I registered. It's real now!

OMG, I’m six months away from the marathon. Frankly my running has been sporadic at best up until now. Last week my real training began. My coach, Bruni, is actively involved. She even confiscated my chocolate bar today! Anyone who knows me well enough know how much I love good, dark chocolate. My 72% cacao bar is somewhere in Bruni’s possession. My hand is shaking as I type this. (Not really, but it would be funny if it were so!)

Registration for the MCM opened on April 7th. By 11:25 am that day I was paid up and officially signed up. The 30,000 spaces filled up in less than a week. Wow, folks are serious about this particular marathon. Nicknamed “the people’s marathon,” entrants do not have to be pre-qualified to run it. But I chose this one for personal reasons. I was a uniformed, U.S. Marine over 20 years ago. This is my way of coming home.

Last Wednesday, Bruni met me at the lake near my job. The asphalt covered path that circles it is 0.75 miles distance for one complete loop. My coach wanted to see my running style and form and get a read on my conditioning to date. I sucked. She was so encouraging! My form looks good! My pace is acceptable at this point. What I must do, she told me, is focus on my breathing. Breathe like a horse, my dad told me last weekend. That is: breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. My past yoga training hasn’t helped me with the running. In yoga, all breathing is done only through the nose. I must adjust that.

So my pace is slow but getting better. I’m relieved spring has arrived and the freezing cold mornings are gone until late fall. I have six months to train hard for the MCM. New shoes are needed already. And Bruni tells me I should cross train on my non-running days. I went through my storage bin in the closet to pull out my swim suits. My thunder thighs were none too happy about the prospect of being on display for all at the community center pool to see. A little sunshine on my legs would be nice, too! A post on a group page on Facebook for women who work out told me she does trail running. Hmm… That sounds intriguing. A new pair of trail shoes will be good to have as my old ones are funky and worn out. My running shoes need to be replaced already. I’m stepping it up.

The tendon over my right heel is still nagging at me. My left ankle swells up most days and my left hamstring is tight a hell. I did a power yoga workout last night and my hips are tight, too. Tomorrow morning is an upper body workout with weights and a 4-mile fast-paced walking session after work.

Go girl!