But Forrest Gump Made It Look So Easy…
Things I Have Learned After Two Weeks of Training for the Marine Corps Marathon:
1) Running is hard.
2) What I do…not so much “running.” I think the medical term for it is “staggering,” or perhaps “limping feebly at a varied, but always slow, pace.” Or maybe “self induced coronary” is the best way to put it. But running? No.
Not yet, anyway.
Week 2 was good. Almost good. GREAT…except for that one thing. I didn’t do my “long” run (in quotes again because I am still in very, very low mileage phase of this 6 month plan) on Saturday. Sigh. Everything was going great, I even did more mileage than Brookie Cookie mapped out for me on two of the days, and did an actual cross training day (tae bo) rather than last week’s “crossing champers with margaritas at happy hour” effort, but then Saturday came along, and with it came:
A 1 year-old’s birthday party.
Cupcakes.
Burrs. (Or “beers”, as the normal folks say.)
A girlfriend breaking up with her man and calling for wine drinking.
When weighing “wine drinking with girlfriends and man bashing while basking in the sunshine on a patio” with “limping out a hideously slow couple of miles in the disgusting 90 degree weather”…well. I am weak. Man-bashing is a calorie burner, right? I’ll count a mile for every time we said “he’s an IDIOT.” That’s…like 85 miles. Sweet!
THIS week I have a wedding on Friday night. But I will get my run in the next day, hangover be damned. I will, of course, warn the highway patrol in New Hampshire that if they see a beet red portly lady on the side of the road dry heaving, do not pick her up until she finishes the fricking 3 miles.
Training Update (Week 2):
Sunday: Rest, as it should be
Monday: 2 miles, 30 min walk/jog
Tuesday: 2 miles, 30:06 walk/jog
Wednesday: 1.4 miles, 22 min, walk
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 30 min Tae Bo
Saturday: FAIL! (Mmmmm, wine)
It’s not anywhere near 90 degrees here, if that helps at all…you will be nice and cool for your jog.
Good to know, good to know. I’m still thinking there will be dry heaving involved, depending on how much I drink at the wedding.
I tend to get bright red with only a minimal amount of effort. I have evoked many a “Are you okay?” comment. Most people just let you go on your way though with only a mildly disgusted looks. You’ll be fine. Good luck!
Lauren–not only do I get red, but I also STAY red for about an hour (at least) after running. So this morning, even though I finished by about 745 am, I was still nice and red an hour later when I arrived at work–after showering and sitting on the couch watching Saved by the Bell rerun. Good times!
Are we the same person? I might believe so except for the waking up and running before work thing. When I came back from the gym yesterday, my co-worker yelled out “you look hot”. She meant temperature-wise, not in the Paris Hilton way. And I love Saved by the Bell Reruns.
Dude…trotting. I call it trotting. That way no one confuses me with a runner…feel free to borrow that crap.