FIRST PRACTICE!!

Apologies for the delay! Yesterday was the FIRST PRACTICE of the season for Team In Training!! Just to recap, I am running a marathon in April and raising $4,000 between now and then to support the research and patient aid programs of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am currently working very hard at planning and will soon begin to execute my fundraising campaign, so be on the lookout. If you are reading this, you will probably hear from me very soon!

Anyway, Saturday morning I woke up at 6:30am to prepare for our first practice at 8:30am. We met at Bethesda Terrace, which is in the middle of the park at 72nd St. The morning was perfect for running, about 45 degrees and sunny. Despite a little wind, I was perfectly comfortable and ready to run. The first 15 or so minutes of practice were taken up with announcements, explanations, and introductions. The coaches told us that we would be divided into four groups for the season: Half marathon, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The definitions were as follows:

Half Marathon: if you are planning to run the 1/2 marathon(13.1 miles)
Beginner: You have never run more than 3 miles
Intermediate: You can run 4 miles or more
Advanced: You can run 6 miles or more.

They emphasized that the categories are solely divided based on endurance, not speed. So, I was forced to place myself in the advanced group (though I will probably drop back to intermediate just to be safe!). The intermediate and advanced groups were to run 5.1 miles, and were released first. I began to jog and realized that I was part of a somewhat elite group! Out of probably 75 people, only 10 or so took off with or group. Regardless, it was a good run and even though I definitely hit a wall at about 2.5 miles, I made it the whole way without walking.

The biggest challenge for me at the Saturday morning practices is that I have NEVER been a morning runner, and this experience will require me to run all of my most difficult runs early on Saturday morning. After this morning, I am very encourage and really looking forward to an evening practice on Tuesday!! More to come.