Monday, January 24, 2011

My First Marathon – Jenna

My name is Jenna Zaffini and I am a Clinical Exercise Physiologist at Newton-Wellesley on 3N in Cardiology. The Boston Marathon 2011 will be my first marathon! I have run a few half marathons, 10Ks and other smaller races over the past seven years, when I began running, and decided now that college is behind me, I have more time to dedicate to hitting the pavement. I began running in college as a way to stay in shape and relieve stress, and am now quite addicted.

As a native Bostonian, I chose the Boston Marathon as my first 26.2 miler because the course runs by my apartment in the Back Bay, and after volunteering with the John Hancock Elite Athletes for a few years, I have developed a great appreciation for the race and those who have conquered it. During the week, I will be doing my shorter to moderate length runs in and around Boston with friends who are also running the marathon, and will be doing my long runs on Sundays with the L Street running club, who I have recently joined. Even just among these first few weeks, I can tell that I am going to have to adjust my evenings not only to allot for more time to run, but also sleep and relax, things I am sure I will come to appreciate more and more as training progresses.

The thing I am most concerned about running the marathon is making sure I am keeping up with my health as mileage progress, including making sure I am hydrating properly, sleeping enough and relaxing enough as to not get warn down. Although the weather has proved challenging so far, I am excited for the next few months, increasing my mileage, and conquering one of the toughest marathons courses in the country.

No comments: