Day One

I recently established this blog to serve as an online training log as I prepare for my marathon this May. Until this past fall, when I established an account with running2win.com, I was not diligent about tracking my miles and workouts, or detailing the progress, or lack thereof, of my training. Once I began recording my daily mileage at running2win, I found myself writing substantive narratives about my daily runs, describing the trials and successes of workouts or simply reflecting on mundane aspects of my runs, such as animal sighting and bizarre encounters.

Shortly before establishing my running2win account, I began following a few blogs of fellow runners, some of whom I've met and others who are established in cyberspace. I greatly enjoyed following other runners' progress and their "trials of miles" and "miles of trials". In addition, some of the runners wrote with an educational objective, hoping to spark dialogues among the followers of their blogs and to inform blog followers about their training methods. For example, Tim Budic had a series of entries that featured the training programs of elite and sub-elite marathoners and entry about his philosophy on tempo runs. As an educator by profession and a student of distance running, I thought this form of blogging was fantastic, especially given all of the misconceptions and misinformation about distance training to that derails the careers of professionals, college athletes, and recreational runners.

Furthermore, I've been lamenting my lack of reflective writing for over a year. As a graduate of history, I regularly churned out multiple essays a week and, in the process, developed a sophisticated and polished writing style. Since graduating and entering the workforce, in which I hold position that is not writing intensive, my writing skills have atrophied. Since I do not maintain a journal, most my writing is devoted to crafting lesson plans and emails - far from creative expression.

The convergence of these many factors - logging miles with running2win, following runners' blogs, and seeking to sharpen my writing skills - led me to establish this blog. I intend to use it simply for reflective writing about my running in the hopes that others will find the content to be entertaining, informative, educational, and perhaps comforting. This last point is important. Anyone who has devoted themselves to the task of distance training has experienced heart wrenching setbacks, diminished motivation, and, at times, disgust with and aversion to the daily chore, especially during the perfect storms of fatigue, frustration, and bad weather. I certainly found it comforting to read how others struggled with maintaining motivation during the post-collegiate years.

With that being said, I intend for this blog to evolve organically, much like my running, and I do not know what forms it will take nor paths it will follow. I will respond to this stimulus - reflective writing - the same way I do with training, by listening to my body and being introspective. However, this will be a training log. I do not intend to pontificate about political issues, discuss details about my personal life beyond my daily runs, or offer my position on trends in pop culture. This blog will focus on running, specifically my training as I prepare for the Pittsburgh Marathon on May 2.

By this point, you are probably wondering why I have yet to discuss my past and current training or my objectives and goals for this spring. This will have to wait until my next post, since I've already rambled for several paragraphs. Since this is Saturday, and I've already completed my week of training, I'll leave you with my a rundown of my weekly mileage. Peace.

Sunday - 9.75 miles; 9+ mile run and 6x25-second striders
Monday - 17.25 miles; 30:00 up, 5x1600 @ Tempo pace, averaging 5:32 for the set; 50:00 down
Tuesday - 9 miles
Wednesday - 7.75 recovery run
Thursday - 10 mile fartlek run; 7 x 3:00/3:30 on - 2:00 off at 5K pace (effort)
Friday - 9 miles
Saturday - 9.75 miles; 9+ miles and 6x25-second striders

Total mileage: 72.5