Last time, I wrote to you about how I lost weight by training to walk half-marathons.
Last year, walking half-marathons was a means to an end to lose the fifty pounds that I wanted to lose. Once I lost the weight I wanted to lose in December after starting to walk in August, I still wanted to walk. I still wanted to keep the weight off. I liked having a half-marathon ahead of me to get ready for; it kept me focused and motivated. So I kept walking through my fourth half-marathon in six months, a trail event in the mountains of northwest Georgia in May.
When I was almost finished with my first half-marathon in Kiawah in December, I saw a couple that was doing the full marathon. They were slightly ahead of me. They had just completed their first lap and were starting their second lap. The thought went through my mind, “I can do that- do the full marathon.” Just as the little engine that could, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” I thought about doing a full marathon ever since that moment. I thought of it again as I completed my other two half-marathons in February. (The trail half-marathon was tough; just doing a half there was fine.)
I took about three weeks off from the trail event until now to rest just a little. Today, I start preparation in earnest to complete the full marathon in Kiawah on December 6. This will be a total of 25 weeks of preparation. Walking is still a means to an end, to stay in shape and keep the weight off that I worked so hard to lose last year. However, I also want the prestige of saying I completed a full marathon. I have a goal in mind for a time- 6 hours. That translates to 13 minutes and 45 seconds per mile. For all my training walks, I will give myself this time to complete each mile.
I must credit Wendy Burgamer and her website, walking.about.com. I receive most of my information and inspiration from her site. This website is just one of many resources about walking, especially on the internet. I am largely using her training program of walking schedules. Her walking schedule for a full marathon is 19 weeks. Since I want to get back to walking after the three weeks off, I added six weeks of “pre-season” which uses the first six weeks of her training for the half-marathon
I am pleased to report that I weighed myself and in spite of barely walking over the last three weeks, I weigh 177 pounds, just two over the magical 175. I am sure that I will re-lose those two pounds with the walking and going back to the intelligent eating decisions. I intend to stay close to the 175; if I drop a little below it, that is all right.
If you decide that a marathon is for you, do not jump into it headfirst. Consult with your doctor that you are in good enough shape to handle it. Use common sense and maybe start smaller (say a half-marathon) if you have not been walking for a while or if you are not in optimum walking shape.
I will keep you up to date with my progress each week. Whatever it is that you do for exercise, keep at it. I will keep walking and keep you informed of my progress.
