Month of the Marathon

April 19. The day after my birthday. But also the day of the 114th Boston Marathon- the oldest marathon in the world! Marathon Monday here in Boston. I hope I can have the day off, so I join the crowds on the streets, drinking beer and cheering on everyone who is way more athletic than me! There is no way I could ever do a marathon with my lack of physical activity currently. But, we can try our best to achieve some sort of goal by trying out running for the month of April.

April 1: I pondered the idea of going outside...but I never made it. At least I thought about running?? I managed to find some interesting and useful websites about beginners running though. I decided that I am going to follow this training schedule over the month and see where it takes me. Ideally, I would like to be able to run 25-30 minutes by the end of the month without stopping. Yes, I have a goal. I also bought a stop watch so I can keep track.

April 2: Again, I thought about running, but I never made it. Admittedly, I felt a little defeated. BUT I did have a follow up phone call for this research study through Brown University in which I am participating. Basically, the study is trying to figure out whether generalized online information or personalized online information regarding physical activity is more useful to get people active. I had to wear a little pedometer thing last week, and I will have to do so again at three months and six months. They are paying me $120. I think I decided to do it for other reasons though - more than the money. I was excited when the person told me that I was in the individualized fitness group. I have access to their website where I can record physical activity, ask questions to the researcher and other experts, set goals, read about places to do physical activity around Boston, etc. I think this is a good motivator.

April 3: I finally made it out! Hurray. The weather is 70 degrees and beautiful here. I went on the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway - running for 10 minutes and walking for 20, just as the training schedule said. I ended up walking an extra 10 minutes to cool down and stretch afterwards. The Bikeway goes from my nearest subway station 11 miles north west of the station. Tons of people use it to commute to work, hence the name. I feel accomplished.


I plan to run again on Monday. I hope I follow through...Jesse and I have been known to let down our crazy fitness regimes!