Running 2,018 in 2018

So registered for the #runtheyear2018 challenge. I love how there is so much bling for this venture. God bless commercialism. Running is probably the least expensive activities out there. The sport requires some non-chaffing gear and a pair of shoes. Everything else most individuals adorn themselves with to simply put one foot in front of the other is somewhat irrelevant. All you need to do is secure your most giggly-bits (usually gender specific) and protect your feet. 

My neighbors probably talk about me more than any other person on the street. I get out at least three to four times a week at varying times and days. I have never seen another person run the area. Maybe they know I would run out of my house barefoot and hug them for taking some of the pressure off me to constantly show up wheezing out my intent to burn the previous day’s calorie surplus and check on the recluse’s front porch for any newspaper piles. There must be more than simply running.

 I did not register for any races until mid-October. After running a marathon each year for the past two years, I felt I was doable. But due to my lack of enthusiasm or general excuses, I never bothered. I gave up the goal of a PR and just hung out. I stuck with a regular-ish workout routine, but didn’t get my long run highs I would admittedly enjoy. The urge abandoned me. My regrets started to come in small waves with a tinge of remorse one feels at the lost opportunity to better oneself.   

My last marathon training in 2016 topped off at 42 miles. Yet I have committed to doing this every week. I have no races scheduled  The biggest issue is risking any training mistakes early on in the year side-lining me for a long period of time.  I played with the numbers and found it would not be as beneficial as the slow ramp up. 

A baseline to start needed to be formed. My running habits have been a tiny bit pedantic and not regimented.  I broke out my planner and wrote down my mileage from the prior week. 24. That was it. Some very good runs. One 8-miler and a few 5k’s and great times for the former smoker/non-athlete type. The jump needs to go from that 24 miles in one week to 39 in less than a month. Finally! I can plan something! The main plan is to gradually increase my running by the magical 10% each week.

December 4, 2017 through December 8, 2017 = 27 Miles per Week December 9, 2017 through December 16, 2017 = 30 Miles per Week December 17, 2017 through December 23, 2017 = 33 Miles per Week December 24, 2017 through December 31, 2017 = 36 Miles per Week  

I cannot believe that I did not think about picking up on the sheer mileage deficit my body is currently used to running until recently. The money is down, and the world now knows the major intent! The margin for error has to be addressed.