Remember this post "I Need Goals!"? Well today is the day! I figured out what my new goal will be. Well, I didn't necessarily figure it out. Someone else did that for me. I won't mention any particular "female runner cousin's" name. Just say, I'm not sure how a conversation that starts out "Are you doing the Air Force half marathon?" turns into this "Screw it, let's do a marathon."
Long story short, I am now registered for my first ever, official full marathon. You know, the one that is twice the distance of the longest distance I've ever ran in my life, 26.2 miles. I commenced harassment about her training efforts just a few short hours after we registered. Via text, I told her "Yes, I'm starting the harassment already. You got me into this, I'm going to hopefully get us out of this alive."
Thankfully, I've got a decent (please note I said decent, not fast) running base under my belt from my recent efforts. No, you can't prove this by my Daily Mile log. I'm almost, but not as bad, of neglecting my Daily Mile account as I am about my blogging efforts. Seriously though, I promise I've ran more than I've logged. I swear!
With that being said, I'm seriously considering using Train Like A Mother's The Marathon: Own It training plan. It's a tad more ambitious than their The Marathon: Finish it training plan, but I figure if I have higher goals initially, I could always adjust accordingly if I've discovered I've gotten myself in over my head. There is absolutely no need to hurt myself unnecessarily. I like me! That and my children prefer me alive.....I think. They always need money and food.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I need to incorporate/modify some serious cycling into any training plan I finally decide to use. I've got the R.A.I.N. Ride, a 160 mile, 1 day ride in July and possibly the Hilly Hundred a 100 mile, 2 day, excessively hilly ride in October. Any tips on modifying a running training plan for cycling is extremely appreciated. Any tips, period, on how to survive training for 26.2 miles and not dream of seriously harming any unmentioned "female runner cousin" is absolutely welcome.
My suggestion to balance the biking and the running is to look for an Ironman training plan - Don Fink's book "Be IronFit" is the Bible I use (although 2peak.com, Matt Fitzgerald, and Mark Allen's plans are all good too). Simply follow the bicycle and running plans, while skipping the swim workouts!
ReplyDeleteCaptain Chas, Thanks for the suggestion! I'll go check that out now. I'm hoping I can find it on Amazon for my Kindle phone App.
ReplyDeleteMom Runs Faster Than Dad (Christina)