Fitness Bucket List!

Today Kristina over at Blog About Running put up a post about her Running Bucket List. I thought this was a neat idea, so I decided to make my own Bucket List. Mine also includes items about triathlons and other random fitness things, so I'm calling it a Fitness Bucket List.

• Run a marathon: This will be happening in October at the Chicago Marathon

The start of the Chicago Marathon in 2015

• Sub 2 hour half marathon: Hopefully this will happen soon. My current PR is 2:02:42, so I'm not too far off. 

• Volunteer at an ultramarathon: Since I have been listening to the Ten Junk Miles podcast, I have learned a lot about ultramarathons. They actually sound like a lot of fun! I don't necessarily think that I want to run one, but I'd like to be a part of the atmosphere. One way to do this would be to volunteer to help out!

• Win my age group in a triathlon: I have been steadily getting better at triathlons, and I think I am capable of being competitive in the sport. Most likely, this will happen at a sprint triathlon.

• Complete an Olympic Triathlon: I have done several sprint triathlons, but I'd like to start increasing the distance that I'm capable of completing. I think I am probably in shape to do an Olympic Tri; I just need to overcome the mental barrier. :)

• Complete a Half Ironman: I am not sure if I will ever do a full Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), but I think I am capable of a Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). I am thinking that since I am focusing on running this year (training for the marathon), I may switch my focus to the triathlon next year.

• Become a Certified Personal Trainer: In the fall at the co-rec at Purdue, the ACE Personal Training Prep Course is offered. The course is free, so you only have to pay to take the test at the end of the course. I wanted to do this last fall, but I had a conflict with another class I was taking. I'd like to make it a priority this fall, not because I'm necessarily interested in being a Personal Trainer (although I do think it'd be interest), but mostly because I want to learn more about fitness.

I think those are the main things on my Fitness Bucket List at the moment. I have done some cool things that would be on my bucket list if I hadn't already done them.

• Complete a Half Marathon: I used to hate running, and I would have never guessed that I would do a half marathon. I was so nervous prior to the run, and until it was over, I wasn't sure I could do it. 

Nervous (and cold) before my first half marathon

• Ragnar Race: I participated in the Chicago Ragnar Relay in the Summer of 2013 and had a ton of fun. It was a little stressful getting everything ready for the race (reserving vans, finding 12 people for a team, planning out food, etc), but we had a blast. I am doing a Ragnar Trail Half in September of this year, and I think that will also be a ton of fun!

Our Ragnar Team

I suppose there are other things that I have done that were Bucket List worthy, but those are the two main ones that stand out. I am excited to continue to improve my fitness levels, and to keep trying out new experiences. :)

What are some things on your running/fitness bucket list?
What cool events have you done that I should add to my bucket list? :)

Marathon Monday: Week 3 was good for me!

Week 3 of the marathon plan seemed to fly right by! The way this plan is structured is to have 2 higher-mileage weeks followed by a lower-mileage week for recovery. This week my mileage was a little lower than the first two which let me have a nice 'break' before I start building up again next week.

On Monday Dustin said he was going to go swimming at lunch time, and asked if I wanted to join him. I haven't been swimming regularly since the school year ended, so I was happy to get into water. I ended up swimming just over a mile (1650 meters) which felt really good.

Tuesday I had three miles on the schedule. Dustin has been trying to get back into running, and before I was even awake he was off to run! This was a good thing because it motivated me to get up and going--I never run in the morning, but I would like to so I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the day. When I finally got outside and was ready to go, he got back from his run.

Me (prerun) and Dustin (postrun)

The beginning of the run was really tough. It felt like my body was still waking up and my legs felt super stiff. After about a half mile though, I was happy to be out running, and the rest of the run went well. I finished 3.1 miles at a 9:49 pace (interestingly, the exact distance and pace from last Tuesday!).

Wednesday I set off for my 5 miles at lunchtime. I was planning on running later, but the forecast was predicting rain all afternoon and evening, so I figured I better go as soon as possible. The whole time I was running, it looked like it might start raining, which I think made me push my pace a little bit. Because rain was looming, it was extremely humid on this run, and I think I sweat more than I have on any other run all year. Overall though, it felt good and I completed 5.1 miles at a 9:38 pace.

Stretching in the backyard after the run

Thursday had another 3 miles on the schedule. I was extremely excited about this run because the night before, I had received some new shoes! I frequently check out the running subreddit, Runnit. One of the members is a Skora representative, and he had a $50 gift card giveaway that I ended up winning! Skora is a shoe company that creates shoes to "complement the human body and allow it to perform naturally." I bought the cheapest model of shoe that they had, the Fit, just because I had no idea what to expect and I didn't want to spend a ton of money on shoes that I didn't like.

I loved the feeling of running in these shoes. I am used to running in shoes that have a lot more cushioning, so these felt very light and minimalist. I am not sure if I'll be able to wear them on long run because of the lack of support, but I may be able to work up to it. I was definitely excited to add a new pair of shoes into my rotation. The run on Thursday was 3.1 miles with an average pace of 9:47.

My Garmin view with a cute dog in the background :)

Friday was a rest day--no exciting news to report.

Saturday I decided to participate in a 5k in my home county. I wrote up a race report here, but the summary is that I achieved a PR with a time of 25:08, but am still working on that sub-25! I had 5 pace miles on the schedule, so after the race I grabbed my dog and we ran an extra 2 miles. I let myself keep these two miles easy since I pushed myself so hard during the 5k.

After the race we went to my parents house because it's the last weekend that my nieces will be there. We had some delicious tacos and corn on the cob for lunch (I know, not a typical combination, but it was delicious), and then spent the entire afternoon at the town pool. I worked at that pool as a lifeguard for three years, so it was a bit of a flashback going there. We had a lot of fun, and I continued working on my summer tan. :) In the evening, there was a retirement party for my high school Spanish teacher that we attended, which was fun mostly because I got to hang out with one of my good friends. We drove home afterwards, which made for a late night, and then we proceeded to sleep for about 10 hours!

Sunday was a shorter long run than in previous weeks: only 6 miles to complete. We woke up late and then spent the rest of the morning lounging around. I wrote up my race recap, but didn't accomplish much else. We were planning on having friends come over around 6 for dinner, so I was torn between running before they came in the heat of the afternoon (it was about 93 degrees with super high humidity because storms were coming in), or afterwards after lots of food and some drinks, possibly in the dark. Guess what I chose?

Preparing for my night run

Someday I will be more responsible and not end up running while it's dark outside, but today is not the day. :) I have been meaning to replace the battery in my heart rate monitor for months--this weekend I finally brought it to my parents house and my dad did it for me (we didn't have any screwdrivers small enough for the screws). I ran the 6 miles by heart rate, never looking at my pace. I tried to keep my heart rate around 155, but it kept inching closer to 160. It was only about 73 degrees, but the humidity was 100%, so that may have been part of the reason my heart rate was higher than I expected. Either way, the run felt good, and I ended up with a 10:52 pace.

Overall the week was a good one. I am happy that I was able to get a PR in the 5k, and for the 3rd week in a row, I hit all of the prescribed mileage on my plan. :) I'm ready for Week 4!

Goodland Grand Prix 5k

The county I grew up in (and my parents still live in) puts on a 4-part series of 5k races throughout the summer. If you complete at least 3 of the 4 races, you get a t-shirt that says, "I Run This County". I am not sure why, but for some reason, this is very appealing to me this year! The first 5k was in my hometown of Morocco, IN during the annual Homecoming Event. Dustin and I both ran this race, and despite the heat/humidity, finished in a decent time.

Running in for a finish time of 26:00 on the dot

I decided to do another one of the races yesterday, June 25, because I wasn't positive I'd be able to attend the other two (one is on the morning of July 4th, and I'm not sure what our plans are yet), and I didn't want to end up only completing 2 of the races and miss out on the shirt. :) The race was in Goodland, IN, where they were having a weekend-long event called the Goodland Grand Prix. The main event is a go kart race, but the festivities last the entire weekend.

The 5k was set to start at 8 am, with registration from 7-7:45. We live about 45 minutes away from Goodland, but we are also in a different time zone, so we had to leave our house at 7:30 (EDT) to be there by 7:15 (CDT). Indiana is a little silly, having different parts of the state in different time zones, ha! I ate my typical breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter and banana, drank some coffee, and we were off. Once we arrived, registration was quick and easy. By the time I pinned on my bib, found a bathroom, and dropped some stuff back at the car, it was time to walk to the start line. I hopped around in place a little bit, but didn't really have much of a chance to warm up. Before I knew it, the race had started!

Mile 1:  I tried to focus on slowing down at the beginning, because I always start out way too fast during 5ks. About a half mile into the race, I caught up to two girls who I recognized from previous local races, and realized they were running about the speed that I wanted to be running at. I tucked in behind them and continued on. When my watch beeped that the first mile was complete, I looked down and saw a time of 7:39.

Mile 2: Goodland is a small town, so this race circles around the entire town, and still has to make an extra small loop to get to the 5k distance. :)

Follow dark arrows first, then the light arrows to finish the 5k

I am not very familar with the town, and I had barely glanced at the race map before we started, so I was never sure where we were heading. I think this can be a good thing because it forces you to simply focus on the present, but it also can be a mental struggle because you don't know what to expect. A large majority of Mile 2 is heading south, and we were going straight into the wind, so it was a little exhausting. I started to feel bad about running behind the two girls in front of me, so I tried to pass them, but I couldn't get myself to go any faster, and ended up staying right behind them. This mile finished in 8:19.

Mile 3: Here one of the girls in the duo in front of me pulled ahead. I tried to speed up too, but instead just ended up running next to the other girl for this entire mile. I felt my effort level rising, but my speed was staying exactly the same, which was frustrating. I was starting to feel the heat and the exhaustion from the first 2 miles, but I tried as hard as I could to keep pushing. I ended up with a time very similar to mile 2, 8:21.

Last 0.1: I looked down at my watch when it hit 3 miles, and I was at 24:20. I thought maybe I could break 25 if I sprinted until the end, so I picked it up as much as I possibly could. I did end up with a 7:14 pace for this portion, so I was able to speed up, but it wasn't quite good enough to pass the line under 25. I ended the race at 25:08, good for a PR.

My splits for the race

I was definitely happy with my time--it is a PR by 14 seconds (previous PR earlier in the year at 25:22), but I was a little disappointed that I didn't break 25 minutes. I feel like I'm so close to being able to do it! I have a few more 5ks this summer, so hopefully I'll be able to hit sub-25 at one of them. :)

Post race photo

Have you PRed any races this year?

Do you have any local series races that you participate in?

Introduction to the Triathlon

Hello! Sam at Grapefruit & Granola is training for her first triathlon, and last week she asked readers for answers to a few questions about what to expect as a first time triathlete. I responded with a comment, but I realized that there are probably enough things to discuss to warrant a new post. Disclaimer: I have only participated in Sprint Triathlons, and I have certainly never won, so I am no expert; however, I have completed 6 of these shorter triathlons, and I think I have lots of advice to share, especially for beginners.

Basics of Triathlon
Many people know that triathlons involve three different sports: running, biking, and swimming, but that may be all you know! When I signed up for my first triathlon, I didn't even know the order of the three different parts: swimming, biking, and lastly, running. People are often most intimidated by the swim, but if you train consistently, you will have no problem tackling all three components of the tri.

Types of Triathlons
The next thing to discuss is what length of triathlon you are going to participate in. I mentioned that I have only participated in Sprint Triathlons. These are the shortest triathlons you can do, and are perfect for beginners. There isn't a set standard for each of the distances, but generally you will swim 300-750 meters, you'll bike between 10-15 miles, and the run is almost always a 5k (3.1 miles). The other variation you will face is whether the swim is an open water swim or in a pool. Open water swimming can certainly be intimidating, and I think it's more difficult than lane swimming in a pool, but you shouldn't be scared away!  For your first triathlon though, I would recommend trying to find a triathlon with pool swimming just to increase your comfort level.

The other triathlons have defined distances for each of the three legs, as can be seen below:

	Swim	Bike	Run
Olympic Distance	1500 meters (1.5 km)	24.85 miles (40 km)	6.2 miles (10 km)
Half Ironman (70.3)	1.2 miles (1.9 km)	56 miles (90 km)	13.1 miles (21.1 km)
Ironman (140.6)	2.4 miles (3.86 km)	112 miles (180.25 km)	26.2 miles (42.2 km)

What to Wear

My first triathlon was at the end of my sophomore year of college. I hadn't really exercised at all in two years, but I had been a swimmer and a soccer player in high school, so I figured I'd be fine. I was setting up my bike in the transition area (more about this later), and talking to my then-boyfriend about what I would wear (10 minutes before the race starts is a good time to decide, right?). I said, "Maybe I'll wear sweat pants during the bike since I'll be going quick and may get chilly." The guy setting up next to me advised me not to wear pants on the bike or they might get caught in the chain (duh, I should have known that), and said I'd probably warm up once I started riding (which I also would have known if I had trained at all...). Basically, I was clueless. Now, I have the clothing part mostly figured out, and hopefully I can help you! :)

Swimming

For my first several triathlons, I simply wore a one piece bathing suit with a sports bra underneath. I would suggest a thin sports bra (the one I wear for tris is mostly mesh) so that it dries out quickly once you are done with the swim. I have also seen people wear just a sports bra and compression shorts, which is another viable option. If you are doing an open water swim, you can wear a wetsuit if the water is below 78 degrees (check on the specific triathlon's website for their rules, but this is the USAT standard). I have never worn a wetsuit (simply because I don't have one and the races I do are in the summer, so it's usually not too cold), but I have heard that they do increase your buoyancy significantly, which will most likely improve your swim time. Lastly, you'll wear a swim cap; in every triathlon I have ever done, they provided this with your bib at registration. I always bring an extra one just in case because it would annoy me to have to swim without my hair under a cap. 

If you are wanting to make an investment into triathlons, you can buy a trisuit, which will be worn for the entirety of the race. Having one garment to wear for all three events is extremely convenient--I found mine at an end of season sale and have been really happy with it. There are two different types: one piece and two piece. I have a one piece, that is sleeveless. The only downside to this is if it is chilly outside, you'll most likely need to add a layer on top during the bike portion.

Me on the right in my tri suit (with shorts on top before the race started)

Biking

If you can wear the same thing on the bike that you did during the swim, that is ideal. When I used to wear a bathing suit, I would simply pull compression shorts on over the suit during the first transition. The other thing you need on the bike that you didn't need during the swim is the number bib that the race provides. Typically this needs to be on the front of your body. For this, if you have the funds to purchase it, I would suggest getting a bib holder. This is a belt that you put your bib on so that you don't have to pin it on. Some also have space to hold gels or other fuel, which can certainly be useful. When I first got my trisuit, I didn't have the bib belt, and I didn't want to waste time trying to pin the bib onto my suit, so I would throw a tank top with the bib attached on top of my suit. That also worked rather well. If you decide to go this route, make sure that the shirt is loose--trying to wrangle a tight shirt with a pinned-on bib onto your wet body is not an ideal situation. :) 

Me on the right with a tank on top of my trisuit (because my number was pinned on it)

Also remember that biking is typically chillier than running (since you are going much faster so you get more wind), so you may need a t-shirt, long sleeves, or gloves. This is totally weather-dependent, and you can ask others around what they are planning on doing--I have found that triathletes are extremely friendly to first-timers. If it's really cold, you may also want to wear a hat under your helmet.

Wearing a t-shirt over my trisuit, as well as gloves because it was a little chilly

Many people have clipless pedals on their bikes, which non-intuitively means that their shoes clip directly into their pedals. If you have these pedals, you will obviously need to wear your biking shoes for the bike portion. I recently made the switch to clipless pedals, but I have not yet used them in a triathlon. For all of my previous races, I just biked in the shoes I planned to run in (benefit: saves you time in T2!).

Running

You should be able to run in the same clothes that you biked in (unless you have to change your shoes as previously discussed). This is basically down to personal preference and you usually will know what clothes you prefer to run in based on the temperature during the race. The only thing I would say is to not wear anything new on race day!

Transitions

Preparation

When you first arrive to the location of your triathlon on the day of the race, you will go to your transition area. These are organized by your bib number. Typically, there will be bike racks that hold 10-15 bikes, and these are numbered. You find the number that you have been assigned, and that is your transition area. I always bring a small towel to lay on the ground next to my bike. This sets a clear area that is my space, and makes sure that none of my items are getting all dirty laying directly on the ground. I put my bib (whether on a shirt or on the bib holder), helmet, sunglasses (if you're wearing them), a towel, socks, and shoes on the small, laid-out towel. 

Setting up my transition area

T1: Between swimming and biking

You will run out of the water, and into the transition area after you have finished swimming. The first thing to do is locate your stuff, but that should be straight-forward since the bike racks are labeled, and you have already been there. When I arrive to my area, I grab my towel and dry off a little bit (quickly!). I then focus on getting my feet as dry as possible, and pull on socks and shoes. Next I pull on a shirt, or put on my bib holder. Lastly, I pull on my helmet and my sunglasses. That's it! You will have to grab your bike and walk/jog it out of the transition area (no riding in the transition area); then you can hop on and start the bike portion.

T2: Between Biking and running

If you don't have clipless pedals, this is an extremely quick transition. You get off of your bike before you enter the transition area, then walk/jog it back to your area and put it back on the rack [ok, pause for a funny/embarrassing story: in one triathlon that I did, I was one the first one back to my bike rack from the biking portion. I quickly tossed my bike onto the stand, and...it collapsed!! I was so freaked out and was screaming for help. Eventually (ok, it was probably only like 15 seconds, but it felt like forever), a volunteer ran up and helped me set the bike rack back up. I set my bike on it and all was good. He said it actually is somewhat common and not to worry about it. So there you go, even if something embarrassing happens: 1) it has probably happened before, and 2) you will get past it]. If you need to change into running shoes, do that as quickly as possible; otherwise, just run right out of the transition area.

Random Tips

Hair

If you are a girl, I highly recommended braiding your hair for the triathlon. If you are able to french braid it, that is great because it stays even better. I say this because I used to have three different ways I liked to wear my hair for each of the three different events. I'd pile my hair on top of my head and shove it under the swim cap for the swim. Then, I'd have to put it in a low ponytail for the bike so that I could put my helmet on. I didn't like running with it in that low ponytail, so I'd typically pull it up into a higher ponytail that wouldn't brush up against me as much. Changing your hair during transitions takes up time, and if you can avoid it, that's ideal.

I convinced my friend to let me french braid her hair before the tri :)

Fuel/water

I personally don't take in any calories during a Sprint Triathlon. It is usually about an hour and a half of exercise, and that should be possible to do without extra calories. I always make sure to eat a good breakfast, and sometimes will eat a banana about a half hour before the race. However, I know that many people like to consume calories during the race to keep their energy levels up. One way to do this is to have a sports drink in a water bottle on your bike. You can drink this during flat parts of the course, or whenever you aren't working too hard. Even if you don't have a sports drink, this is a good time to rehydrate with some water. Another time to consume calories is when you are leaving T2 and about to run. I know many people will take a gel at this time. There is usually at least one aid station during the run, so you can grab some water if you are feeling like you need a drink.

Relax!

Honestly, it's all going to work out, so the biggest thing is to not freak out. The most important things are to train properly, and to make sure to bring everything with you on the day of the race. I suggest making a checklist so that when you pack you are positive that you have everything that you will need. No Meat Athlete created a post with 22 tips for your first triathlon that you should check out as well!

Marathon Monday: Week Two is Through

I have now finished Week Two in my 18 week training plan. :) That means I'm over 10% done! You can read about Week One here.

Monday is always cross-training, and I typically whenever cross training comes up I bike, but on Monday I waited too long and it got dark outside. I decided instead to do a combination of yoga and some simple body weight exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, and planks.

Tuesday I had 3 miles on the schedule, so I did one of my common 3 mile loop routes. It was pretty warm...around 80 degrees with 70% humidity (I know that may not be super warm for those of you in Florida!), and it was sucking the energy right out of me. At about 2.5 miles, I started to feel light headed and I realized that I hadn't eaten much since lunch time--it was now around 6 pm. A good reminder to make sure to fuel your body properly for all runs, even short ones! I ended up finishing 3.1 miles at a 9:49 pace. When I got home I searched for a snack to bring my blood sugar back up, and I found some delicious blueberries which I ate while I stretched outside.

Nova clearly thought she should get some blueberries too :)

Wednesday I had to run 5 miles, and I made the strange decision to do it at lunchtime. It looked like it might thunderstorm later in the day, so I wanted to get it out of the way, but it sure was hot! It was again about 80 degrees, now with 75% humidity and the sun beating down on me. I think it's good to do some runs in these conditions to get acclimated properly to the heat, but they definitely aren't easy! I ran around campus and ended up with 5.5 miles with the first 5 miles at a 9:42 pace, and the last 0.5 miles at a 10:03 pace as a 'cool' down.

Thursday was another 3 mile run on the schedule and I decided to do the same route as Tuesday. The run felt much easier than the past two days, maybe because humidity dropped down to about 50%. I ran around 5:30, and then immediately afterwards had a concert with the community band I play in. My parents are watching my nieces for a few weeks, so they came to watch the concert and these are the pictures I got during the concert from Dustin and the girls.

They have lots of fun together. :)

Friday was a rest day and I appreciated that!

Saturday I was supposed to run 5 miles. I slept in a little bit later than I wanted to, so by the time I was ready to run, it was midafternoon. I wanted to avoid the sun a little bit, so I decided to run on the trails close to my house for the majority of the run. It's about a mile to the trailhead, so I spend 2 miles on the road and a little over 3 on the trails. I love running on these trails because they are pretty, shaded, and not too intense. :) The only bad thing is it does tend to feel rather humid running through all of the greenery.

Sunday is long run day--this week I had 9 miles to run. I managed to start earlier than last week by about an hour, so I was still pushing the daylight a little bit, but it was much more enjoyable. A few miles into the run I got to see a beautiful sunset. I typically run without listening to anything, but sometimes for long runs I'll listen to podcasts--for this run I listened to an episode of Ten Junk Miles. If you haven't listened to them at all, you should check it out! They are ultrarunners out of Chicago and they are very entertaining. They got me through my 9 miles on Sunday at a 10:20 pace.

I guess it's a little before the actual sunset, but the sun was setting behind a giant cloud and it was pretty. :)

Overall I ran 26 miles this week, which I'm really happy with. I need to continue to work on a few things like fueling properly and planning my runs so I'm running in the best temperatures possible (maybe I'll have to run a few morning runs, ugh!). Generally, it felt like a good week.

Do you have any podcast recommendations? 

As I was preparing for my last half marathon, I listened to Serial during all of my long runs. Since then, I have only listened to Ten Junk Miles, but I'm getting close to catching up to the current episodes, so I'm going to need another option. :)

Marathon Monday: Week 1 is done!

I have finished my first official week of marathon training--woo! :)

Monday started with a cross-training day, so I went out for a bike ride. I love cycling and every time I do it, I wonder why I don't go out more often. It was a perfect night to go out for a ride.

Tuesday I had 3 miles on the schedule. I decided to take my dog, Nova, since she's a pretty great running partner. We ran to the bog near our house, she got to play in the water for a little bit, then we ran back. In non-running news, our dog has finally figured out how to swim--she used to just hop though the water wherever she could touch (which was incredibly cute). We ended up with 3.2 miles at a 9:45 pace.

Nova resting after the run

Wednesday: 5 miles to run. About a half mile into the run, my watch died. I think it had died sitting on my desk, but when I powered it up it had enough juice to turn on and get me started. I have a pretty good idea of how far 5 miles is since I run the routes around my house a lot, but when I got home and checked the mileage on mapmyrun, I was only at 4.85. I still counted it as a completed run for the day, but I was annoyed to have a 4 instead of a 5 there. :) I had looked at the clock right before I left, so I think I ran at about a 9:45 pace.

Thursday was another 3 mile run and I took Nova with me again. It's nice to have a dog to run with me so I'm not always running alone. Plus, she definitely gets better at running on the leash every time we go out. Again we ran 3.2 miles, but this time at a 10:11 pace.

Friday was a rest day and I took full advantage of that! We went over to visit some friends in the evening and had a ton of fun playing Secret Hitler. If you haven't played it before, you should definitely check it out because it is a ton of fun.

Saturday we picked up my two nieces to have a sleepover. It was a jam packed day! Immediately after we picked them up, we went to Imagination Station, which is similar to an interactive Children's Museum. I think they had a good time.

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch at Moe's, then went to a local park where you can swim in a creek. I didn't bring my phone, so I don't have any pictures, but it was a ton of fun and included lots of swimming, catching a toad, finding seashells, and getting some sun. When we got back, Dustin offered to take the girls to the store so I  could squeeze in my run. I got it done, but it was pretty warm, so I was a little slower than normal for pace runs. I figured I'd give myself a pass due to the heat, and was glad I at least got the miles in.

The rest of the night was spent making dinner and watching a movie; we rented Zootopia which was really cute and I'd definitely recommend even if you don't have kids. :)

Sunday we took Nova swimming at the bog, where the girls caught another toad--without us knowing! They got it all the way home when finally we asked what they were whispering about and they showed us the toad. The next hour or so was spent making a toad habitat, and reading about what they ate. :) We then went to the local zoo/park and spent a decent amount of time there seeing animals, and playing at the park.

The girls with a llama

I thought we were going to drop the girls back off with my parents in the afternoon, but they had gone to help my grandma paint, so we ended up keeping them for the entire day. By the time we got back home it was 9:30, and I still had to run 8 miles! I quickly changed my clothes, put a red blinky light on my back, and grabbed a small flashlight to go out for my run. I did one loop that I frequently run, but I was creeped out in the dark, so I ended up finishing the run by just doing laps around the neighborhood. :)

Overall I ran 24.4 miles this week, which is right where I'm supposed to be. It was a good start to the marathon cycle and I'm excited to continue. :)

Preparing for Marathon Training

Although October 9th sounds so far away, as all of you know, a marathon is a big commitment, and training starts months in advance. Since I have never done a marathon before, I spent a lot of time reading about the various training programs, and trying to determine which would work best for me.

I know lots of people have a lot of success with Pfitz plans, but I also know that I'm not running nearly enough miles to jump into one of those plans. I've heard rave reviews about Hanson's plans, but with it being my first marathon, I'd be scared to not have any training runs over 16 miles (I know this is totally a mental thing, but I can't help it!). The Galloway method is often recommended for beginners, but I feel like I can tackle the marathon without the run-walk strategy, although it certainly is a great option for many people. I bought the Jack Daniels book a few months ago, so that was what I was leaning towards, but I have also had several friends use a Hal Higdon plan with success. I looked through the Higdon plans, and thought the Novice levels were a little too low of mileage for what I thought I was capable of, but the intermediate plan looked reasonable. The Jack Daniels plans specify the key workouts, but are rather open for you to fill in the other days, and determine what you want your maximum weekly mileage to be. I ended up decided on the Hal Higdon Intermediate plan because it was very clearly laid out, and I think it will help me reach my goal (which is primarily just to finish!).

For the most part, I am planning on following exactly what the plan has laid out everyday, but there are a few races I have on the schedule that I had to fit into the training plan: a trail half marathon in August and the Ragnar trail event in September. With a little bit of tweaking, I was able to fit them into the plan. I had all of the workouts written down on a piece of paper, but that didn't seem like it was quite enough for my first marathon, so I made a giant poster. :)

You can't totally tell from this picture, but it's such a giant poster board :)

I love it, and I'm looking forward to be able to check off each workout day by day. The plan officially starts on Monday (June 6), but I've been trying to make sure to get in approximately 20 miles a week for the past few weeks so that I'm not ramping up too much right at the beginning of the plan. This past week I did the first week of the training plan as a prep week--today I did a 5 mile pace run (in the rain!) that felt great! I hope I'm at a good enough starting point to make it through this training cycle uninjured and feeling ready to tackle 26.2--I guess I will find out soon enough! :)

For those of you who have done marathons in the past (or are training now), what training plan do you follow?