Committed

About two miles or so around Capitol Hill, but stopped by painful shin splints (see below). No problem with being short of breath or anything - it's the pain in my legs that gets me.

I've done it. I've signed up for the Seattle Marathon - 27 November 2005.

By then I will be 39 years old.

I'm going to use this blog as a record of my training and progress. In my early 20s, I ran quite a bit - maybe 30 miles or so a week. I never ran competitively or in road races, but I could circle Galway without too much effort, and I still remember the feeling I had of floating above the hard streets, even while my lungs burned as I rounded Nun's Island. That all stopped after I finished college, finished law school, abandoned law, moved to London and publishing, then to Dublin and - via an accidental career in software - Seattle. Then New Year's Eve 2003 I quit smoking. One year and 30 pounds later, something needed to be done. I started working out with a personal trainer, started running. I'm getting into better shape, but I'm still heavier than I'd like to be, and I still can't make it around Lake Union without having to walk.

So here's a record of my starting point:

• 38 years old
• 150 lbs (unfortunately. Up considerably from my fighting weight of 118, though I think I was possibly too thin then. I'd like to be 125 or so. I'm 5'9.)
• Can run for an hour at 5-6 miles fairly comfortably on the treadmill.

Here are my goals:

• May 8 (four weeks from now): Run the Over the Dam 5K at the Grand Coulee Dam, one of my absolute favorite places in the world. The dam itself has been closed to the public since 9/11, so pretty much the only way to get up close is to run across it.
• May 15: Run the Beat the Bridge 8K, just down the road from us (we live in Eastlake, Seattle)
• Nov 27: Marathon!

I am looking for a half marathon to do between May and November.

Today I ran with my friend Laura, but got horrible shin splints. I think this may be because of my shoes - I lost my newer shoes and have been running in older ones. Splints didn't bother me before. Laura had two suggestions, which I'm going to follow:

1. Get my gait analyzed at the Seattle Running Company, and get the right shoes. Currently I have Asics Gel Cayanos. I'm going to do this tomorrow, and then go for a run.

2. Do exercises. Use each foot to write out the alphabet in the air. I'm gonna do this a few times a day at my desk.

Apart from that, I have ordered a training book from Amazon, and will work out a schedule once that arrives. In the meantime, I plan to run about 30-45 minutes Saturday and Sunday.