Tag Archives: training plan

Spring Changes!

Hello all – happy spring…err or maybe summer? It’s supposed to hit almost 80 degrees this week. Kind of crazy for March.

But, I will NOT complain about warm weather while in the midst of marathon training. That would be absurd. I will simply say, thank you, thank you, thank you – over and over again.

Before I get into a marathon training update, I’ll explain why I’ve been gone again. There were some major changes in my life. I started a new job a little over two weeks ago – and as you can imagine – that was a pretty big deal. I had been at my last job for almost three years, but an amazing opportunity came along at an organization I REALLY love, and a position that basically rocks. After a lot of hemming and hawing, and talking over the pros and cons with my husband and family, I finally accepted the job and gave my notice.

I’m not exactly what you would call good with change. I like my routines, my schedules, knowing what’s going on, etc. So starting a new job was somewhat stressful and a big adjustment. Hence, the blogging fell to the bottom of the list. But I’ve still been reading and running, so now I’ll try to catch up. Last thing I want to say on the job front is that I’m VERY happy with the decision I made. I know it’s only been a few weeks and I still have a lot of learning to do, but so far this has been a great change! And I want to thank my husband, my friends and my family for all supporting me in making this decision, and listening to me go on and on questioning my choice. It was the right one!

And Now Onto Running
On the running front, things have been progressing. I won’t lie and say that I’ve stuck to my training plan 100%. I’m currently at around 215 miles in week 9 of my training plan. There have only been two weeks where I did NOT reach my weekly mileage goal. The first was due to illness and the second was due to St. Patrick’s day. I just completely messed up my schedule last week and left too much running to happen on the weekend, and then of course I was exhausted. But we had fun!

We hit the parade and then enjoyed a full day out in NYC – so running was kind of forgotten.

But I am trying to get back to the plan this week.  I ran 7 miles on Tuesday and 4 miles this morning. I have a 7 miler planned for tomorrow, 3 miles on Friday, and then a lovely 17 miles on the schedule for Saturday. Of course, it’s supposed to rain this weekend – the only rainy days this week.  I’m hoping the Saturday forecast might be a little wrong and some of the nice Friday weather will hold on until Saturday.

All in all, I am feeling a little bit better running-wise. My legs are finally losing their lead and I am getting back some of my speed. It’s still not feeling easy or as easy as it has been in the past, but I’m hoping I’m getting there. Hubby’s training is also going very well. He is running four days a week and has been following his plan pretty closely too. I’m hoping we’ll both have a great race on May 27!!

How are you enjoying this spring weather? Have you changed jobs in the past year – did it stress you out a lil bit? Who’s running a spring marathon – how is training going?!!

Have a great Wednesday all!

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And I’m (We’re) Back!!

Hello 2012, hello blog world! Wowza, I’ve been gone for a while. Okay, it’s quite obvious by now that I’m a fickle blogger. But something about starting to train for another marathon gets me back in blogger mode. I think it’s partially to help me stay on track, and also because I like being able to look back on all my training.

So as you may have already guessed, I’ve got another marathon coming up. If that wasn’t good news enough…my husband is also running it!! Hurray! This is going to be the best race ever.

Of course, I probably won’t spend more than 2-3 minutes actually running with him during the marathon because he’s so speedy. But at least we’ll get to run some training runs together, start together, and meet at the finish.

The Race
So what race are we running? The Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont.

It’s taking place on May 27, 2012 (Memorial Day Weekend). We’ve heard some really great things about this race, how scenic it is, generally flat, and overall lots of fun. We booked a hotel about a block from the start/finish, so hopefully the logistics will be easy and smooth.

Another great thing about this race is that my husband is raising money for a charity through his training efforts. He set up the whole charity page and all the details himself, and I’m really proud of his efforts. It will make running his first marathon even more special for him.

So, if anyone is looking for a spring marathon – you should sign up! We just completed our first official week of training. We are doing a 16-week training plan. Here’s what the first week looked like:

Monday: 3 miles on the treadmill
Tuesday: 4.5 miles outside in the morning (I know crazy!!)
Wednesday: 5 miles after work outside with Hubby
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 3 easy miles outside after work
Saturday: 9.25 miles in Central Park in 45-degree weather (nice!)
Sunday: Will be  a rest day
Total: 24.75 miles

Not too shabby for the first week. Hopefully I can stay on track for the next 15 weeks! Now it’s time to clean a bit, get a hair cut, download my next book club book (and maybe start it), and then hopefully have a nice date night with the Hubby tonight – dinner and movie! Hope you all have a great weekend and get out to enjoy the sun!

Marathon Decision, Book Review…FRIDAY!

Good morning all!  Happy Friday!!

So it’s time to announce my big Marathon Decision for 2010. Here it is:

I’ve decided to run the Pocono Mountain Run for Red Marathon on Sunday, May 16, 2010. I made my decision based on several factors and I thank everyone so much for all the feedback and suggestions yesterday. I tried to take everything into account. Here is why I’ve decided to run it:

  • I’ve got two half marathon races in the next few months and I plan to add a few more road races to the list, so I think this will help increase my speed and endurance.
  • I don’t enjoy training and doing long runs in the peak heat of summer (July and August), so hopefully I’ll feel great during my longs runs in March and April.
  • If I don’t qualify for Boston this May, I would still have time to try in the fall of 2010.   
  • We’re planning a trip to Ireland in the fall and I know that it would put a hitch in my fall training. I definitely wouldn’t have enough time to run while in Ireland since we’ll be on the go and sightseeing the entire time.
  • I feel confident that I can increase my speed significantly in the 18 weeks I have for training and have already outlined a training plan.

So there’s my reasoning, now here’s my training plan – I’ve already started!

View my Poconos Marathon Plan in PDF version – I know the image above it pretty terrible. I’m also going to be incorporating some hills, tempo runs and mile reps in the training runs outlined above – I just haven’t decided exactly where yet. I should note that I used Hal Higdon’s Intermediate Marathon Plan as a guide for my training plan.

I feel very relieved that my decision has been made and my training has started! No turning back now. Thanks again for sharing your opinions and thoughts!

And I welcome any suggestions, tips, hints for running faster that anyone has to offer! Do you have any advice to share with me?

Book Review

Finally, before I get into my eats, I have to let you know that I posted my book review for The Weight of Silence. Check it out! Now on to eats:

Yesterday’s breakfast was a honey wheat double fiber English muffin with peanut butter on one side and almond butter on the other, topped with banana. And of course, a side of light cranberry juice.

Lunch was some leftover spinach gnocchi – yummy yum – and some carrots.

My late afternoon snack was some black cherry Stonyfield yogurt with granola.

Dinner was kind of a mish mash. I cooked 4 baby red potatoes in olive oil and lemon juice for a bit, then added chopped up green pepper, onion and garlic and some butter. While that cooked, I microwaved three veggie sausage links. Then I added them to the mix when everything was just about ready. It was soo good – the lemon really gave it a kick.

Dessert was a few of these again…

After dinner I watched the new episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” and I have to say, I’m just not as into it as I used to be. I did watch part of the cross-over episode to “Private Practice”, but then I gave up and read more of my new book instead:

My friend Katie recommended this book , The Historian, after I finished the Twilight series and was on a vampire kick. However, I didn’t get around to reading it until now. And so far I am loving it. I was so into it on the train ride home last night that I almost missed my stop.

I’m so excited for this weekened! I’ve got my friend Kelly’s bachelorette party tomorrow at Foxwoods Casino in CT and I can’t wait! Do you have any fun plans for this weekend? I’m also going to work in 2 runs hopefully – the weather is supposed to pretty warm!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend all!