She is at it again!

Like childbirth pain, marathon training torture is quickly forgotten. A few short months after the "why do I keep doing this to myself?" reality check, we start getting itchy and looking around for the next event. At the time we sign up we are so stoked and filled with images of muscular legs crossing through the finish line, that we forget how much discipline, dedication, and sacrifice training really is. Sigh.

I'm running the Santa Barbara International marathon on November 8th. I started my official training 5 weeks ago and this weekend I ran 13 miles. Half way right? I wish. This is just the beginning. From here on it gets tough, very tough. Unfortunately I'm not one of those incredible people who wing marathons. I believe in hard core training. And it's not just the weekend long runs. This is what my weekly workouts look like:

Monday: 5 x 800 (800 meters ran one minute faster than race pace which for me is 7:20 minute miles) plus strength training.
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: 40 minute tempo run (in a tempo run one increases speed gradually until reaching close to 800m pace and then gradually decreases it back to starting) plus strength training
Thursday: Off (yay!)
Friday: 6 miles race pace
Saturday: 13 miles
Sunday: 4 mile run plus yoga

Mileage and intensity increases weekly. I haven't been able to do hill work but I will need to add that too. This week my body felt tired, very tired. I napped almost everyday (thank God for Summer vacation!). I'm also sleeping more at night which helps my body recover. I'm more focused on nutrition, getting proper fuel pre and post workouts and making sure I hydrate enough. All the while I'm working to lose 9lbs (I've already lost 9!). And it's tough eating less when I'm exercising more. I'm also more mindful of my alcohol consumption, especially before my runs. I'm committing myself to this training so I want to do the very best I can.

I will be reporting on my weekly runs for those who care to follow. I'm currently working on 2 major goals:

1) increase speed (hence all the speed work and the weight loss goal)
2) remain injury free

This is currently my favorite post long run snack. Happy weekend everyone!




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