Success in the Fall Depends on Now

The Race to the Starting Line Begins Now

Just as opening day in Major League Baseball, or the National Football League, or the National Basketball Association is not literally the first day of playing ball, the racing season for runners does not begin at the first start line of the season. Baseball players have Winter ball or, at the very least Spring training. Basketball players may take some time off to play golf or goof off when their season ends, but this won't last long. Soon they'll be in the gym, strength training, shooting free throws, working with the team trainer. This will go on for months before training camp actually opens. The point here is that the successful professional athletes spend a lot of time training in anticipation of the first pitch of opening day and those of us who are wannabee athletes (coach Shelly Campbell says each of us who train and compete is an athlete) have to do the same.

For a number of years my principal race of the year has been the San Antonio Marathon, now the Rock'n'Roll San Antonio Marathon. This has meant that I have to get down to serious training by mid to late June or I'm going to regret it on race day in November. To be honest I have played somewhat lose with my training regimens in the past. There's almost always an ebb and flow. Life sometimes has a way of demanding my attention, at times disrupting my training intentions. But this year I am investing a bit more in my Fall marathon. I managed to beat the rush into the Chicago Marathon and was able to secure a place. The greater investment begins right away. The entry fee is higher for Chicago and the other premium marathons. Then there will be travel expenses, accommodations and Pizza Uno. It's worth it. I've long wanted to run the Chicago Marathon. Chicago is my favorite big American city and it's been forever since I have been there. It will also be a blast to run in a field of 40 thousand runners.

But I also want to run well in Chicago which means my next 5 months will revolve around training. Chicago is run in October. Thus the higher mileage weeks of training, when the weekly long run becomes increasingly long - 18, 20, maybe 22 miles in the run up to the race, will fall during the dog days of September. The bottom line, however, and this applies to everyone who is training for a Fall marathon, or half marathon, is that training begins now. I'm making a plan and intend to stick to it. You should do the same. If you're new to distance running, get some advice, have someone map out a complete training program for you. You might even consider joining a training group.

We all hear stories of people who go out and run a marathon, or half, with little or no preparation. I don't pretend to understand their motivation, nor do I recommend this approach for anyone. Just as success on race day depends on making a training plan and executing it, even running on those days when you would rather not, or when it's hot as Hell in July, the full package of satisfaction is delivered only when a runner learns not only how to run 26.2 miles, but also learns discipline, that bottom line key to every athlete's success. And the cool thing here is that this training discipline eventually informs every other aspect of one's life which requires staying a course.

So far I'm on track. I ran a bit over 10 miles tonight, with hills, and feel good about it. But this week alone will not make a difference in October unless I continue to run, to ramp it up, to gradually increase the long run and, yes, make myself run when life insists there's not time. Is this an obsession? I think not. It's a life. And it's a great life. Give it a shot and you just might find yourself transformed.