Training Day 4

As I am so new to running, I have decided that I should study the sport, like I would study anything else that I want to get into. So I have spent much of my morning researching how to run, running for beginners, and an appropriate training schedule for me to follow to get me ready for the marathon. What I discovered was this:

• I should be eating a small snack 90 minutes before running
• I should be drinking a few glasses of water 90 minutes before running
• For my first week I should be running 3 miles as my long-distance run.

Now there were many other things I learned while researching running, but these were the most startling to because I am barely waking up in time to run before the hot sun comes out. Now, I am being told that I need to wake even earlier to eat and drink. It is a stretch, but I will try it soon.

Second, I was socked that I was instructed on many sites that I should be running 3 miles for my long-distance run this week, while the rest of the week I should have been running between 2 to 2.5 miles. However, the most shocking advice I received was this: while running the long distance portion this week, I should be running light enough to hold a conversation with someone, or being able to sing the Happy Birthday song. It seems to me, it doesn't matter how "light" I am running, I am always out of breath. I am trying to conserve my energy to survive the run, not trying to hold conversation with people...and I am for sure not trying to sing during this time. Maybe, after I run some more, I will understand what they are talking about...but for now this is a concept I cannot seem to grasp.

Either way I ran/walked the 3 miles in about 1 hour. It felt good to accomplish this goal this week. I am looking forward to the time when I can actually run through the entire workout.