Marathon Training Kickoff!

I count today, not yesterday, as my first day of training, as it seems strange to have the first day as a running rest day.

It was definitely one of those mornings where I wished I could have found time in the middle of the day to run, instead. It was hovering around 40* - that awful temp at which I have the most trouble dressing - but the high reached 60* and I so desperately wanted an excuse to enjoy that weather. I finally got on the road because I knew my day was such that a midday run would be impossible, and also because I need to run in the mornings after a leg-lifting day to avoid delayed onset soreness and to be able to stretch well.

It took a while for my legs to get into a rhythm this morning. I felt, for lack of a better word, creaky. Not sore, not tired, but just out of it. I played around with pacing to find where it would be comfortable, as the pace was to be GA and not too fast. As I went on, I congratulated myself for deciding on shorts and a long-sleeved tech tee because it was the perfect choice (for once). My legs did eventually find themselves, but only at the 5 mile mark. The schedule called for 10 strides, but I forgot how many I was supposed to do and only did 7 in the last 1.5 miles of the run - I will survive, I'm sure. Even though I wasn't sore, per se, the foam roller did feel especially good post-run. Sitting here twelve hours later, my legs feel good and I'm certainly glad I got out to run when I did. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by my "not too fast" pace of 8:14 min/mile!

I consider Day 1 a success! On to Day 2!

7.45 miles in 1:01:26 (8:14 min/mile)