It’s here! Today officially marks the first day of marathon training and I couldn’t be more excited! I took one day off between Medina training and Wineglass so I wouldn’t loose my endurance, but I have no concern that I’ll be burnt out anytime soon. And don’t worry, my recap on Medina is coming soon, be on the lookout for it later this week.

And now for the run down of what the next 18 weeks will bring. It’s going to be tough, but I think I’m ready than ever to get back on the 26.2 train.

Why run another marathon? Columbus will always have a place in my heart as my first marathon. Akron didn’t go as planned due to injury, but I know I can still do better than my original time for 26.2 miles. There’s no doubt that the half marathon is my favorite race, but I’m not quite ready to quit the marathon yet.

Why run Wineglass? When I was younger, my family would take vacation trips up to the Finger Lakes region of New York. From the Corning Glass Museum, to Watkins Glen, to the lakes, I always enjoyed the trips. When I started looking at half marathons for the 25 Challenge I saw Wineglass, but kept it on a list of “to run marathons”. Fast forward to late fall after I failed to run Akron, I started to stalk check on the Wineglass website until I finally hit register. I’m excited to go back to a place where I had so many fun childhood memories.

What will be different this training cycle? Having the support of MCRR all spring has helped tremendously with my training. Knowing that there will be a handful of us running Wineglass will only help with motivation. However, there are a few things that I’ve been experimenting with to help make this marathon cycle the best yet.

• Morning runs. The heat was tough last year when I ran after work, and sometimes almost too hot to be safe. This year I want to know I can run in the morning before work if the temperature will be too high or plans will cut into training. It won’t be easy, but I think it should help, I just may be in bed by 8pm every night.
• Trail running. I want to get into trail running more this summer and hopefully I can incorporate a bunch of this into my training cycle. Mixing up the terrain will do wonders for my legs and hopefully keep me injury free.
• Weekly track workouts. Last year I did track workouts every other or every three weeks. This time around, I’d like to do them every week to get my speed to where I want it to be. Not only will this help with the marathon, but it will help with my half PR as well.
• Run 4-5 times per week. It sounds simple enough, but I was pretty spot on with running 3-4 times a week with Medina, and never tried to run more than that. Part of it was due to schedule issues, and part of it was due to the fear of getting injured. Having a solid base already, I think this will be easy to accomplish, and help to get used to the higher mileage I’m about to dive into.
• Biking. I know, I know, I always say I’m going to, but with the summer upon us and easy access to paths and even streets, I have no excuse this time.
• Hills. The brutal winter kept me from tackling the amount of hills I wanted to run before Medina. Luckily I have a few major hills that I plan to do repeats on over the summer. I’m hoping to do hill repeats every two weeks.

What stays the same with this training cycle?

• Cross training. Starting tonight I’ll be back on schedule with my Body Fusion Class and plan to keep it up during the entire cycle. This class did wonders for me earlier in the year and I can’t wait to see the results from this summer.
• Healthier eating. Cutting down alcohol, increasing water intake, and watching my meals did wonders for my stomach this spring. I plan to follow the same guidelines, with some exceptions for special occasions.
• Running with MCRR. I pushed myself like no other this year because of this group and I plan to run with them as much as I can.
• Use races as training runs. I used a few races this year to push myself beyond my comfort point. I think this was one of the biggest reasons I was able to go sub 2. I hope to use half marathons along the way to gauge how my training is going.

I’m still learning what works and doesn’t work, and quite honestly, this training plan will be a learning experience for me. I’ve set a tentative training plan and hope to follow it the best I can, but most importantly I want to listen to my body and stay away from injury. The marathon is a beast, and one that I’m not too familiar with. I just hope I’ll be ready for it.

So there we have it, the plan, the changes, and using what works best for my body. It’s going to be an amazing 18 weeks, a life changing experience, but one thing is for sure….I can’t wait to line up for another chance at 26.2 miles!

 

Who else is running a fall marathon? What tips or training advice to you have?