First-time marathoner excited, nervous
By Brett Turner
Skywrighter Staff, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Editor's Note: The following is the first in a series of articles following the training of a first-time runner in the Air Force Marathon . Skywrighter will follow her progress over the next two months.
Certain athletic people are always looking for their next challenge. First Lt. Lisa Heitman found hers along the way.
The acquisition intelligence analyst for the Air Force Materiel Command Intelligence Division set out on a quest recently to run the 26.2 mile-race at Sept. 17's Air Force Marathon.
"I've always wanted to see if I could do it," Heitman said.
Already required to run as part of her Air Force physical training, she said this seemed like the next logical step - make that several steps. Heitman said her prior running experience was pretty limited, having run cross country in high school.
Already and acknowledged fitness buff, the lieutenant can be found at base gyms nearly every day. She does water aerobics, step aerobics, boot camp aerobics and spinning among other things.
"If it's a class, I've taken it," Heitman said, laughing. "Everybody in my office makes fun of me, saying 'she's off to the gym again.'"
Being cardio fit, she is adjusting to accommodate running.
She got her first taste of distance running in 2003 at a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in Wisconsin . She tried it again in May at Cincinnati 's Flying Pg Marathon and that clinched her decision to go the full distance in September.
Heitman began a loose training schedule based on information she'd gotten out of running magazines. She normally does short runs during the week and longer ones weekends.
Not wanting to miss out on her other athletic activities, Heitman said she often rises very early to get in mileage. Sleep is what she has to sacrifice at times to pack everything in.
Though this will be her first Air Force Marathon, Heitman got a taste if the event last year. She volunteered with package pick-up at the expo last year and cheered on a friend near the finish line on race day.
"I didn't get to do the half-marathon last year, but I wanted to," she said. "I couldn't train because I was TDY."
She's set a goal of completing the 26.2 mile race in four hours 30 minutes, which will give her about a 10-minute pace per mile. She did a 2:10 in the Flying Pig Marathon.
She admits the 15 miles or so she's putting in will need to go up soon, but said she will approach the next eight weeks of training with a mix of a little intimidation and a lot of enthusiasm. Once Sept. 18 arrives, she said she'll likely look back on it with fond memories.
"It's always hard to do your first time anything like this," she said. "I'm excited, but nervous. I need to kick up my training."