The Great Ganesha

Goddamn! Running on Thursdays is a bloody pain.

So, the RX Geek and me are training for the SF Marathon coming up at the end of July. We’re using this training schedule. We didn’t choose that particular one for any special reason other than that it was easy to find, was well-suited for beginners (it’s the first time for her) and fulfilled the “ten percent” criteria. It’s pretty normal for a marathon training schedule: five running days weekly, steadily increasing increments (no more than ten percent per week in mileage), and with a medium run on Wednesdays and the long run on Sundays. There are three consecutive running days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and no matter how many miles we have to run, Thursday is always the hardest.

I am really not sure why - perhaps it’s a psychological thing because it’s the last running weekday. Or perhaps its because we are tired from doing the medium run the day before. I’m really not sure. But we always run about a minute slower than our regular pace, and it is always a pain. Today, especially, my quads were like wooden sticks (even after stretching). And the rain and cold didn’t exactly help. Particularly after my shoes and socks got drenched after inadvertent puddle-stepping.

On the bright side though, we resisted the urge to cut corners and did manage to finish. And then I remembered why I love running. The high. Man, is it good. And yes, I am aware that I’m addicted. Which reminds me, in addition to running SF this year, I’m also qualified for guaranteed entry into the New York Marathon. So this year, I’ll be running New York for the second time. Can’t wait!

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