I just finished my second week of marathon training, and I’ve learned a thing or two in the past seven days.  This is my second week of running four days a week, and I’ve found out that there actually are different running paces, and that running without music can be beneficial.  Just sixteen weeks to go until May 1!

When I started this program, I thought that it was going to be really hard to run four days a week.  I have been running for over nine months now, and the most I have ever run in that time is three days.  Overtraining is a concern of mine, and I’ve had a few injuries in the last year to show for it.  Rest days are enshrined as part of my weekly routine.  So how has it gone?  Great!  Overall, my distance is less than I had been running in a three day week, and I’ve been making some changes with my running pace so that I can survive the long haul.  I’ve since discovered that a lot of runners run every day, or nearly every day, and it is something that can be done, if you don’t overdo it.

Up until this point, I’ve had one training pace: run as fast as I can and try to be at least as fast as the last time.  And I must admit, it feels great to run hard and then go home and feel like I’ve done a great workout.  I think this is partially a product of training by time instead of by distance.  Before last week, I would set out to run for a particular time, say 60 minutes, and then run as far as I could in that time.  Obviously, running faster would mean that I achieved more.  Now that I’m running for distance, it doesn’t matter.  Running slower is not worse, only different.  There are times for easy runs, and times for not-so-easy runs.  Using a running calculator helped me figure out what an easy pace actually is, and using my Garmin Forerunner helped me to maintain that pace.  As I go, I expect that I’ll be able to find the pace by feel, but I’m retraining my body and my mind to understand that it’s okay to run slower sometimes.  I’m in this for the long haul, so I don’t need to burn out by March when the race is in May.

I also ran this week without music.  Since I began running last March, I’ve run almost every training run with my iPod.  I like having some music to keep me moving.  Since I was learning about running paces, I decided to keep the iPod at home and listen to my body and remove any other distractions.   I’m not saying I won’t bring it out on future runs, especially those longer ones to come, but running without music made me feel more in touch with the world around me, which is really one of the great things about being outside.

This journey has only just begun, but I feel like I’m learning a lot about running, as well as a lot about myself.  And I love it!