Training

Running a Legacy

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I climbed the proverbial running ladder, if you will.

Climbed rung by rung, for real, from the ground up starting with week 1 day 1 on the Couch to 5K C25K program, after baby number 3.

I ran my first 5K race in March 2008.  I cried, thought my heart would burst; with pride, relief and thrill, and then went back to cheer for my hubby who was a few minutes behind me.

Next the 10K, ½ marathon, 20 miler and then the full….26.2 which seems insane but really it is always over by a bit in a race that is a Boston qualifying race to ensure it goes the distance.  I think my Garmin watch read 26.32 when I crossed the finish of my first full marathon in 2010.

But let’s back up a moment, I chose to run the Mankato Marathon, why? Because serendipitously the year of the first Mankato marathon was the same year that I had added running a full marathon to the years tasks.  Coincidence? I thought not.  So since 2010 I have run each year in the Mankato marathon, I even ran one other full marathon in 2011, but 2 in a year was too many.

My pact with myself was to keep running this marathon every year , “every year I’m shuffling” if I have to right?!  Well, this year my friend Kim that has run every year with me, is out with injury, and to be honest without the camaraderie I am not feeling it as much, plus as I posted in pickled, I am tapped out each day and have not run more than 10 miles since the Med City ½ marathon Memorial day weekend.  I was struggling trying to convince myself.

Then I get this email:

Good Morning Mankato Runner,

This is our official Mankato Marathon invite to welcome you back for 2013. We have exciting news as we have implemented a Legacy Program for those faithful marathoners who have been with us since our first Mankato Marathon race.

Starting in 2014, runners who have completed all five consecutive Mankato Marathons are eligible to be in the Mankato Marathon Legacy Runner program.  

Legacy Runners will receive a special, unique bib for the 2014 Mankato Marathon, have special acknowledgment in the 2014 Mankato Marathon Activities Guide and on the Mankato Marathon website, and acknowledgment at the 2014 Scheels and New Balance Sport and Health Expo. Runners will receive a unique clothing item as well.

To find out more information contact XXXXXXXX at  XXXXXXXX@mankatomarathon.com or to register http://mankatomarathon.com/races/full/. 

See you in a month!

Mankato Marathon Staff

 

It’s like they read my mind….I want to run every year…this year I need motivation…unique clothing item…I might be easily persuaded.

I have been motivaed, legacy…I mean really who ignores an invite a legacy club??!!  Not this girl, so I am going to run this race…I am fiercely self competitive, it will be frustrating for me to not be what I would deem “fully trained” for this race, but I am hoping my body will surprise me by showing me that not over training can be successful as well.

So give me a little mental what’s up on October 20th as I run in the small legacy club without my friend and minimal training! It will feel so great to cross that finish line regardless of the time on the clock.   Pre race jitters are all ready setting in!!

Du you want to join me?

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A dear friend of mine that I really do not get to see very often, but is my tried and true running partner, just asked me last week to join her in a Dualathon. I have done this race before in a partnership, I ran and a guy rode the bike part. We took 4th, not bad!

This friend of mine is going to “du” the whole race herself, would I like to join her. Of course I would I love a challenge, mind you I am just starting week 2 of Intermediate 1/2 marathon training, however the folks at Final Stretch, who do a fantastic job on the races they put together, kindly laid out a training plan. Which actually will force provide me the opputunity to cross train on a two wheeler.

Here is the training plan for a dualathon that is a 2mile run, 14 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I think these are great lengths for a beginning duathaloner.

fallsdutraining[1]

I really like to have a race planned for each month, sometimes if there are races locally that support a great cause as a family we will participate in more than one, but for now I am committed to:

April: Cannon Falls Duathalon

May: Med City 1/2 Marathon (and I will probably run the 5K the day before)

October: Mankato Full Marathon.

Looks like I need to find something for March still!

 

 

Marathon Training Tweak

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Sometimes I think the hardest part of training for a marathon is the mental aspect.  It is so easy to talk myself out of running or put it off for later in the day with all the other “tasks” that I need to accomplish.

I am not the type who can go off for a long run, 5 miles or more, without a course in mind or plotted out on mapmyrun.com.  This is for two reasons, one I want my  husband to have an idea of my route so he can bring me water or gels,  if it is a rural route, and if he worries he can check on me.  Two, I need to have an idea in my head of where I start, the path and where the end will be.  This route keeps me focused and gives me purpose beyond running.

Since I have 2 full marathons ahead of me this year I have been thinking about my training regime for these and I think I am going to tweak it a bit from last year.  Typically my training is run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, off  Thursday or X-train run Friday with my long run on Saturday,  Sunday is literally my day of rest…or laundry, cooking, and kid playing anything I may have put off on Saturday.

I found however, that this gets to be a lot of running and so I am brainstorming  a possible coup on the typical regime with a new plan that my go something like this…run Monday and Tuesday, weights Wednesday, a spinning or bike ride on Thursday,  Friday run and the long run still on Saturday, still Sunday being rest or even a yoga class.

First I think I will be less likely to tire of running especially since we are somewhat rural, the same paths do not offer much excitement, and I am really going to be in training mode through the second marathon in October.  Second, I think that with a bit more cross training I may be stronger in other areas and maybe run faster?!?!

So here would be a typical 5 run                           Here is what I am planning

training schedule for week one                             I will still hit my long run each

of  marathon training:                                               week but add more X-training:

Monday: 3 Miles                                                              Monday: 3 Miles

Tuesday: 4 Miles                                                              Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: 4 Miles                                                       Wednesday:Strength/Weights

Thursday:Off                                                                    Thursday:Spinning/Bike

Friday: 3 Miles                                                                   Friday:  3 Miles

Saturday: 6 Miles                                                              Saturday: 6 Miles

Sunday: Off                                                                            Sunday: Off/Yoga

So even though it looks like I may be working out more, I will have a diverse training schedule, which will keep me interested and also reduce my risk of injury.  I think this will also give me more schedule flexibility regarding weather and class availability, hitting those long runs on Saturday will still be most essential.

What does your training schedule look like? How about a favorite or essential cross training workout?

Training Tweak

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Sometimes I think the hardest part of training for a marathon is the mental aspect. It is so easy to talk myself out of running or put it off for later in the day with all the other “tasks” that I need to accomplish.

I am not the type who can go off for a long run, 5 miles or more, without a course in mind or plotted out on mapmyrun.com. This is for two reasons, one I want my husband to have an idea of my route so he can bring me water or gels, if it is a rural route, and if he worries he can check on me. Two, I need to have an idea in my head of where I start, the path and where the end will be. This route keeps me focused and gives me purpose beyond running.

Since I have 2 full marathons ahead of me this year I have been thinking about my training regime for these and I think I am going to tweak it a bit from last year. Typically my training is run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, off Thursday or X-train run Friday with my long run on Saturday, Sunday is literally my day of rest…or laundry, cooking, and kid playing anything I may have put off on Saturday.

I found however, that this gets to be a lot of running and so I am brainstorming a possible coup on the typical regime with a new plan that my go something like this…run Monday and Tuesday, weights Wednesday, a spinning or bike ride on Thursday, Friday run and the long run still on Saturday, still Sunday being rest or even a yoga class.

First I think I will be less likely to tire of running especially since we are somewhat rural, the same paths do not offer much excitement, and I am really going to be in training mode through the second marathon in October. Second, I think that with a bit more cross training I may be stronger in other areas and maybe run faster?!?!

So here would be a typical 5 run Here is what I am planning

training schedule for week one I will still hit my long run each

of marathon training: week but add more X-training:

Monday: 3 Miles Monday: 3 Miles

Tuesday: 4 Miles Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: 4 Miles Wednesday:Strength/Weights

Thursday:Off Thursday:Spinning/Bike

Friday: 3 Miles Friday: 3 Miles

Saturday: 6 Miles Saturday: 6 Miles

Sunday: Off Sunday: Off/Yoga

So even though it looks like I may be working out more, I will have a diverse training schedule, which will keep me interested and also reduce my risk of injury. I think this will also give me more schedule flexibility regarding weather and class availability, hitting those long runs on Saturday will still be most essential.

What does your training schedule look like? How about a favorite or essential cross training workout

Marathons on the Calendar

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I just signed up to run the Med City Marathon on May 29, 2011, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and the Mankato Marathon on October 22, 2011.

Both of these races will be paced by the Minnesota Pacers, already I am anxious. After running my first full marathon last October in the Mankato Marathon I know the time and effort that goes into training. There is no better feeling that crossing the finish line and knowing that all the effort was worth it…but 2…in one year. I am always trying to challenge myself so instead of making a pace goal I made another race goal. To complete 2 full marathons this year. It will take an immense amount of training. I will post my training plan for the Med City as soon as I get it planned out.

In between marathons I will continue a race per month but probably no more than a 1/2 marathon. Not sure what the training will look like in between also, I may focus more on cross training and maintain one long run per week.