Running for Your Life: Plain Train Game

Maybe this isn’t for everybody. Especially in the heat of the summer. But last year at this time, K and I were gearing up for a summer marathon and a half-marathon. I’ve never taken any time off during even the hottest days of the summer (On those, full disclosure, I’ve taken to going to the air-conditioned comfort of our neighborhood gym to run on the treadmill, but still …).

It’s one thing (and definitely a good thing) to jog at a light pace – say, a 10-minute mile or a 9:30-minute mile. But another to train on the treadmill at a faster, stronger pace, closer to an average of 8:40 during an hour-long training session, with up to 3.0 incline, and interval speed increases of five-minute blocks, combined with, on alternate days, stretching and working on core, leg and upper body weight machines. Because now, with four months to go before race day at the Brooklyn Marathon, it’s time to get my training focus. I want to run this marathon – not run-walk it the way I did from the 21-mile mark in the 80-plus degree heat of the Nova Scotia Marathon last July.

That’s the Plain Train Game. And I’m locked in. Thankfully, each session ends with me feeling just a little bit better than the time before. I ease off when I feel a muscle strain coming on. But the Marathon Mood is striking. Number 9!

Next: Running for Your Life: The Subway. A Public Good?