When is the last time you did something for the first time?

"When is the last time you did something for the first time?"

John C. Maxwell

One week down, sixteen to go!

This was the first week of my Running Room Marathon Clinic and it was a good one! I am the only "first timer" in the group, and I found it very cute that everyone was making sure that I was ok and coming back! Do  people really back out of training in the first week? I mean, the first week is the EASIEST week in the entire clinic. I don't plan on dropping out, but I would think that if a person was going to drop out it would probably be once they realize that they are going to spend a better part of their Sundays running... somewhere around week 5 or 6, when they realize they are spending more time with their running buddies than their family. On the other hand, maybe spending less time with their family would be a good thing ( again... not for ME, but for other people). In any case, I have completed my first official week of training and I  still plan on training for the next 16 weeks.

The running workouts this week:

Sunday: 14.56 km (Long slow... average pace : 6.46 min per kilometer)
Tuesday: 6.71km (Tempo: average pace: 6.04 min. per kilometer)
Wednesday: 9.93 km (Tempo: average pace 6; 10 min. per kilometer)
Friday: 5.72 (Steady.. Average pace 6: 36 min. per kilometer)

Weekly total: 36.9 km

I still feel good. No aches and pains. Yet.

I found out something wonderful this week.  Based on my estimated finish time of 4 hours and 30 minutes, I can slow down my tempo runs without feeling guilty! And actually, if I am following the Running Room training program strictly, I should probably be slowing down my long runs too. Or maybe I should speed everything up, and try for a faster time! I am resisting the urge to write a serious of lol's after that last statement. Many runners are uber competitive and are constantly looking at ways to improve their time and be better and stronger.  This is a good thing. I am super impressed with their motivation and drive.  However, I really struggle to fit into that "type."I feel good when I improve, and nothing beats the feeling of completing a race with a personal best time, but if I was given the choice to go a little bit slower and feel better during the race but not get a personal best time, I would just go slower. Sometimes I just ENJOY the race,  I watch the people, I look at the scenery and I contemplate how lucky we are to live in a political and environmental climate that allows  for so much outdoor activity. But most of all, I contemplate how lucky I am to be healthy enough to participate in such events.

Don't get me wrong. I am not against going for a personal best time. I am just more for avoiding a personal worst time.

The best thing about training for a marathon, is that I have no personal worst!  Whatever I do in this training will be my personal best( and worst)!  There is great a feeling of power when doing something for the first time- especially something that many people from my past ( including me) would never have thought I would do. It is liberating and wonderful to go outside my comfort zone to do something for the first time.

When WAS the last time I did something for the first time?