Running resources

I’ve been running on and off for around six years this time around (25 years ago was the first incarnation), and in that time I have I have come across some fantastic resources. I am posting them here in case they can also help someone else achieve their goals, plus keep reminding me of what I need to do to get to my marathon goal.

I have a lot of books on running, and I will share some of them here, plus I will keep updating this post as I find more at home. The best resource for any beginning runner is Runner’s World Magazine. I have had a subscription for years, and it never disappoints. The link to their online site is here: http://www.runnersworldonline.com.au/; and here: http://www.runnersworld.com.

Some great books which I have recently enjoyed reading are as follows. All are available to download in the Kindle Store.

Short Fat Chick to Marathon Runner, by Kerre Woodham. Kerre is a NZ broadcaster who went through her own marathon journey, including the New York Marathon, also a goal of mine. I was told about the book by a fellow Kiwi runner on a run one morning, who turned out to be a world record holder in her age group. It’s incredible who you meet out on a run!

Marathon Method: Essential Guide to Training for Your First Marathon, by Joe Donovan. Really helpful manual and answers all of the questions you are asking, or more to the point, should be asking but didn’t know to ask!

I also highly recommend anything by Jeff Galloway, who recommends a run/walk method, which I have used from time to time. His website is here: http://www.runnersworldonline.com.au/

5 km Fun Run – Rip the Bandaid

Well there is nothing like just getting out there and just doing it.  A 5 km fun run was my 12WBT first milestone, and I did it with a week to go.  Whilst it wasn’t pretty, no run in summer at 7 am ever will be, at least I did it, and beat everyone at home sitting on the couch.  I had to walk part of the way at the end, which was somewhat despressing!  Never done that in a fun run before, but in my defence it was extremely hot and uphill (OK- there were just a few uphill bits; alright – I was probably imagining it, but I did see a slight slope), and my heart rate monitor was showing 170 bpm at the time.  To avoid the organisers having to call an ambulance, I walked.  One day I will look back on it and laugh, and this is what documenting the journey was all about.  My running buddy, Nice Husband, naturally athletic and but not too much more recent training than me (don’t you just hate that?!), did it in 28 minutes.  My best time was close to this, and my last 5 km run was 33 minutes.  How I long for those days, when I thought I wasn’t very good!!  Just shows the enormous difference losing weight will make.  Bring it on!!

Mini marathon and the weather hots up…

I celebrated week 2 of my 12 Week Body Transformation by not doing any exercise.  In fact not doing any exercise until the weekend when I did it all in one hit.  The week brought my usual crazy round of interstate trips and work functions, and I didn’t get in any exercise at all, but went to way too many functions.  I did however decide to do a mini-marathon of my own at the gym and completed four hours of classes in a row, which was rather fun.  The next day I backed this up with my weekend long run.  Only 6 km at the moment, but I am only just starting. Can’t say I’ve lost much weight, but I am feeling great, and I think I can see the start of some muscles poking through!  So really the week 2 blues didn’t eventuate, although it would be nice to actually lose some weight, but I am coming to the realisation that my lifestyle is the major impediment.

At the beginning…

This blog documents my fitness and marathon journey.  I’ve called it Marathon Dreaming, as running a marathon has been my dream for a long time.

Seven years ago I came back to running after a 20 year break, and completed four half marathons.  It was however too much too soon, and I was plagued with injuries and got burned out after a few years.  Inevitably the running and fitness dropped off, but the benefit was no more injuries, which were becoming painful and the treatment expensive with weekly physio appointments become a feature of my life.  The best option was the drop off the pace and enjoy life for a while, which I did.

As a consequence, I am in week 1 of a mission to run a marathon next July, which is seven months away. I have previously run 4 half marathons, but nothing long distance since 2009, basically because life got in the way.  This time one year ago I embarked on the same exciting enterprise, but accident and injury early in 2012 stopped it dead in its tracks, and in fact I am lucky to be running again at all, let alone so quickly afterwards.  I started running again mid year, but it was a bit too soon, and I have eased myself back into it, so I think I’m ready.

So this morning was my first long run of the quest for the holy grail of marathon.  Seven kilometres in beautiful Spring weather was a great start.  Much slower than I ever ran previously, but that isn’t the point.  The journey has begun…