So I have done several races this year so far, 2 half marathons, a 30K, a 10K and a 5K, all very close together with the half being last. After having not too great of a run at the race I thought I did too many too close for me. I took some time off but got right back into it again. My new goal race? The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. That is right, I am running a FULL marathon!!! Who would have thought I would be here after starting that Couch to 5K program. I still can’t believe it myself.
My marathon plan – I have decided to follow the Running Room’s full marathon plan using the schedule for a 4:15 finish as a guide for my training paces. I am not saying I am going to run a marathon in 4:15 but as for training, I feel all these paces are quite comfortable for me. I have also decided to go with 10’s and 1’s for the marathon and thus will be doing all my long runs with 10’s and 1’s. While I usually run steady, I feel, for me, the marathon will seem less daunting knowing that I only have to run 10 minutes at a time before I can walk again. I have already started training for this race and am now on week 2. On top of this race I have also registered for the Midsummer Night’s Run in August. Another 30K. Wow that gives me a lot of mileage in races this year :)
I have seen such change and improvement in how I run and my pace from day 1 until now. Naturally. I am, though, looking for ways to step up my game and help me get quicker. I have decided that cross training is key. Even though I always say I need to cross train, I actually need to kick it into place! My husband has gotten into cycling and friends of ours have gotten into it as well. I always stood back and said, no, cycling is not for me. I was starting to feel left out. Until I bought a road bike of my own. I picked it up on Friday. A Trek Lexa S. I had them put green tape on the handle bars to add a little oomph.
The stock photo
My bike
The marathon plan had me running 5 days a week. Right away I knocked one day off because with work, 2 toddlers, a husband and life…I don’t have time to run 5 days a week. So now I am down to 4 days. The bike is going to add some great cross training I feel and my goal there is to add 2 days of cycling. I am thinking the first will be an active recovery day of cycling following my long run and the second can be on my easy 6K days with the run being a brick run after cycling. On top of this I will be doing Pilates at work. I feel pretty good with how this training looks as I think I will be able to manage this (also doing one of my runs at work as well). Now if I can just get used to breathing in this humidity again.
