Marathon By 40

I think this is from S. C. Hughson’s Spiritual Guidance, referring to a plan for personal piety:

When circumstances demand divergence from the Rule, quickly return to regularity.

Certainly it applies to my half-marathon training plan as well as my devotional life. I was so thrilled with the 10k “Rocky Run” I ended up blowing off the rest of the week’s runs. Sure, I was doing things worthwhile like helping my daughter collect materials for her science fair project, and socializing with my project team. But tonight when faced with the fun of watching 24 with friends, or getting back on the treadmill to start the week, I chose to return to regularity. Otherwise, the more I slip, the harder it is to get back on track.

A while ago I wrote about what fun it would be to run the same courses as several famous real and fictional runs.

On a whim tonight a buddy and I (in Philly for the week on business) decided to run up the steps. I use the term “run” loosely, as there were many lights we had to stop for and lots of pedestrian traffic to work around. But, it was a good jog. It wasn’t a wet snow like I mentioned in the original post, but 40F was plenty cold enough, thank you very much.

Our hotel is just over a mile away from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We ended up running to the museum, going up the steps, posing for pictures, then running along the river, up Race to City Hall, on to the Liberty Bell, and then to the Comcast Building lobby (to see the amazing video wall - it must be seen to be comprehended) before heading back to the hotel.

It sounds goofy, but after going up the steps, we felt invincible (yes, another Philly-movie pun) and just kept going on to the other sites.

If you’re at all nostalgic or sentimental for the movie, don’t pass up the opportunity if you get it.

That’s one historical (albeit fictional) run down. Wonder when I’ll get a chance for another.

Back in November I set out to mentally and physically prepare for the dedication it would take to complete a half-marathon training program. I decided to walk or run/walk at least a mile every day in December just to see if I could get into the habit of getting up early every day for the run.

Well, it was half a success. I certainly completed the streak on paper. Between Dec 1 and Dec 31 I ran/walked a total of 55.68 miles, with at least a mile every day. While I didn’t get up early for each one of them, I did prove to myself that I can find a way to adapt and keep the commitment required to complete a goal or plan.

With that confidence behind me, I’ve started training for the Big D Half Marathon on April 4. After I complete my “long” run today of 4 miles, I will have finished week 2 of the 14 week plan. I’m following the Half-Marathon Run/Walk plan as prescribed in John Bingham’s Marathoning for Mortals.

So far, so good. I’ll post more later when I decide if I’m going to actually commit to running the race.