As we are getting closer to June, which is my birthday month, I’ve realized that I need to make some drastic changes to my current fitness status and eating habits. I know that I say this often, but this time I’m serious. Since I’m approaching 220 lbs, I am the fattest that I’ve ever been. 😦 Hell if this continues, I’ll probably have to pick up some bras for my man-boobs. Also, I’m actually getting to a point where I’m somewhat disgusted looking at myself in the nude after bathing. To make it worse, I don’t even feel like myself most days.
NYC Marathon (Nov. 2017)
The picture above was used in a previous running-related post. Here’s the funny thing: Around NYC Marathon time in 2017, I thought I was out of shape in this picture. Now, 5.5 years later, I’d kill to get back to that size.
Since I’m in a midst of a couple of life changes (e.g. starting a new career and moving to a new state), I should add improving my fitness to this life change list. A few posts ago, I mentioned that I would ease back into running in order to find my running mojo. So yeah, I realize that doesn’t really work for me. I think that I’m one of those people who needs to train for something. Although this is probably a dumb idea that I did not really think about, I registered for the Marine Corps Marathon over the weekend.
The course, which takes us through Arlington, Va and Washington DC, looks pretty cool.
Right now, the plan is to do Hal Higdon’s Marathon Novice 1 plan. Experience-wise, I know that I’m not a novice when it comes to running marathons. BUT, fitness-wise, I think that I’m at a novice level. Hey, why not set the bar low? I can always make my running workouts more intense if need be. Here is a general overview of my 20 week training plan.
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 – 5 mi easy run
Wednesdays: 3 – 10 mi with one of the following workouts – easy, tempo/pace, VO2-max, speed form, or Yasso 800s
Thursdays: 3 – 5 mi easy
Friday: Rest or X-Train
Saturday: 6 – 20 mi (long run)
Sunday: X-Train or Rest
Now that I’m looking at the overview, realizing my age, and knowing how out of shape I am, I think that I might exchange the Monday rest days for the Tuesdays easy run days. I’m doing this because I’m a little afraid to have three consecutive running days.
While training for the Marine Corps Marathon (hopefully) will get my fitness back on track, it also serves another purpose. I think training for/running this marathon will help me avoid FOMO over not running NYC Marathon this November. If I make it to the start line, it will be a cool experience because this will be my 1st non-NYC Marathon. Note: I’ve tried to run non-NYC Marathons in the past, but injuries (and pandemics) always got in the way.