This past summer I did a lot of swimming. I think it was the fourth summer in a row that I had done a lot of swimming in the outdoor pool. (Outdoor pools are so much better than most indoor pools, which tend to be humid and musty. So much better to be swimming under the fresh breeze and the sunlight, which takes care of any mold problem.) Anyway, I kept on swimming longer and longer in each session until one day I was able to swim for about two hours straight with just a few brief rest periods. Then I lifted weights for another hour after that. Somehow I had gotten myself into great aerobic shape.
I watched a lot of the swimming at the Olympics but I also watched the marathons too, men and women. Normally I don't watch running events on TV, even Olympic marathons, but this time I did. I found it exciting to watch. The combination of the marathons and the thrilling swimming competitions inspired me. Something clicked and I suddenly wanted to do more than just swim all the time. I wanted to enter some sort of event myself. After talking about it with a couple people, I decided to start training to run a marathon next year (2009) and/or a triathlon. I already have a good fitness base, aerobic and strength-wise. So I am transitioning into adding more running workouts. I've gotten some necessary gear: new running shoes (two pairs), a water-resistant sports watch for timing laps, gel packs, water bottle and a running belt. I've been reading articles on Runner's World and I bought Hal Higdon's popular book "Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide".
Tonight (Tuesday) I did a comfortable 6-mile run. It went pretty well. I think it's my first longer run since high school. My heart is in great shape and my calves aren't too sore. Stretching them out helped a lot.
Anyway, I thought it might be interesting if anyone else is training for a marathon, triathlon, or even a 10K or ten-miler, to post any training updates here as we go along. Perhaps not every week but maybe once every 3 or 4 weeks or whenever you feel like it. Even if no one else is training, I'll post here just to help me keep track of my training and see how I'm progressing. I'm keeping a log on a OpenOffice.org document on my computer but I'd also like to post some occasional updates here too. Hopefully at least a few other runners or triathletes will provide some pearls of wisdom or just their thoughts about the training process and race preparation, and maybe even some great times and results too.
Here are some useful websites for those interested in getting involved with running, marathons and triathlons:
www.runnersworld.com
www.insidetri.com
www.ironman.com
www.bicycling.com
www.triathlon.org
Runner's World, Inside Triathlon and Bicycling Magazine offer lots of articles and tips about training, nutrition, injury prevention and race preparation. Ironman.com features news about upcoming Ironman and Ironman 70.3 triathlon events worldwide. It's the official website of the World Triathlon Corporation, which runs the Ironman triathlons.
Triathlon.org is the official website of the International Triathlon Union, the organizing body of triathlon for the Olympics.
Edited on 10/21/2008 1:16pm
Edited 2 total times.
Edited 2 total times.
