Marathon Training

Today I began training for the 2005 NYC Marathon in earnest. My first workout towards running a sub 3 hour marathon consisted of a 1 mile warm up, followed by 4 miles at a 7:00 minute mile pace, followed by a 1 mile cool down.

I wasn’t sure I would be able to run the 4M at the 7mm pace. However, at the end of the 4 miles, I accomplished that goal with time to spare. My HR for the 4 miles hovered between 89-95 percent of my running max – a bit higher than where I would have liked it to be. Perhaps it was a bit high due to the warm weather and humidity.

This year, I hope that my legs do not fall apart before the marathon. For the past two years, I had to drop out of it, due to highly painful shin splints. If I can manage to stay healthy, I think I have a better than reasonable chance to accomplish this goal.