My Marcothon madness

I ran today. And I will run tomorrow. And the next day. And, if all goes well, I will be running every day in December. Yes, I have signed up for Marcothon 2018 and all of the madness that entails.

Marcothon is a challenge to run every day in December – rain or shine! The rules are fairly simple: Run at least 3 miles or 25 minutes every day. That’s it. And it’s a personal challenge, so you don’t have to try to run even more to beat someone else.

I decided to participate in the challenge because I missed out on my plans to run every day in November after getting quite sick. I am a little concerned about how this challenge will work compared to my run-every-day plans, as my plans were simply to run: A 5K or a mile, just run every day. This challenge, on the other hand, has a minimum. And that means that I will have to work a little harder to plan my runs around my schedule. (This will be easier once the Christmas holidays begin and I have a bit more flexibility on my time.)

Another concern I have is about pushing myself too hard, too fast. Whilst my doctors have cleared me to resume “normal” activities, I am also aware that my body is still regaining its strength from being ill. (And, of course, with my pre-existing conditions, I am always a bit less than “normal”.) I am also aware that the idea of running 3 miles or 25 minutes might be too much for even the healthiest “normal” person.

To address my concerns, I have decided that I will make a slight amendment to the rules and will speed-walk when my body feels that it needs to recover a bit. As the wider set of rules allows for a slight amount of flexibility (and this is a personal challenge, not a competition) I think that this change will be OK.

Anyhow, I am feeling quite excited about this return to activity. I am hoping that this helps to rebuild my strength as I close out the year so that I can start the New Year with a bit of power in my step.

Wish me luck!