Now is the Time to Start!!

Well, I have changed into a new pair of running shoes and now my arch is not hurting anymore.  This is the second time that I have had some sort of pain in my foot and when I changed into a new pair of shoes, then the pain went away within a week.  So what's does that tell me?  It tells me a couple of things, first of all, I need to quit being so cheap and trying to make my shoes last past the point they are intended for, next, it tells me that when I feel a pain in my foot or leg and it is near the end of my shoe's life, maybe I will change my shoes out before spazzing out and thinking that I have some sort of chronic runner's pain. Either way, I feel so much better now that I am able to run with very little pain.

Well, you see it, the title of this post.  I didn't know whether to use "Now is the Time to Start," or "Gentleman, Start Your Engines!"  Either way, I am officially in full training mode for the Louisville Derby Full Marathon.  It is is just a little over two months away and I want to be as ready as I can.  I  am going to try to stick to a training plan for this one because 26.2 miles is a pretty long way to run, especially if you try to just "wing it." 

I trained for my first race, a 10K by just stepping out there and just running.  I did the same for the 5K's and my Half-Marathon too, but for a marathon, I think I need a plan and an agenda to follow.  I was talking to a fitness instructor at the YMCA the other day and she gave me a few words of encouragement.  She told me that a 5K, 10K, and even a half-marathon are fun and you can really enjoy the running associated with each distance.  But, she continued, a marathon is "just painful." 

I know you are thinking about how that description of a marathon can be words of encouragement, but that's just what they are. It becomes a challenge now, a way to do something else that seems, or ever seemed, impossible to someone like me. Like I have always said, I am not going to become fast enough to win or place in a race and I know that, but that is not what motivates me either.  What helps motivate me is the chance to better myself and compete against me, against my previous race results, and show that former 380 lbs guy that life is not over and changes can be made. I never, and I mean, never, thought running a marathon was possible and that's what has been absolutely amazing over these past thirteen months, I have accomplished, to some, something incredible.

If someone had come to me over a year ago and said that I would be 220lbs. and preparing to run a marathon, I would have cried because it would have been so funny. 

So, what am I gonna do now? Yep you guessed it, I am going for a run...Talk to everyone soon!!

Have a great Week!!!

Pain-free, Training for a Marathon, and running!!!