Oh Dear...

For a long time now I've wondered why I struggle with running and why it never seems as easy as it used to... When it was suggested that there was a problem with my heart I used it as an excuse to slow down and only rack up the easy k's. For the longest time I plodded along never really losing weight and never really pushing myself.

This week I had a revelation. I decided it was time to start training for that marathon that I had promised to do this year. Deciding to do it right, I have done treadmill sprints, hill runs and long easy runs. Not fast, timed runs yet, but hey - it's only week one. They will come later.

Following a conversation with my Dad this afternoon I decided to measure out a short course and time what speed I'm running the k's at. As I drove along measuring the course I usually run, that happy feeling inside was quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of horror at the fact that I had spent the last six weeks doing a top of 4km's, sometimes at a pace of nearly 10mins/km. I was disgusted.

I suddenly feel like a complete failure and like I have been wasting all this time. To try and make myself feel better I decided to run 1km bouts and see if I could do it in a decent time. I started with a 3km warm-up and managed to run the first 1km in 6mins 20secs. Not too bad. I had a 3m walk recovery, followed by a 2min jog before the next 1km. The second 1km I managed to do in the same time, but it was to be my last as the stomach problems I've had lately decided to flare up...

Anyway, I guess the good news is that I can run 1km in about 6mins, the bad news is I need to be able to run another 41 of them at 6mins each if I'm going to finish this marathon in a respectable time.

I think I have a lot of training to do...