Summer Training Retreat

I'm in Maine for three weeks, and although it's not really for a running retreat, I'm pretending it is. I run in the morning before work (like usual), but the routes are very different from my New York habits (Central Park, Central Park or Central Park).

I'm trying to take advantage of the cooler temps and beautiful country roads to kick the fall marathon training into full gear.

So far, it's going well. I've had some really nice 7 and 8 mile runs, and yesterday I did my first real long run in preparation for the marathon. I went 15.21 miles (thank you, Mr. Garmin), on a gorgeous route winding through farm land and along the coast.

The only time in even momentarily stopped was to attempt to photograph the three wild turkeys that I came across. OK, it's not much of a photo, but you get the idea.

Actually, one of the more telling aspects of the photo is that you can tell that I'm standing in the middle of the road. I spent a lot of the run cruising right down the center, as there were almost no cars to be found on an early Saturday in the country.

The non-stop approach is a key to this year's training plan: Get used to running for long stretches without stops. We'll see how it pans out...

As for this run, it didn't do much damage. I'm not at all sore, and I look forward to gradually increasing the long runs as I go. Hopefully building up more than tearing down.

Ah, a new rule to live by: Build up more than you tear down.