I'm Going to Run a Marathon

DISCLAIMER: I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS!

I am going to run a marathon. Me, the guy who ran sprints throughout his unremarkable track career. The guy who has never run further than 7 miles in a single workout, never raced a course longer than 3.1. The same guy who believes eating dessert should be considered a sport and has gone on the record on multiple occasions claiming, "I hate running," is going to take on a marathon.

It was sometime near midnight on Thursday or Friday of last week when Joe Okafor's name flashed across the bottom of my Facebook toolbar. "Frank, you wanna run a marathon?" Joe and I ran track together at Cal Poly (it was a brief together...I was cut after a month or two and Joe didn't go out the next season when I resurrected my lackluster career). Still, we stayed in touch a bit and played on a few baller-status (loosely defined) intramural basketball teams. However, neither of us has maintained any sort of running routine since wrapping up on the track multiple years ago, so I assumed Joe's random midnight request was alcohol-induced.

A few days later, Joe was still serious about running a 26.2 miles. With my lack of employment leaving a hefty chunk of free time, I figured, why not? So, just like that, I've decided I'm going to run a marathon.

I don't have a training plan in place, a race picked out or a pace to aim for, but the rough draft version includes a marathon that takes place in about three months (ideally on flat ground) with a steadily increasing workload at a snail's pace. Joe is set on competing (urrrr, watching others compete while we trudge along at the pack of the pack) at Lake Tahoe or Big Bear in late September. I plan on trying to convince him otherwise. As beautiful as those runs might be, they're both at altitude.

Let me tell you about my one experience running at high altitude. It was a warm, midsummer day at Lake Tahoe. I was in the best shape of my life, getting ready for my senior year of track at Cal Poly. The first half mile went smoothly, but my condition rapidly approached late-night-at-the-bars status. I carried a moderate pace through a paved trail near our cabin and thought nothing of the shooting stars that kept flashing out the corner of my eye (probably not all that uncommon in the clear, unpolluted night skies of Lake Tahoe, but highly unlikely with the sun at high noon). Soon after, the pavement started to sway and a group of small forest critters openly began to mock my running form in a Southern twang akin to my former college coach, Terry Crawford. (The last statement might be slightly fictitious, but every Cal Poly track alum can at least appreciate the humor of a squirrel yelling, "Readyyyyyyyy!")

The rest of the run didn't go so well (especially the part where I stopped and walked back to the cabin with my head hung in shame for flaming out before the mile marker). Twenty-six-point-two miles at that altitude? Not gonna happen unless they have complimentary oxygen bars at checkpoints stationed 800 yards apart.

My fitness right now is pretty crappy so this is going to be a bit of a challenge. I'm not in the worst shape of my life (see: three months ago), but I'm hardly ready to run a marathon. I've put about four miles under my belt so far this week and my legs feel great (or at leas they would if I hadn't added 6-7 miles on the bike and multiple games of racquetball). Still, I'm going to put in another 3-4 tomorrow and aim for a longer run on Saturday or Sunday. I don't know my definition of "longer run" yet, but I guess we'll find out.

The way I see it, if I train for the next three months, I should be able to handle a marathon. It's a lot harder to compete in a marathon than it is to run in one. I'm not trying to throw down a ridiculous training regimen complete with 100-plus mile weeks and a perfect diet to compete for a quick time (there's no way I'm giving up my passion for chocolate chip cookies and all other things sweet just to run a marathon). I just want to say that I have run 26.2 miles and didn't quit. So, let's get this marathon thing rollin'!