Sunday, October 3, 2010

Hamilton marathon prep

Today I did a 29km run and felt exhausted. My pace is slower than I would like. Would like to achieve a pace of 6mins per km, but I'm averaging just around 7mins. Which means that it would take 7*42=294/60= almost 5 hours. That's too damn long! I think I can achieve the 4:15 mark by continually practicing over the next 3 weeks, but it's going to be a challenge. I will run again on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with Sunday's run being 32 km. I will do my best to work on my pace in the runs leading up to Sunday.
Why am I doing this, for one its a challenge that is very difficult. The only way to do it is with discipline. I also enjoy running because it makes me feel good, ala Prozac and helps me with weight control, because I do like to eat.
I work an office job and running makes me feel like I'm getting my activity. The downside, it's hard on the knees, it's time consuming, and I wonder if I'm going to get arthritis as a result of this.
Like any challenge it's just putting blinkers on and just looking down, focus on the next step and eventually you've run 30kms, not thinking so much about it but just setting a time and doing it.