rome to walk the marathon in March. What an opportunity, right? :)
After walking for a week by a marathon training schedule, I have come to the reasonable conclusion that I cannot walk 26.2 miles by March 20th, nor can I walk 15 minute miles in order to finish within the time the route is open...6.5 hours. No sense being unrealistic about it. I will need more time to train and more time to walk.
So I won't go to Rome this Spring.
On the other hand, there is a half marathon on Mercer Island on the very same day. I can train for that and then keep going to marathon readiness. As it turns out, like Rome, I have never been to Mercer Island either (beyond the drive thru on I-90). While not nearly as exotic as Rome, I'm sure it will be fun. The accomplishment will be amazing. And if I can manage it, there are a couple of marathons later in the year in Dublin and in Inverness, Scotland. They're walker friendly, which basically means the course is open longer. Maybe my friend will be willing to meet me there instead. :) After the long walk, we could visit Bushmill's Distillery and/or the scotch distilleries on Islay and in the Highlands and Campbellton!
I invited coyoteo to walk with me. He won't train the same as I, but I'm sure he can do the 13.1 without working terribly hard at it. He is training for the Scott Firefighter Stair Climb www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp, also in March. I can use the stair climbing training as well. Stairs are fun! There is a long flight of 600+ steps from Lake Union to the top of Queen Anne...great workout!
So I'm walking by time 4 times a week and by mileage once a week. There are opportunities to cross train with strength training, swimming, the stairs, and others. I'm on a second week of a 12 week training program. I've already lost a few lbs doing it. :) (Icing on the cake, you know.) I'll keep you posted as I progress!
After walking for a week by a marathon training schedule, I have come to the reasonable conclusion that I cannot walk 26.2 miles by March 20th, nor can I walk 15 minute miles in order to finish within the time the route is open...6.5 hours. No sense being unrealistic about it. I will need more time to train and more time to walk.
So I won't go to Rome this Spring.
On the other hand, there is a half marathon on Mercer Island on the very same day. I can train for that and then keep going to marathon readiness. As it turns out, like Rome, I have never been to Mercer Island either (beyond the drive thru on I-90). While not nearly as exotic as Rome, I'm sure it will be fun. The accomplishment will be amazing. And if I can manage it, there are a couple of marathons later in the year in Dublin and in Inverness, Scotland. They're walker friendly, which basically means the course is open longer. Maybe my friend will be willing to meet me there instead. :) After the long walk, we could visit Bushmill's Distillery and/or the scotch distilleries on Islay and in the Highlands and Campbellton!
I invited coyoteo to walk with me. He won't train the same as I, but I'm sure he can do the 13.1 without working terribly hard at it. He is training for the Scott Firefighter Stair Climb www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp, also in March. I can use the stair climbing training as well. Stairs are fun! There is a long flight of 600+ steps from Lake Union to the top of Queen Anne...great workout!
So I'm walking by time 4 times a week and by mileage once a week. There are opportunities to cross train with strength training, swimming, the stairs, and others. I'm on a second week of a 12 week training program. I've already lost a few lbs doing it. :) (Icing on the cake, you know.) I'll keep you posted as I progress!