Training...again

Training for the Missoula Marathon officially began last Monday for me. At the same time, a nasty cold also set in, affecting my breathing in a serious way. Not to mention that my endurance is down a bit, and running outside again is completely different from running on a treadmill. I keep reminding myself that as long as I can get my distances in every week, my speed will come back in time. It's all about taking it easy and having fun.

18 weeks is a long training program, but it should be fun. This year, we've decided to create a team that will include Justin, Blake, Joe, Nora, Amy, and myself. We haven't come up with a team name yet, but the plan is to start our long runs on Sundays together, and then meet up for coffee/beer/food afterwards. This past Sunday, as luck would have it, I ran into Nora, Joe and Blake and joined them for most of a 5 mile run. Now, I'm not much of a chatter while I run, but it seems like everyone else is. When I'm running, I use it as my "quiet" time. Time to work out what's going on in my head, and to just be. I don't mind if someone is with me, in fact, I've started to need someone to at least run part of it with me, which is a big change from when I first started to run, not wanting anyone with me. Justin has been a great running partner, as we live together and can just hop right onto the River Trail. He's a bit faster than me already, and I feel bad for slowing him down, but when he needs to speed up, he just runs ahead and then runs back to me, which is motivating for me to work on my speed. In time, I will be in tip top shape, and it will be smooth sailing again.