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In 2005 I was skating an average of 50-60 miles per week, had lost a fair amount of weight, and generally felt great. In 2006 I completely fell off the wagon. It started when we began the process of buying the house, and I just never got back into it. As a result I gained back nearly all of the weight I had lost, and I don't feel nearly as good as I used to. My frequent bouts of insomnia are just the latest and most obvious symptom. That being the case, it's time to get back on the horse (as it were). Today I began training for the Walt Disney World Inline Marathon coming up on Sunday, April 1st. I am also going to take an excellent piece of advice that I got from a random stranger last month: when you are getting close to a marathon, one of the most important things you have to do is pick the *next* marathon to train for otherwise you lose momentum.
So anyway, here are the results from my first day of training:
Course: West Orange Trail, mile marker 5 to mile marker 1 and back
Distance: 8 miles
Overall Time: 00:46:42
Fastest Mile: 00:05:05
Average Mile*: 00:05:19
On the whole, this was substantially better than I expected and made for a good start. I only expected to skate six miles, but I also determined to skate out until I was approaching 25 minutes and then return. My assumption was that the second half would take longer than the first half, and that would have me skating for a full hour. That I did two extra miles and finished nearly ten minutes earlier than I had planned was a nice surprise. I have certainly lost ground from where I was in '05 when I could regularly hit a four minute mile, but pacing at 5:19 ain't so bad. Before I hit the pavement this morning I thought I was training for a half-marathon, but now I am seriously considering going for the full marathon. I'd rather aim a little too high and fall short than aim too low and wind up short-changing myself. I have until March 1st to register before the price goes up, so I'll make a final decision then.
*Note: Average Mile calculated without first or last mile, since the mile from marker 4 through marker 5 includes one lighted crosswalk, another major 4-way traffic stop, plus a half dozen road crossings through downtown Winter Garden, causing the first and last mile of the skate to have an extra 2-3 minutes each way from stopping.
So anyway, here are the results from my first day of training:
Course: West Orange Trail, mile marker 5 to mile marker 1 and back
Distance: 8 miles
Overall Time: 00:46:42
Fastest Mile: 00:05:05
Average Mile*: 00:05:19
On the whole, this was substantially better than I expected and made for a good start. I only expected to skate six miles, but I also determined to skate out until I was approaching 25 minutes and then return. My assumption was that the second half would take longer than the first half, and that would have me skating for a full hour. That I did two extra miles and finished nearly ten minutes earlier than I had planned was a nice surprise. I have certainly lost ground from where I was in '05 when I could regularly hit a four minute mile, but pacing at 5:19 ain't so bad. Before I hit the pavement this morning I thought I was training for a half-marathon, but now I am seriously considering going for the full marathon. I'd rather aim a little too high and fall short than aim too low and wind up short-changing myself. I have until March 1st to register before the price goes up, so I'll make a final decision then.
*Note: Average Mile calculated without first or last mile, since the mile from marker 4 through marker 5 includes one lighted crosswalk, another major 4-way traffic stop, plus a half dozen road crossings through downtown Winter Garden, causing the first and last mile of the skate to have an extra 2-3 minutes each way from stopping.
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