Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCalGirl
I recently got it into my head that running a marathon is something I'd like to achieve. Problem is that I've never ever ever been a runner. Even as a little kid I'd walk or skip but could not stand having to run. Oh yeah, I'm a "big girl" too.  Which makes the health benefits a plus. |
Yay! Good for you.
I ran a little bit in high school and college... and when I say "little" I mean 1-2 miles maybe 1-2x week.
At age 30 I decided I wanted to start running again. I did a 5K and was hooked.
On a whim I suggested to my husband that we train for a 1/2 marathon. He thought that I was crazy. But we got a training program and did it together. We ran the Country Music 1/2 in 2005, and enjoyed every second of it. What a feeling to finish.
So that motivated us to go for a whole. We figured we were "1/2" way there anyway. (special note... 13 miles is 1/2 to a whole in math only!!!). Anyway, we did the Chicago Marathon that October. We had trained really well, had a tough run, but did finish.
The best advice that i can give is to really research the events that you will be running... do mostly elite people enter or are there "average Joes" as well. For our 1/2 there were so many people who were running their first (and perhaps only) 1/2 ever... this helped us to be middle of the pack and is good for the ego. The Chicago Marathon attracts more elite people, so even though our pace was the same, we were decidedly more towards the back, which can be disheartening. When mental is part of the equation, it definitely messed with me.
Good luck to you. It is totally worth it.