I started training for the NYC marathon in April, as part of the PGA REACH team. It's a team of PGA Professionals with a goal of raising $150,000. And I think I'm the lucky one this year - I only have to raise $3000 since it's my first year running! What is PGA REACH? It's the charitable arm of the PGA of America that focuses on Veterans, Junior Golf, and Diversity in Golf. It's a unique foundation that is actively doing great things through golf.
I knew that a marathon run (26.2 miles) would take a LOT of training. Most of the articles I read online talk about having 4 month training plans. Nope. I need more. So going into this, I have 3 goals:
Don't get injured
Every article I read about how to train for a marathon mentioned injury. I’ve been around CrossFit long enough to see all types of injuries. I narrowly avoided some of my own - I had a 2 week long shoulder injury, a 2 month long back injury, and I've seen other athletes struggle with all different kinds of injury. So my first goal is to avoid over-training - at my age it's not worth it.
Have fun and avoid burnout
Running can get boring. I've been modifying my training plan as I go to avoid getting bored with just "running". I'm now incorporating other forms of training (swimming and yoga) to keep things interesting. I've also been working on speed instead of just endurance.
Don't get too competitive
This kinda goes back to the first point. So far, I've been happy with my progress. Once I started seeing progress, I got a little competitive. I'm now setting my sights on really good times for the marathon - like sub 3:30 (which would be AMAZING for me). However, I can't get too crazy. Because it could lead to injury. So I have to know when to back off.
So if I continue down the path of training for the marathon with those things in mind, I should be fine. Worst case, I walk the whole way and enjoy my stroll through all five boroughs of New York!
Now for the important part - I need your help. I'm currently at 12% of my fundraising goal. Help me to get to 100%? Here's the link to donate - any small amount can help!
One race down, more to go
Immediately, I signed up for a 10K race. I had two weeks to train for it and I ran it in 51 minutes. I was pretty happy with that. I ran anywhere from 1-2 miles every other day.