Lets Start From the Beginning



After all the wonderful comments on my last post, I realized that I need to take a more educated approach to what Im doing here. I'm going to be doing a little bit of research on how this SHOULD be done in hopes that I don't end up killing myself.

So as of today, Im going to take a little break from running. Im going to let my body recoup, do a bit of research and figure out how I am going to go about doing this.

Don't worry It's not going to be a long break... just over the weekend. I'll start up as a more educated person Monday morning.

I think I should seriously look into is that couch to 5k program. Maybe It'll give me some sort of schedule that I can work on, and give me a time line to get it done. Then from there Ill see if i can find some sort of 5k to marathon schedule. I am really starting to think that this is going to be a bit more of a challenge physically and mentally than I had originally planned .

Well for now... See you again monday!


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4 comments:

Hilary Simanek said...

Hey, I just happened to see your "fat man marathon" blog on my fb newsfeed and I have read through your blog...It's awesome that you are going to run a marathon....it is a challenge that not everyone can accomplish so it will be a great feeling when you do accomplish it. On that note, I wanted you to know that I have run 10 marathons myself and so if you have any questions, as a fellow runner with perhaps a little more experience and a true passion for it, I can surely give a little advice, at least I would hope I could. So whether you want it or not, my first advice is to go to this website ( halhigdon.com ) and read through it. This is where I have gotten most of my marathon training info and just running info in general.
Good Luck!!

Hilary Simanek

Greg Kopp said...

Hey Hilary! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! I would have never guessed that so many people would take an interest in me doing this. I guess right now the only questions that I have right now are: when and why did you start running? What is your motivation to keep running? and the last one is, When you started running did you set a goal to run a marathon?

Hilary Simanek said...

Well, if you recall, in high school I played soccer. Being an athlete my whole life, once I went to college I felt bad not doing anything so I just started to run 2-3 miles 3-5 times a week simply to stay in shape. During my sophomore year of college, a girl that lived in my dorm was training for a marathon and let's just say she was probably not an athlete in high school. So she became my motivation to run a marathon because I thought to myself, if she can do it---then so can I! So the following year I signed up for the Chicago Marathon and trained by myself for 3 months. I sacrificed going out on Friday nights because I had to run a very long run at 5am every Sat morning. But when I would tell people this they always had the same response and that was "you are crazy but wow that's awesome that you are going to run a marathon, I could never do that." And so those words that I heard so often from others, "I could never be able to do that" became another part of my motivation---the fact that not everyone is capable or willing to run a marathon. Being able to say that I finished a marathon was my motivation at this point. Then I crossed the finish line of that Chicago Marathon and that became the biggest rush I have ever had and biggest sense of accomplishment that I have ever had. That rush and sense of accomplishment has been my motivation ever since. It is a feeling that not everyone can or will experience and it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to be able to say, "I finished a marathon" but when you can say those words, it gives you great pride! In fact, for me, it has become somewhat of what I would like to call a "healthy" addiction...to the point that I continue to run marathons and continue to feel that sense of accomplishment and pride each and every time. Like I said, it takes a lot of dedication, hard work and time to get to the point where your body and mind can handle running 26.2 miles but once you are there, it is one of the most amazing feelings you will ever have!

My last word of advice..."30% of training and running a marathon is physical, the other 70% is mental."

greg Kopp said...

Thanks Hilary! It is really encouraging to hear people talk about their marathon experiences. It makes me feel like it is something that I will be able to accomplish. I know it wont be easy, but hopefully with support its something I will accomplish!