I mentioned a few posts back that I’m training for my first half marathon in December. This is partly due to my desire to continue running and staying in shape and partly because, well, I contribute to a running website as part of my day job. Walk the walk, talk the talk, et cetera.
Since the December half marathon is my first half marathon and I’m more than a little out of shape (despite running for awhile), training needs to start soon. Partly due to the heat this summer, I’ve been slacking in my regular running schedule due to the heat. It’s still hot here around 7pm, the latest I can run and still take a shower and rehydrate before bed; otherwise I find myself waking up for midnight bathroom trips. Getting up earlier to run is also an option, but let’s face it–who actually likes getting up early? I don’t, that’s for certain. Especially when it interferes with my plans for the rest of the day and shifts my working time into the evening or (gasp) to Friday.
Some of these things, like getting up earlier, are plain-and-simple excuses. I know. But with the half marathon only four months away, it’s time to stop the excuses and start the training now, even if that involves getting up earlier or going to bed later. I can also use this as a convenient reason to get through more audiobooks and podcasts. I even bought a hydration belt with a pocket and new earbuds just for this purpose. This way I’m not limited to buying shorts and pants with pockets big enough for my iPod touch.
The fun part will be training during NaNo, when the running distances get longer and I already have three of the four November weekends booked. All of these weekends involve out-of-town plans. If nothing else, I can use the San Francisco hills for training and thinking up novel and plot developments that weekend.
There’s also Pokemon Go and using that in my runs, if only to hatch eggs. Running has been my primary method of hatching the 10km eggs since I cover a lot of distance in a short period; short of cycling or tying your phone to a ceiling fan (yes, I’ve heard of people doing this), running is the most efficient way to hatch those eggs. I’ve made a rule during my long runs not to stop for yet another Pidgey, which frees me to up for a Pokemon I don’t already have. Spinning the Pokestops, fortunately, is something that can be easily done while running a familiar route and is worth doing on routes like mine with many Pokestops within a mile or so of each other. This also motivates me to go on longer runs so I can stop for a break near a Pokemon gym on the way back. And yes, I may or may not be getting the Pokemon Go Plus when it comes out. Priorities: I have them.
After I survive this and the half marathon gets checked off my to-do list, who knows. I’ve wanted to run a full marathon for awhile, just for the experience. If this half marathon goes well, who knows–maybe I’ll sign up for a spring full marathon and train through the winter. I’ll keep you updated on that because if there’s anything I dislike more than heat and humidity, it’s cold weather. But maybe zooming through the cold weather will help me accept the cold, if not embrace it.
But we’ll see about that. Let’s tackle the half first. One thing at a time, self.