¡Salud!

Marathon training for the ING New York City Marathon began on July 4. I, fittingly enough, ran my first training run in the state of New York. Close enough to New York City, at least closer than I would’ve been had I started my training in the DC area.

Leading up to the beginning of marathon training, my running had been going remarkably well, thanks to a relaxed attitude and some occasional nudging when called for. I even managed to put in six miles while in Michigan (!) and was able to run over a favored spot one last time before it was demolished. Since about mid-May, I’ve been running consistently, and my legs are showing it. Thanks be to the Jebus Slug for the hills in the DC area! All joking aside, things have been going remarkably well–it now falls to me to buy new running shoes before I injure myself with my old New Balance 856s (they served me well in San Francisco, though–maybe I should have them bronzed).
My first long run of the marathon training was six miles. On a Saturday. Guess what time I got up? 6:30am. Not a big deal, considering I get up at 5:30am most mornings, but it’s a Saturday, people. I’d fallen into the habit of getting up at 10am or later, but not this past Saturday. I was mighty proud of myself, and I displayed it by sitting on my ass for the rest of the day. I of course have a number of long runs coming up over the next few months, but I feel geeked about them. However, as they get longer, I think I’ll be joining any group that’s going out for Saturday long runs. I just feel as if it’ll be a bit more entertaining to be around others in those instances. The iPod, alas, is not an option given how I absolutely destroyed my nano, but it’ll be an option one day. Probably not until after the marathon, though.

Where am I going with this? Hmm . . . well, it’s finally nice to have some motivation and enjoy my running again? Yep, that’s it. It’s been a while since it’s been this effortless.