Let's Get Out There For A Run!

Every year, I hear of friends who wanted to attempt their first Marathon. Some didn't make it to even registering for the event. Some others managed to register but didn't follow through with the training, and Did-Not-Start. The braver ones trained perhaps not enough, attempted the distance and completed, albeit painfully. Fewer trained enough and finished the race, and in my words, respectfully.

I do not profess to be an expert in marathoning, I am still learning but I believe there are some things that I can share.

First, I'll assume you have impulsively registered yourself for the event, and for whatever the crazy reason. And I am certain you immediately regret that you registered. But wait, it is really not that bad...


I always remind myself that the Marathon is not to be tackled as a whole. It is a multi-part journey, made up of lesser distances. It can be 4 times 10km, 8 times 5km, or 16 times 2.5km.

"Wow, that is still a lot", you might think. "I cannot imagine myself running 2.5km 16 times continuously!!"

That's the point that I want to make. DO NOT think of the 16 times! Instead, just think of the 2.5km. Take each 2.5km covered as an achievement. This applies for your Marathon training as well.

If you are comfortable with just running 2.5km, start there. Make doubly sure you are really comfortable with 2.5km by (1) not stopping at all, (2) going faster, (3) doing it more frequently.

Then increase the distance covered, by 500m, by 1km, by 1.5km. Little by little, as you feel comfortable. Your first target is to hit 5km, and to finish it comfortably. (Refer to my definition of comfortable above.) Repeat similarly to get yourself from 5km to 10km. To me, to be able to run a 10km comfortably is a major milestone in Marathon training.

If you ask me if there is a timeline for you to get to the 10km milestone, my answer is, contrary to most marathon training plans that you can find, no. My belief is that if you are just trying to pick up running, pulling yourself out of the house on a nice weekend morning, OR forcing yourself to do a run after day's work at the office is already so difficult, there is no reason to further pressure yourself to follow a plan or meet a timeline just to run.

As I've experienced, the journey to the 10km is critical. You *really* got to enjoy your runs. You got to get into the thinking that you are letting yourself down when you miss a run. And all these while, DO NOT think about the 42.195km, just focus on the 2.5km, 5km, or 10km that you will be running today, tomorrow or the day after.

Back in 2007 when I first started training, I can hardly run 1km continuously. Friends will tell you that I was never the athletic type and in fact I hated running. It is thus that I strongly believe in making sure you enjoy putting on your shoes and going out there for a run. To feel your heart pounding, to hear your breathing, to just enjoy putting one foot ahead of another.