1.) Run for 10 minutes - this sounds like a joke but it is probably the most horrifying and pathetic milestone. I started out running with the idea of establishing a baseline of how far I could get... well after about 8 minutes of hitting the pavement I was out of breath, tired, and just wanted to give up. I started to search around for ideas and ran across a free podcast that claimed I could be running a 5k after listening to the series and decided to give it a go. This program focused heavily on interval training... I recommend this to everyone getting started. After the first few weeks I was able to get my breathing under control and noticed my recovery times were getting better each week. After about 6 weeks on this program I was able to run intervals of 20 minutes running and I felt great. This led me to establish my next goal: run a 5k without intervals.
2.) Run a 5k - this was a pretty major milestone for me. Up to this point I had never run more than a single mile in my life and never enjoyed it. The interval training technique resulted in me running the 3+ miles in under 33 minutes with no slowdown and a very fast recovery. I kept up with this training and convinced myself that I needed to start preparing for long endurance. My next target was to run at a formal event to acclimate myself for the big day... I chose the Disney Tower of Terror 13k...
3.) Run the 13k event - At this point my body was used to running for 30-40 minutes at a time. My task now was to get that to an hour+. Each week I added more distance to my weekly and weekend run routes and was feeling pretty good until I hit my first dreaded injury. I was heading up a flight of stairs at my research institute to talk to an assistant professor and after about 5 steps discovered that my knee was about to explode. There exists a condition that newbie runners encounter when they quickly advance from couch potato status where certain muscles in the leg get very strong while others remain static. This results in a tremendous amount of torque applied to one's knees when walking up stairs. For the next couple of months I had to refocus my attention of strengthening those muscles in addition to extending my distant. During this time my wife and I found out we were expecting our first child shortly after my marathon event, good timing! Spooky October was here in no time and it was time for my race. It was so motivating to see all of these fellow runners (as I passed them, ha!) and my wife with embedded child had such a smile on her face that I got through that race wanting more...
4.) Life is short, get in and stay in shape stupid! - I've been working at my career since I was 13 and have always split my time between academic and entrepreneurial pursuits. With my daughter on the way, I have a new outlook on life and want to be the best dad since dads were invented. Every day that I run I have hours to think of all the cool things to come. Marathon getting closer and closer and the amount of rubber on my shoes less and less.
5.) Marathon week - at the time of this writing I've settled down my training in preparation for this day. I've counted ever single carb, calorie, and oz of water I've consumed. Google is now well aware that I'm running the marathon soon as I've hit them with every possible search query possible in the english language on how to survive this experience. I spent 12 months of my life preparing for this day and I dedicate all of that hard work to my wife Jess and little Charley. I appreciate all of you that are going to be there to see me at the various points and Dr. Uncle for motivating me and supplying me with the awesome Oakley thumps!
UPDATE: I FINISHED!!! I had an amazing time with my fellow (22,000 of them) runners and I'm glad that I reached my goal. I was making great time (expected finish at 4hr 45 minutes) but I injured my foot at mile 16 and had to walk/run the rest of the way. It was frustrating to sustain that injury but I felt very strong throughout the whole marathon. My training really prepared my cardiopulmonary system for the task and I think I did a great job with consuming the perfect amount of protein and carbs throughout the race. I think my knees and feet need more training time to feel comfortable after such a long distance... Same place, same time next year? Disney Marathon 2010; I like the sound of that.
-Shaun