A year ago today...

was my very first day of marathon training for the 2007 Hartford Marathon. Just to reflect for a post: A year ago today I had doubts about my body's ability to withstand a pretty aggressive marathon training plan on paper. I had doubts about my left knee and foot and my right shin. My knee and shin made it, but my foot did not. Within a month and a half of marathon training, my muscle imbalances had been corrected; my foot, on the hand, had gotten worse. I began favoring my foot, which caused discomfort in my left shin, until I couldn't anymore, which usually happened between mile 4 and 5 of long runs, but I'd continue. That's when the serious damage was being done.

I don't know that I'll ever attempt to train for a marathon again, but if I do, I'll know what to do differently. After a good long run (20+ miles) at Mansfield Hollow State Park on September 23, 2007 (less than a month before the marathon), I became overconfident in my running and began pushing the envelope on every run after that leading up to the marathon. I pushed and pushed and pushed, and my body began showing signs of overtraining. I became anxious and sleep-deprived. At the marathon, I ran strong through 22 miles, despite my injured and nagging foot, particularly on the downhills, and crashed somewhere between miles 22 and 23. Despite achieving my initial goal of a sub-4-hour marathon (which was later amended to 3:30), I was disappointed that I didn't finish as I strong as I thought I would even at mile 20.

If I ever attempt to train for a marathon again, I'll try to get away with running only 3 to 4 days a week, as opposed to 5, and I'll emphasize cross-training. All of my miles will be LSD. My marathon goal will be to finish strong.

By the way, Endorphin's one year anniversary has passed. I'm pleased to post that it's still kicking. I hope that the summer season will inspire some posts from other bloggers...