A CONTROLLED RETURN

At the Philadelphia Marathon, on November 18, I was pleased, but not satisfied, with my time of 3:05:47. The clocking earned me a 3rd place finish in the 55-59 age division, and, at age 59, earned me the dubious title of the top 'oldest' finisher. Geez, I'm not sure what to say about that one! But, as runners, we all know how it is. I believe I can make the adjustments to crack that 3-hour mark again. The last 6 miles of the race were relatively easy, and my pace remained constant. My long runs prior to Philly consisted of only an 18 and 20-miler, not nearly enough for a sub-3 hour time. That's where the adjustment needs to occur.

So, now I set my sights on my favorite marathon in the world: Boston. In April, I will toe the line in Hopkinton for the 16th time. I have devoted a chapter of my book to this race, it's history, and the enthusiasm and devotion of the spectators, who treat each runner like an Olympic champion.

During December, I will slowly build up to my 50-mile training weeks. In January, I plan to run at the Lousiana Marathon, where I'll compete in the Half Marathon; as well as the Miami Marathon, where I'll use the race as a training run. I will be delivering seminars at both races, so it will be fun to compete, and to get away from the cold Pennsylvania winter.

Winter is, however, a great time to grind out the miles in preparation for a spring marathon. There are plenty of good ones out there, during the months of March, April, and May.

On this blog, I will chronicle my training program for the marathon, and, hopefully, some of my workouts and advice will be helpful to you.

In my book, I talk about my 'Cast of Characters," my running partners who help me train on a daily basis. My tip of the day is to forget about the myth of the "loneliness of the long distance runner," and find a partner, or a group of runners with whom you can share your training. You will become more motivated, your workouts will be more quality-oriented, and you'll have a whole lot of fun.

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