You have to start somewhere

A few weeks ago I wrote about preparing for the Marathon Training Program in my post The Longest Run I’ve Ever Done. Now I wanted to tell you a little bit about where that training got me.

When the Marathon Training Program started on March 5, I realized it had been a long time since I had done any sort of competitive sport. Over the last seven or eight years I have tried to maintain a basic level of fitness through yoga, swimming, light weight training and the occasional run. But for the most part I’ve been a slave to my work desk and any losses or gains I’ve made over the years have gone largely unmeasured.

I decided a great way to start my training would be with a fitness test. I wanted to have a baseline that I could compare myself to as I progressed through the program and completing an evaluation with a certified personal trainer is one of the best ways to do that. Luckily, one of the marathon program co-ordinators, the lovely and talented Ashley Fox, is also one of the University of Calgary’s Personal Trainers.

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When the hardest thing to do is nothing

It was bound to happen sooner or later but I am currently working through my first big setback in my training journey. The challenge came in the form of what I thought was a nasty cold that took me off my feet for almost all of last week.

Turns out it was an infection in my chest, which would explain why it just wouldn’t go away!

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The longest run I’ve ever done

When I hauled myself out of bed at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning – following a long night at the pub watching the Flames game with friends (maybe not the best idea?) – I didn’t have high expectations for the hour-long team run that was to follow.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was about to do the longest run I had ever done.

I approached the run like I have most of the program, trying to do my best and learn as much as I can from the experience.

It wasn’t until we finished the full 60-minutes that I checked in with the running app on my phone and noticed that we had run almost 9 kilometres. It took a minute to hit me but when it did, I realized that was the furthest I have ever run at one time.

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What is the UofC Marathon Training Program?

Since I am going to be writing a lot about it over the next few months, I thought it would be helpful for you to know a little bit more about the University of Calgary Marathon Training Program. So here is a a bit of history and information about the club:

The U of C Marathon Training Program – formerly known as the Honolulu Marathon Program – is western Canada’s longest running program of its kind.

The training schedule is designed to guide even a beginner runner through the process of training for a half or full marathon, ending with the option of taking part in a destination race, the location of which changes yearly. While the program is geared towards first-time marathoners, many runners return year after year to participate as alumni and continue to benefit from the coaching and community that has been built around the program.

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40.2… +2

Welcome to Forty Two Point Two!

This is a blog about running, written in a way that’s probably unlike any other running blog you’ve read. You see, I’m not really a runner. At least not yet, anyway.

Over the next seven months, I will be blogging about my experience training with the University of Calgary’s Marathon Training Program as I learn everything about running a marathon from start to finish. Even as I am writing this now, it seems pretty terrifying, especially since — embarrassingly — when I started training I had no idea how long a marathon was.

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