Three miles

I have running shoes. I have running socks. I have a fanny pack with water bottle, and I have little packets of sweet goop to eat while running. I may not be a runner, but I have the stuff!

The training program we are following was developed by marathoner Jeff Galloway, whose purpose is for us all to finish our marathon "upright, with smiles on our faces, and wanting to do it again." That sounds like a good goal to me! The training is accomplished by means of slow, easy runs, with lots of walk breaks, gradually increasing in length each week until the full 26.2 miles is reached. We are supposed to run/walk for thirty minutes twice a week during the week, then have a longer group run on the weekend.

This morning, we met at the west end of Golden Gate Park for our first group run. Today's run was a timed three-mile run for the purpose of dividing us up into pace groups which will run together throughout the training program. I'd done my midweek runs at the gym on the treadmill, managing two miles in thirty minutes, so I figured if I finished the three miles in forty-five minutes, I'd be doing well. To my own surprise, I finished in forty minutes! Was it being outdoors in the fresh air on a beautiful Sunday morning that did it? I don't know, but it was a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to running with my new pace group next Sunday, when we'll do four miles.

So I'm on my way! And my fundraising is off to a good start, too—I'd like to give a hearty thanks to those of you who've sponsored me so far. I'm beginning to feel that I might actually be able to do this!