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After the 2000 Summer Olympics, I came to the realization that at the age of 52, if I
ever wanted to participate in an athletic event like a marathon, I had better get started. I
joined the Aspen Hill Health Club to start toning up and loosing weight in preparation for
running a marathon. I had no idea about what marathon I would run, just that I needed to
start preparing for one. My trainer at Aspen Hill, suggested that I start with just a
cardiovascular workout for a month and after that we would add some weight training. When I
started my workouts, I weighed 215 pounds and was definitely out of shape. I started my
exercise program by splitting my workout between a cross-trainer (15-20 minutes) and a
treadmill (40-45 minutes). My initial cross-trainer difficulty setting was 5 (out of 20) and
I ran 1.9 miles. On the treadmill, my initial speed was 3.7 miles per hour and I ran 1.25
miles. In December 2000, weight training was added to my exercise routine. My weight
training included 11 pieces of equipment for legs, arms, back, and abdominal muscles. The
initial exercise routine was to perform 2 sets of 12 repetitions on each piece of equipment.
In February 2001, I saw an advertisement for the AIDS Marathon Training program. Choosing to
participate in the AIDS Marathon was easy when I saw that it was for a great cause and it came
with a training program. The AIDS Marathon training program started in May, 2001 and required
three runs a week. Two of the runs were on my own and must be for a minimum of 30 minutes.
The third run was with my AIDS Marathon pace group and was held on
the weekends. The pace group runs started at a length of 3 miles and went up to a full length
marathon trial of 26.2 miles.
I ran the AIDS Marathon in Dublin, Ireland in 2001 and the Marine Corps Marathon last three
years. I ran the DC marathon in March, 2002. I have signed up for the AIDS Marathon Training
Program again and hope to maintain my pace of 12.5 minutes per mile. This year I am performing
my weight training on the same days as my two maintenance runs. For each weight training session
I perform, I lift over 38,000 pounds. Each year I run more than 500 miles during the training
for the AIDS Marathon. I do keep a record of my training progress and will provide more of it
as time permits. Here is a quick summary of my current status for the 2005 AIDS Marathon:
- The longest distance run in one workout is 10 miles
- My weights routine is up to 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- The heaviest weight I lift is 310 pounds
- My current weight is 208 pounds
- I am running at a pace of 4.7 miles per hour on the treadmill
- The weekly distance I run in training is 10 miles
- The AIDS Marathon Training Program starts on May 1, 2005 (I am a Sunday runner).
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