Training Update

Mmm, Thursday: Over the hump and marching valiantly toward the weekend!

Okay, so I technically can’t really complain about this week. I had a good race on Sunday, went to a Nationals game on Monday for a dollar (yep, a dollar!), and had a really great run during Fleet Feet Ladies Night. And, after? I plopped on my couch with a black bean burger and a beer to watch the second half of the Women’s National Soccer Team friendly against Japan. And, it was good.

Today's exciting news – well, exciting to me because I think that spreadsheets are fun – is that I started drafting my training plan for my fall races. Honestly, it was time to start planning. Since I signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon, I've been thinking about my training a lot -- my goals for my fall races, my strategies to avoid burnout, deciding between a July or August start -- and I needed to get my thoughts on paper. So, last night, I fired up Excel and created a shell for my training plan. Then, I start to figure out my plans for my long runs -- starting at 10 miles and hitting 22 miles three weeks before the marathon. (As with my Baltimore training, I'll be increasing my long runs by two miles every two weeks.)

I need to decide how many times during the week I should/want to run. Last year, I ran five days each week. It was a lot, but I wanted to make sure that I could finish the race. This year, I'm considering running three or four times per week and adding more strength training to my schedule. The goal for Philly is to finish and finish faster than my performance in Baltimore.

Thinking about my race and training schedule, I think I’ll be a much happier person if I drop down to three long races this fall instead of my planned four. October and November are booked, so I need to pick a race for September. I worked in the Parks Half-Marathon into my training schedule but Virginia Beach would also be a fantastic choice – and I’d get to lounge around on a beach during Labor Day weekend.

We'll see! For now, I'll focus on finishing my training plan.