Last year, I couldn’t wait to start training for the New York City Marathon. Each time someone asked me how I was feeling, I’d say something along the lines of, “I just spent hundreds of dollars on shoes, energy gels, and compression socks! I’m so excited for the first 20-mile long run!”
This past Monday, I woke up with lower back pain and briefly considered taking a sick day. When I realized it was the first day of marathon training, I thought of at least three dozen things I would have preferred doing. Among them were activities such as renewing my driver’s license, building IKEA furniture, and hailing a cab in Midtown Manhattan on a Friday night.
Since then, I’ve gotten over that feeling of dread. I’m even kind of excited about marathon training now! But I’m also turning 32 this summer, and if I’m not careful about how I train, I’ll probably rue the day that I took up long-distance running as a hobby. Here’s how I plan (or, hope) to keep things fun.