First Day of Training

Today was my first day of training!

I had to be up at 6:20 a.m. to make our 8:00 a.m. start time, which meant no going out last night.  (  Luckily my friend and I arrived to the west end of Golden Gate Park early enough to stand around for a bit scoping the guys who would be running with us. Relatively slim pickings.  We put ourselves in a pace groups based on how long we thought it would take us to run a mile (I chose 12 minutes) and we were released in 30-second increments.

We ran three miles. I’m not sure that I’ve ever ran three miles, but if I have it’s been years. It wasn’t bad at all. I met a nice girl from Iowa in my group, and I ran with her so that I could judge whether I was going slow enough to utter a six-word sentence (I was, though I didn’t walk at all). My time was 30 minutes and 10 seconds. I noticed that I was able to pass some people at the end who were walking, and this sustainability made me confident I was running at an appropriate pace. This time means I’m in the seventh slowest pace group (out of 18). I’m happy with this placement. Unfortunately, this was a mere 10 seconds too long to get into my friend’s pace group, but it will good to meet other people.

I was cold at the beginning of the run because I only wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, but my ugly new running shoes didn’t bother me at all and I was only wheezing a little at the end (you probably know that I have asthma – I was worried it would be an issue in running a marathon).

A cute guy passed me going the opposite way on the run (the course today required turning around), meaning he was ahead of me, but he’s actually in my pace group! How awesome is that! This means I’m going to have to buy a new shirt (at least) for next week.

I know some of you will appreciate this story. After we finished they told us our pace groups and we walked over to sign in. Our coach was Kathy Switzer, but she never showed up! It’s just my luck that I have the slacker coach, I thought. Someone else wondered aloud where she was, and I was like, “Pshaw, I guess she’s too important to come to the first day of training.” Eventually someone came over to explain that the groups are named after famous runners who will not be attending our trainings. Riiiigggghhhht. Moll’s Coffee House, anyone?

Apparently Kathy Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967 after registering as K.V. Switzer (they tried to kick her out when they learned her gender). What a cool woman to name a training group after, and I’m proud to be in it!

My first day of training was a positive experience, and I’m proud that I not only showed up but made it through the run.  I ate breakfast with my friend in the part after the run, and then spent a beautiful day in Dolores Park.  In other words, I did little else today.  However, I’m exhausted right now.  I can’t believe it.  I feel so physically tired – and it was only three miles that I ran!  I had to say no to going to a movie, and I’m not going to text another friend about going out tonight.  I think the biggest sacrifice is going to be how the training affects my social life.  I have to remind myself that it will be worth it in the end!

Food eaten: A bowl of cereal, a banana, pancakes with fresh fruit, chicken apple sausage, orange juice, a carnitas burrito and chips, and a small pizza. Wow.

Introduction to this Blog

I’m a 27-year-old gay lawyer living in San Francisco. I’ve never written a blog before, but I’ve also never run a marathon before, so the form matches the subject in novelty. I intend to update this as much as possible as my training program continues.

I’ve signed up for the AIDS Marathon training program, the completion of which will supposedly enable me to run 26.2 miles on August 3, 2008. It’s a run-walk program that consists of long group runs on Saturday and two thirty to forty-five minute runs without a coach during the week. I’m lucky that a good friend wants to train to run the same marathon, which means I’ll have a partner in crime (not to mention in complaining and hopefully in motivating).

I’ve wanted to run a marathon since I was 10 and saw a framed number and jersey that commemorated a marathon run by a friend’s father. It’s been on my adult long-term list of things to accomplish (it’s a random list that includes becoming adept at growing orchids) for years. I told myself when I moved back up here in January 2007 and saw the program’s poster on BART that I would commit this year if I was in a place to do so. Fortunately I am in such a place, and I realize that there is no time like the present for achieving a life goal.

My reasons for signing up for the program are myriad. Most importantly, I want to prove to myself that I can accomplish something requiring physical and mental conditioning and discipline, especially since I don’t feel I’ve done anything challenging in some time. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit (though no one has been surprised to hear) that I’m also a little bit motivated by the idea that running a marathon in this City might be a great way to meet a boyfriend or at least hot guys, and by the prospect of buying cute running outfits (one down, more to go).

I felt a lot of things before starting – fear (of failing, of cutting back on my social life, of commitment), uncertainty (about whether I can do this), and excitement (about the idea of accomplishing this). I still can’t believe that I’m going to run 26.2 miles in less than six months. It’s such a long distance! While driving to Sonoma last week I noticed that I’d driven about 54 miles, and marveled that this was half the distance I’d soon be running!

I think this blog, if I actually write in it, will be fun for me to read as my feelings about running change and I progress in my training. The last big thing that I did which had a concrete end date and objective was studying for the Bar exam, and unfortunately I didn’t keep a Bar blog that I can use to reminisce. I guess it’s just as well – writing about squeezing studying in between talking on the phone, watching One Life to Live, Oprah, Date My Mom, and Room Raiders, and steadying my nerves with the occasional vodka shoot in my bedroom would not have made for a very interesting blog.

Please join me in celebrating my insanity!