I don't know if I've ever shard my P90X obsession with the group. It all started this past summer when I saw an infomercial of people drenched in sweat doing pull-ups, push-ups, and ab work so hard it had them crying out for their mama's. It didn't hurt that all of the people offering testimonials were totally ripped. And it also didn't hurt that at the time I was watching the infomercial and contemplating ordering the DVD's, I was in the best shape of my life as I trained for Chicago. The idea of pushing the envelope even further was appealing. 

I didn't order the program though, because I didn't have the time to add any new elements to my workout. I was on a tightly regimented training schedule to get me my Boston qualifying time. Now, however, I may actually have time to devote to a program like this.

The problem is I've lost some (a lot) of my mojo. I'm still running and biking but I've cut way back from summer training. And frankly, I've developed a case of fear and laziness. This program looks hard. It looks like it will hurt. Which--I have to remind myself--is what appealed to me in the first place.

My friend Tamara loaned me her P90X DVD's this week so I can try a couple workouts and see if they're anything I think I might even remotely be able to do on my own. I picked the workouts up from her yesterday and am staring at them right now, as they sit on the corner of my desk. I'm literally afraid to slide one into the DVD.  I just think I'm not going to be able to hang with even half of the stuff asked of me. I'm reminding myself the point of these DVDs are to GET strong, not to start strong. 

So once I get my courage up, I should have a few interesting, "OMG, I can't move, call 911" posts to share with all of you. 

Wish me luck.  

I don't think I'm going to run the Boston Marathon in April. I've been going over and over it in my mind. As excited as I am to have qualified for Boston, I just cannot muster any enthusiasm at the moment for the race itself. I looked at a calendar and training for Boston would begin on December 27th. The thought of diving back in to full-blown training two months from now is enough to move me to tears. I don't think I could make myself do an interval workout, even if you held a gun to my head. I didn't realize how tightly wound I was until my marathon was over. Now, I just want to relax for awhile. 

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As tradition dictates, here it is. My Chicago Marathon 2009 recap. And ah-waaaaay we go!

PRE-RACE

To qualify for Boston, I had to run under a 3:45:59. I’d trained all summer on the Furman program for a 3:45 finishing time, but still wasn’t sure I could do it. I felt pretty confident I could hold the pace until mile 21 but didn’t know what awaited me after that. I told only a few people I was trying for Boston and told everyone else I just wanted to break 4 hours. I do better mentally if I know I’ve lowered people’s expectations and can surprise them with a big win…

RACE DAY

The first thing I did was slice the back of my right ankle open with a razor while shaving. Vanity, vanity…

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I've spent the last couple of weeks researching various training programs. I'm running the Chicago Marathon on October 11th, which means my "go" date for summer training is June 21st... right around the corner.

After reading and discussing the matter with several knowledgeable running friends, I've decided to put my fate in the hands of the Furman marathon training program. My friend Thad, known in the blogging sphere as Runnerdude, posted a recent entry about the program.

The appeal of the program is that you only run 3 days a week. The flip side of that is these are focused (read: hard) runs. No casual chit-chatting with fellow runners on this program. The first run is intervals on the track and the pacing charts are brutal. The second run is a tempo run, usually run at 70-80% effort. The final run is the long run but unlike most programs that encourage you to do LSR's (long slow runs), this program keeps you moving at almost race pace. And the mileage is insane. Week one kicks off with a 13-miler and I think we do our first 20 miler by week 4. Most programs spend all summer building up to the 20 miler.

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