Saturday, June 02, 2007

Chicago Marathon Training Plan

A pleasant morning for a walk around the Rose Bowl. No pain in my calf as I gradually strengthen the muscle. (Last week's brief run was too much, too soon and my calf ached for a few days.) In any case, here's my latest training plan - crafted while I should've been writing:

1. June 12: Begin EZ runs, low mileage, no speed. Gradually work up to a long run of 6 miles.

2. July 4: Run a 5K. My time will determine paces for various training runs as well as my marathon finishing time.

3. July 9: Commence training again for Chicago. I'll have 13 weeks. My training schedule will be a combination of the FIRST program - speed and tempo runs - plus Jeff Galloway walk breaks such as TNT uses on long runs.

4. Sept. 3: Run the Disneyland Half-Marathon for the important reason that I signed up for it months ago.

5. Oct. 7: Complete the Chicago Marathon for the even more important reason that I signed up for it in January, booked a hotel room, and purchased airline tickets for my fine wife and I.

They say those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it. I don't think that applies to sports. Or maybe it doesn't apply to me and sports. Each injury I've sustained has been chronicled in my training log. Reading back, I note all the warning signs of overtraining: soreness, lack of motivation, poor sleep. And yet I pressed on, believing that backing off would cost me valuable training time. Of course, once I received my nice new injury, the whole "backing off" position was rendered moot. I guess it'll be different next time if I wish it to be.

My weight drops gradually. I hover around the 215 mark. My goal is still to reach 195 by October. I've mostly been eating smaller portions and cutting out large, sausage & pepperoni pizzas when depressed. Or not depressed. Just don't eat the whole thing at one sitting.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, don't be modest. I haven't seen a pizza box around here in months. If you've been eating them, you've done it in the yard, and destroyed the evidence--and of course you'd be getting chubby again.

Just ADMIT that you're doing great!

--The Old Ball and Chain

k said...

Good Lord. That pizza looks GOOD!

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