J.D. of Get Fit Slowly has decided that he wants to run a marathon, and he posted this past weekend about his first day of marathon training. J.D. is a great writer and the post was a lot of fun to read, but what struck me about the post were the important lessons about training I learned by reading between the lines.

Seek Guidance from Those in the Know

Have you set a training goal for yourself? Awesome! Do you know what it’s going to take to accomplish your goal? If not, don’t be afraid to do a little research and to ask for guidance when and where you need it.

“To meet this goal, I need help. I need a coach. Fortunately, Mac’s wife, Dr. Pam, is able and willing to offer her help. She’s Coach Pam to me now.”

Start Training Today!

If you’ve set a goal for yourself there’s no need to wait to start training. I can’t tell you how many goals I’ve set for myself that I decided I’d start working on “tomorrow.” I’m embarrassed to think about how many of those goals have never been accomplished because I never got started.

“I had intended to adhere pretty closely to the advice in The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer, and it doesn’t have you begin training until 16 weeks before the race. (Today is 26 weeks before the race.) But Coach Pam — and everyone else I talk to — has been encouraging me to start sooner rather than later. I decided to give it a shot.”

Take Advantage of Local Running Groups/Clinics

I’ve never gone running with any of the running groups in my area. The idea of running with a group of “real” runners is intimidating to me. I don’t think I’d fit in, I worry that I won’t be able to keep up, I don’t want to look like a big dummy, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Turns out I’m not the only one that feels that way, and it turns out that my fears are ill founded.

“I felt out of place [at the running clinic] right away. Most of the people seemed to be experienced runners, clothed in fancy reflective running gear. They were lean and taut. I am not. But as each pace group departed for its run, the crowd began to look more and more like me until all that remained were other beginners, all dressed in beginner’s gear. “I can do this,” I thought.”

Slow Down!

At the running clinic, J.D. ran with a slower paced group. I’ve written about slowing down before, but these guys ran REALLY slow! You know what? It turned out that J.D. was able to run a comfortable 4 miles on his first outing simply by taking it easy.

“Before I knew it, the run was over. We’d completed the four miles in exactly an hour. That’s a slow pace, I know, but it felt good. “We only went at 80%,” our group leader told us. “That’s intentional,” she said. “We want to keep it fun.”

It was fun.”

I haven’t ever run more than 3 miles at a time. I’d like to run farther, but by the end of a 5k I’m always worn out. If I follow J.D.’s example, it looks like I won’t have any problems running some longer distances.

Wrapping It Up

While I don’t aspire to marathon distances, I do have a goal set to run in the Marine Corps Marathon 10k in late October. Hearing about how J.D. is training for his marathon helped me to realize that the only barriers to my personal training were in my mind, namely lack of good training information and self-doubt. Thomas Carlyle once said, “Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone.” Looks like it’s time for me to get busy on some 10k action!