Getting to the Start........of Training!

Official marathon training began today, November 1st. This is a big day for me. I made it to the start of training and all of my previous running ailments are under control as of today. I will start my marathon on March 5th, like starting training today, with solid legs and mindset. I am ready to begin. I've waited patiently for this day. The game plan is to run 3 times a week consisting of a track workout, a tempo run, and a long run. The goal is to complete these workouts with quality. No junk miles. Days in between will be cross training days or rest days. So, what pace do I run? That is the question. My utmost goal is to start the marathon! Goal 2 is to finish the marathon. Goal 3 is to qualify for Boston.....there I said it, I shared it with the internet world of billions of people all who read my blog daily. Actually, no one may read this last goal, but it is there whether read or not. Whether spoken out loud or not. It dances and twirls in my head constantly. I am waking to this goal, dreaming about this goal. No additional pressure. I am thankful just to get to the start healthy. Everything else is icing on the cake. Thank you Lara Shaw for your encouragement with these goals. I will be calling on my friends religiously as I go on this journey.

From now on, I will give weekly updates. I have approx. 16wks of training ahead of me. I will be disciplined, smart, and progressive in training. I will.

WEEK 1:

Monday: It was sprint day. Danette and I did a quick warm-up then headed to a field for sprints x 6.....nothing crazy, just day 1. I am anxiously waiting for the Clemson track to be refurbished so I can run quarters! I did not expect the athletic department to redo the track for Danette and I to prepare for my future marathon! Although, they are a little behind schedule because my training started on Nov. 1st. I can't wait until the new track is laid down.......i will run the tar out of it! ;)

Wednesday: Goal: 2 miles easy, 2 miles tempo at 7:35, 2 miles cool down.

Completed: 2 miles easy warm-up, 2 miles tempo at 7:29, 7:21, then 2 miles cool down. Good day. Danette and I went into the run know that it was going to rain. But, it may rain on marathon day so it is good practice. We were "lucky", not really any rain!

Distance: 6 miles

Avg. pace 8:33

HR. during tempo: 164bpm

Friday: Goal: Long run to Ingles from Clemson Track. Just for time, not for speed.....

Distance: 11 miles

Avg. pace 8:30

Awesome long run with D! Thanks!