16-Step Program

You too can run a half marathon by following our easy 16-week training program! Ok, maybe I got no such guarantees when I started on this venture. But here I am! My half marathon is coming tomorrow at 7:00 AM in Spanish Fork, UT. I decided to reminisce a bit about the road I traveled getting ready.

All this started 18 weeks ago (May 7, 2008) when I began following the above training calendar that I downloaded from a running website (I can't remember which one). I was planning to train for the half marathon in Pocatello, ID, and since it was held a week ago, I would have needed to start when I did to finish the training program in time.

You will note the use of star stickers on my calendar. I used gold stars to mark days that I ran (my top priority). Silver stars mark days of cross-training (walking or cycling). Red, green, and blue stars were used interchangeably for rest days since there are so few of them in the sticker pack.

I actually inserted two extra weeks into the schedule towards the end, but every star means that I met or very closely met the requirements for that day. I was scheduled for 48 days of running (3 per week, including the race). I have missed only two running days. I was also supposed to cross train twice per week. I was only about 50% overall on the cross training, and some weeks I skipped it altogether.

During the training, I broke my personal best for miles in a day four times, since the longest I had run before this year was 7.1 miles. In total, I ran nearly 193 miles over the 18 actual weeks in preparation for tomorrow.

I am starting to get rather nervous. I'm sure that I can finish the race, but I'd like to do well. My goal is to finish in under 2 hours and 10 minutes, which would require me to cover each mile in just a bit less than ten minutes.

The race looks to be getting popular. Last year there were 164 half marathoners and 83 5k runners. This year I counted 284 runners pre-registered for the half marathon alone, with what appeared to be a similar increase in the 5k. Still, this is a smaller event (especially compared to the Baltimore Running Festival).

I am counting on support from several members of the Ashton family. Last year Wendy and I ran the 5k in Clearfield. This year I called to say hello later that day since Wendy didn't do it this time. We got to talking about how I was registered for a half marathon. Wendy's sister Karen has often wanted to do a half marathon, but needed the help of a schedule and support of friends and family to keep it up.

Anyway, we found a shorter training calendar for the Ashtons to use, so now Wendy, Karen, and their brother Scott are all going to run it with me! I'll be spending the night with my in-laws in Sandy, and the Ashtons will pick me up on their way.

Angela is on call this weekend, so she won't have to get up at 5:00 AM to travel with us. Still, I think the pregnancy puts her through a bit more stress than an early wakeup and a bit of running. I'll be counting on her moral support, even if it's from a distance. I'll try to get some pictures of actual people for my follow-up post!