Take Two

I have officially begun training for marathon #2: the Windermere Marathon. I am terrified of starting off too intensely and re-injuring myself. I am either imagining or can feel a hint of pain in my outer knee reminiscent of my IT band injury.

But you have to start somewhere, and I've set my goal at about 3 miles a day, 5 days a week and a 6-mile "long run" tomorrow. Workouts will be harder and easier depending on what I add onto the 3 miles. Easy days will be yoga days, hard days will tack on 30 minutes of some other form of cardio. I've read that cross-training for the first few weeks is a good way of increasing fitness without as much risk for injury from increasing mileage too fast.

So. For the next few weeks, my increase in running will be 5-10% per week, and will be my transition from cross-training to mostly running. (For each running mile I add on, I'll drop a mile of biking, rowing, eliptical, or whatever cardio I'd been substituting). At least at first, that will mean adding 1/4 mile to each run on average, although I'll probably target the "hard days" for mileage increases and leave yoga days at 3 miles, and adding a mile per week to the long run.

Given that the last time I was running, I was averaging 40-45 miles per week, it's taking some self-discipline to keep my mileage so low. I keep reminding myself that I won't be running at all if I am injured, and I have ple-e-enty of time to get in shape. I'm also consoling myself with speed work--the hope is to qualify for Boston, which means running just over an 8:20 minute mile. I've run much shorter races at that speed with no problem and completed a half marathon with an 8:49 mile time in late October 2008. I think I can do it.