Change of Plans

Hello again and so sorry for the hiatus from blogging! Change of plans. Instead of training for the AC marathon this fall, I am working on trying to run my fastest 5K with hills! For me, achieveing such a goal is even more excitng than running  another 26.2er. That's because my love for running began when I started racing 5Ks and in a 5K there is really no holding back. The race is short enough that you can go all out the whole time, of course, that's only if you are trained to do so.

The fall of my freshman year of high school (Fall '97) is when I became a runner. I ususally crossed the finish line of a 5K cross-country race somewhere between 20 and 21 minutes and managed to go under 20 at least once. Then in college, I dropped down to around 18:30, but only on some very flat courses.

Now I am 28, turning 29 on S http://shoreacxc.webs.com. unday. Last fall, I took another stab at cross-country racing, finishing between 20 and 21 minutes for most of the five 5K cross-country races http://shoreacxc.webs.com.  I competed in for my running club - the Hoboken Harriers. This year, I really want to go under 20, and preferably under 19 by the end of the season.
 Quite a lofty goal, I know, especially considering that I work full-time as a journalist and am more than ten years older than I was the last time I ran a cross-country race under 20 minutes.

I'm going to give it a shot though. I have been running and biking hard all week and my first race isn't until Sept. 29th.

Of course, to achieve my goal, I'm also going to need to work on my diet as well! That means I'm going to have to go easier on my favorite food - ice cream! Speaking of diet, I better go eat a salad before I devour the rest of thr bag of pita chips in front of me.

Good luck achieving all of your fitness goals and I promise to write more soon!

Katie Lennon

Getting to know Katie Lennon, the runner

Hello future first-time marathoners, new runners, harriers-for-life, fitness enthusiasts and whoever else is reading this! I’m Katie Lennon, a 28-year-old, who has been running 5K races since age 14. Unfortunately, I’ve had to take many breaks here and there due to running injuries. Some of them have been so nagging that they made me think I’d never be able to run again.

But those days seem far away now. I am on one of my longest streaks of being injury-free. That and the fact that I recently built up my mileage for a half-marathon led me to decide step further out my 5-K comfort zone. I am going to try something even more arduous and time-consuming than training for a half marathon, but hopefully more rewarding. I am going to race a marathon.

Perhaps like many of you reading this, I am terrified of running a marathon.  Although I have already run two of these 26.2 miles races, I am not sure if I’m going to be able to race another one. Why?

Well, for starters, it’s been a while. I ran my first marathon in February 2005 and I completed my most recent one during the spring of 2006. I have no idea if I am still capable of running for that long, let alone trying to do it as fast as I can. Back in 2006, I was fresh out of college - so younger - and was spending much of my days chasing around elementary school-aged children as part of a teaching stint in Puerto Rico.  But over the past six years I have been much more sedentary, thanks to a career switch. I became a journalist. Sure, I exercise when I’m not working, but I spend the vast majority of my weekdays hunched over my desk or lap-top, typing up notes during a phone interview, reading up on the topic of my next article, writing that article, then doing that all over again.

Another thing that scares me about racing a marathon is the threat of one of my recurring injuries coming back to haunt me in the middle of the race. Ouch!

Last, but certainly not the least concerning to me is my pride. I have got to run a personal best! My little experience training for marathons, history of running injuries and job, of course, will make this no easy feat for my feet.

Fortunately, I’m not totally on my own. I’ve found a training program and trainer Tom Craig to help me prepare for my big race, which is the Atlantic City Marathon. Until that race, on October 21, I’ll keep you up to date on all my personal triumphs, set-backs, twists and turns that result from my training. I’ll also let you know what I think of the program, which has been designed by Tom Craig, and do my best to contrast my experiences training for this race to those of my friends who are preparing for their own races.

Looking forward to getting started on my program and I wish you all the best of luck with achieving your own fitness goals!

Katie Lennon