Honestly, if I had been forced to train on my own for my first marathon, I'm not sure I would have made it to the starting line. Looking back, it was about 16 weeks from the start of this class until I ran the Madison Marathon on May 27, 2007. During that time I ran somewhere north of 800 miles on treadmills, a 200m track, an indoor football field, bike paths, walking trails, sidewalks, roads and who knows where else. Through every step of those four months, either literally or figuratively, were my classmates,
A quick way to find out if you can get along with someone is to hold them captive in the same spot for extended periods of time in a stressful situation. Though that may not describe our situation 100% accurately, if you run the same pace as someone,and are forced to go on two separate hour long runs with someone each week... you get to know them pretty quickly. Thankfully I had a few people that ran at my pace who were very talkative and friendly.
We did fartleks in the Shell, hill repeats just off Monroe St, and a lactate threshold run that took us from the UW track to Picnic Point to the Union and back to the track. There was even a 20 mile run that our instructor led that was followed by breakfast at Mickie's. Sadly, I couldn't go to that as I was stuck taking the Fundamentals of Engineering test... (That's done me a lot of good hasn't it?)
It wasn't all running. A good 75% of what I know about the human body I got from that class. Subject matter included nutrition, injury prevention, and even a little bit of human physiology. Even beyond that, we had the opportunity to teach kids in an after-school program about running, at the end of which they had the opportunity to participate in a track meet. I'd like to think that maybe a couple of them found some of the same joy that I get from running.
The last piece of the class came eight days after I walked for my college graduation. That would be the 2007 Madison Marathon. Some other day I'll describe that race, but that can wait.
Today's run: No run. MMRD (Mallards Mandated Rest Day)
Today's beer: The Great Dane's Mallards Pilsner - Don't get me wrong, it's a good beer, but I'm just not a big fan of pilsners. They remind me too much of Miller Lite and the so called "American Lager". The beer is smooth and not overpowered with hops, and would make a good choice on an 80 degree day (not so much when it's 54 at first pitch).
- Skippy's Rating: 4 out of 6 Beer
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