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May 07, 2004
Over a year now
I started running regularly again over a year ago now, in April 2003. At the outset, I ran 6 1/4 km (3.9 mi) three times a week. My weekly distance now lies at over 50 km (over 30 mi).
Running hits your joints harder than other aerobic sports, but it remains the fastest way for me to get a workout. My 14 km (about 8 3/4 mi) Monday and Friday runs now take less than an hour sometimes, and rarely much more. That's something like using energy at 12x the normal rate, so gives my heart, lungs, and muscles a chance to recover from sitting in front of a screen so much of the time.
My record speed for the old 6 1/4 km run stands at 23:21. That works out to a 3:44 km (5:59 mi). When I was less than half my age, the fastest I managed to run 1.6 km was 5:23, which is a 3:22 km. So after a year of running, I feel I'm in better shape than I've been for a while.
One guy at work who has run several marathons suggested I try one. I've seen good training suggestions for free on the web, such as those at Halhigdon.com. But when I start thinking about running a marathon, I realize I don't just want to finish without injury. I want to run it in a respectable time. Doing that is probably still a way off.
What is a respectable time? My aim for 10 km is under 40 minutes. That means 1 km every 4 minutes average for 10 of them. A 6:24 mi pace for 40 minutes, in other words. Right now, my best times are over 41 minutes.
If I can get 10 km in under 40 minutes, my hope is to be able to get 42 km under 200 minutes. I'd like to aim for 3:15. That would qualify me for the Boston Marathon in a couple of years from now. It'll probably take me that long to get that fast.
Posted by Mark at May 7, 2004 09:12 PM