Marathon Training Chronicles- Installment 1

Up until last year I had no interest in running a marathon. Even though I’ve been a runner for a long time, “run a marathon” never made it’s way to my to do list. I was happy doing 5ks, 15ks, or even the occasional half marathon. Last year I ran nine races- which is far more than I’ve ever run in any given calendar year. I did 4- 5ks, 1- 4k, 1- 10k, 1- 15k, and 2 half marathons. It. Was. Awesome.

And while I trained for my first half marathon of the year, my boyfriend was training for his first full marathon. It gave me the itch, seeing him run 16 miles or 19 miles on a Saturday morning. I decided I would add a full marathon to my list… in a couple of years. But then race day came. I finished my half marathon in 1 hour 51 mins and blah blah seconds and then I waited. And as I waited, for 2+ hours, seeing the marathon runners cross the finish line with tears of joy, accomplishment, and probably pain, I decided I was going to run a marathon in 2022.

So here I am on January 3rd. All signed up for The Long Island Marathon on Sunday, May 1st.

And I’m scared shitless.

But I’ll be fine. Because I am always am. I have a plan. And I am pretty dynamite at executing plans so I’m not concerned because if things go awry, I’ll still find a way to make it work.

In a perfect world, my training would consist of 3-4 days of running per week, along with 2 days of strength training, 1 day or cross training and 1 day or rest.

But I don’t live in a perfect world. I have 2 kids that I can’t leave at home alone yet. So I have to get a little creative with when I run by asking for help, making the most out of nights there kids are with their dad or sleepint at grandpa’s house.