5, 10, 15...All in Three Months

If you haven't figured that out...i meant 5k, 10k and 15k...the distances I've covered since I started running. And say I must..they are indeed doable in a matter of 3 months of training.  This is such a cliche but... I never thought it can be done...more so, I never thought I can do it but I DID! Thanks to the Galloway Run-Walk method we're following under the Dream Marathon training.  It's simple...you don't have to run all the way. You run for 4 minutes then walk for 1 minute. Then run again then walk. 4/1 style! Walk breaks help minimize fatigue and injury. Also, you don't need to overtrain yourself.  Even if you're a busy person (like me), all you have to commit to are the Long Runs every weekend (with increasing time goal) and Two Maintenance Runs (45-60 minutes) during weekdays. That's pretty much my training program.

It's only after I registered for the Dream Marathon that I started training. The first Bull Session (the term for training Dream Marathoners) commenced last October 23 with a short talk by Coach Lit Onrubia.  Afterwhich, we dream marathoners got our first taste of Chi Walking and Chi Running.

A month after that, on November 21, I ran my first race...my first 5k in Unilab's Run United 2.  Here's my first running victory moment (courtesy of PhotoVendo)...

After one more 5k race (Nike Run), I already ran my first 10k during the Mighty Bond Xtreme Run in Ortigas last December and another 10k during the Run for Love, Run for Life Race in Alabang last January 8.  Here's my friend Trish, who, like me, never ran before registering for the Dream Marathon.  But we did register and together we'll cross our first marathon finish line on March...

It was only last Saturday, January 22, did I run my first 15k at the Bull Session's training.  It felt sooo good, not to mention, empowering.  Now, I still can't imagine I'm running 42k on March but hey, this was the same feeling I had when I ran my first 5k.  I can't imagine two more 5k loops then but now, I've reached that goal...running 15k.  So really, even if it still sounds unimaginable for me now, I'll run that 42k anyway.