Training For My First Marathon

My personal bucket list has included running a marathon, and since I'm not get any younger I signed up (along with my friend Stacey).  I've been training for this event for MONTHS but I did not dare post because when I started training I wasn't sure physically I'd be able to run 26.2 hilly miles.  But less than a month away, I'm fairly confident I can do it.  And let me tell you, I'm a citizen athlete and this is a really big freaking deal for me.

Found this on Facebook and found it quite appropriate

Below you will find a sample of my weekly training plan, but what I've found is that running 3 days a week and biking or yoga the other days has left me feeling physically better than I have in a long time (don't want to gooch myself - but I'm feeling fantastic unless there's heat involved). 

I'm no expert but here's MY TRAINING LESSONS:

1.  Hydration

What I've learned this year is that I need to drink 10 glasses of water the day before my long run, and by drinking Gatorade or Nun during my run I feel properly hydrated.  If I start with a hydration deficit, I've learned that the run will be difficult or impossible.  Before my long runs I also eat 1 tablespoon of chia seeds which helps maintain blood sugar and helps maintain hydration.

2.  Eating

Sharkies Organic Chewies works best for me during a long run and I eat after the first hour and every 1/2 hour thereafter and this works great for me.

3.  Running with friends

Without the support of my running friends this race would not be possible.  Running friends have tagged along with me on these long runs, shuttled cars, brought extra water so I wouldn't have to carry so much, provided encouragement and their support has been invaluable.  Having company when you are out there running a trail for hours is absolutely critical for my success.  Usually by about mile 10 I'm not very talkative so I'm probably not the best company but I'm forever grateful (you know who you are).

4.  Sign up

I've said this before, but once you sign up for a race you are committed to follow a training plan - trust me, this works.   Luckily, my friend Stacey signed up for the race too so we've been following the same plan.   

5.  Anything is possible

My Spring workout schedule was very strange for me this year.  Normally, I transition from the Birkie ski race right into running and biking, but we had snow into May this year so I didn't start running until the 3rd week in May.  When I started running, I had to stop and walk during a 5 mile flat run with friends.  Thursday, I ran an 18 miler on the hilly Birkie trail.  Goes to show you, that if you follow a training plan anything is possible.  Honestly, up until recently I've said, "I could never run a marathon" and really believed it - but here I am!!

6.  Marathon training takes a lot of time

On the days of my long run, I can't help but feel a little guilty because the entire day is pretty much a "me day".  I'll spend hours running and many days when I get home I'm not exactly energetic.  I purposely have NOTHING planned the days of my long runs, because mentally when I'm running long I like to know that I have the freedom to go home and nap if I need to.   Mentally this is an important part of the process for me.

7.  Running in the heat is hard

Out of all my long runs, I've had 2 really ugly runs.  Both of them included high heat, humidity and massive amount of bugs.  On those 2 days, I seriously questioned whether or not I could run a marathon but on both of those days the humidity was at 90% and apparently that's a problem for me.  Lesson learned.  My 1 hour run today at 77 degrees was almost harder than my 18 mile run on Thursday at 45 degrees.  Isn't that crazy? 

8.  Hills

As I've mentioned before, the Birkie trail is a very hilly course but one thing that has helped me has been to keep my head up by looking up the hill (your head weighs 10 pounds), keep your butt in (pelvis up), and swing your arms completely parallel to your body.  Once I get tired, the super steep hills start feeling like I'm leg pressing 130 pounds and my thighs burn but by keeping my head up, swinging my arms and tilting my pelvis in it helps a bit.  Sounds fun, huh?

THIS WEEKS PLAN:

Sunday:  Run 6 - 7 miles
Monday:  Yoga - 1 hour
Tuesday:  Rest
Wednesday:  Run 20 miles (Gravel Pit to Telemark on the Birkie)
Thursday:  Rest
Friday:  Run 8 miles
Saturday:  Bike for 1 1/2 hours

Other than Wednesday, the plan is not really that bad and I've worked up to the long runs over the past few months.  Trust me, if I can do this anyone can. 

Thanks Honest Tea for the great reminder

Physically this will be challenging, but my biggest anxiety lies in the cut-off times.  Unfortunately, the cut-off times mean I'm going to have to hustle.  And, I've been telling myself if by chance I don't make the cut-offs, I know that I've followed the training plan and given it my best effort.   Hopefully I'll have a successful MARATHON post in less than a month!

And on a another note, I took the kids to Chicago to do all the touristy things you do in Chicago and we had the best time ever.  Once we got back, I asked the kids the highlights:  Gustaf said he loved the subway, Greta loved to watch the fashions, and Graham loved the Shedd Aquarium.  Chad had to work so he missed it this time, but we hope to get back soon.  We stayed at the amazing Silversmith Hotel in downtown because I found a screaming deal from Groupon.  

Chicago 2013 - EXTREME HAPPINESS RIGHT HERE!!!!

Have you taken a summer vacation yet?  What lessons have learned this training season?

Thanks for reading!

Kristin