is a great base, especially if our intention is to walk much of the course. Now you can start adding in cross-training—hiking, cycling, weight lifting, et cetera—a few times a week.”
“I’m going to have trouble finding time for that.” Angela chewed her lip as she wrote in her notebook. “I’ll squeeze it in when I can, I guess.”
According to Angela, she had a long way to go. Would she be able to push herself enough alone? “I’m more than happy to come train with you after work. My schedule’s fairly flexible.” She could cut back hours at the heart center if she needed to. Her coworkers would probably throw a party in celebration of the occasion.
“Sure, maybe.” Angela focused on Marc. “So how much do we need to work up to?”
“Ideally, each week you’ll have two days of cross-training, two days when you walk or jog six to twelve miles, and one big day when you eventually walk or jog twenty to forty miles.”
Angela choked mid-drink and dribbled coffee on the table in front of her.
“You all right?” Eva handed her a napkin.
“Yeah. Sure.” Her sister-in-law’s reply sputtered out like her coffee had. She avoided eye contact with Eva and Marc as she wiped up the mess.
“I know it sounds overwhelming, but we are already behind. Most people recommend training for seven to eight months. We have to build endurance, enough to walk consistently day after day, mile after mile. Of course, on that long training day, we can start out with shorter distances and work our way up. So a base of ten miles would be good, then add on two to three miles a week to give our bodies time to adjust and strengthen.” He turned to Eva. “If you want, I have a buddy who specializes in this type of personal training. I can ask him to draw up a detailed plan for each of us to follow and see if he has time to work with us weekly as well.”
“Great idea.”
“I can’t afford to pay him,” Angela said.
“I’ve got it covered.” Eva smiled.
“I don’t think we should add on any unnecessary costs at this point.” Her sister-in-law’s voice tensed.
Eva didn’t want to rock the boat, so she held in a sigh of exasperation. “Well, even if he just creates a training plan, that would be pretty helpful.”
Marc’s eyes ping-ponged between the two women. “Agreed. I think it’s something simple we can do to lessen our disadvantage. It’s too bad we can’t go out to New Zealand early. The terrain there won’t be all flat like it is here, so getting to practice in the actual race environment would be a great advantage.” He snapped his fingers as if an idea had just come to him. “Oh, another advantage . . . Maybe we can participate in a marathon a couple of months before the ultra. That would give us a smaller goal to train for and help us gauge how well we’re doing, which would allow us to adjust our training if need be.”
“Brilliant.” Eva clapped.
“I guess . . .” Jaw tight, Angela stared down at her notebook.
A single word written on the page glared up at Eva: How?
It had been circled so many times, it appeared a thick Sharpie had made the marks instead of a regular pen.
Doubts crashed into Eva’s resolve, but she tamped them down. Impulsive or not, this decision felt right deep in her bones. Sure, it would come with challenges, but what didn’t?
The next several months would be a test in patience and staying the course. If Eva didn’t remain confident, Angela never would.
But in the end, all of this angst would be worth it. Eva just knew it.
8
The first day of training dawned bright and cheery.
Angela was not amused by nature’s attempt at convincing her this was a good idea.
Light filtered through the trees of Central Park where she waited for Eva and Marc near the reservoir. The nearly one hundred acres of water stretched across the park, granting gorgeous views of the city skyline beyond the four-foot-high fence with cast-iron ornamentation that wrapped along the path.
The air still shimmered with a crispness common in the not-quite-but-almost-autumn mornings. Though it was early and a Sunday, lots of joggers and walkers passed Angela on the running track. Each one appeared relaxed, happy, self-assured.
If Angela reached deep into her memory, she could almost conjure the ghost of those feelings associated with running.