Earlier this year (March 2021 to be precise!), I ran my very first marathon.
And it went…fine. Just fine.
I didn’t get hurt or throw up or pass out. I only cried once (mile 20). I finished a great audio book. I wasn’t the very last person to cross the finish line (though I was close). And though I did finish and that should be something to be proud of, I don’t look back at my first marathon with thoughts of accomplishment. Instead, I’m riddled with the long list of things that went wrong or that I allowed to stack against me.
Last summer I crafted out a 32 week training schedule and I stuck with it HARD. I changed my diet and bought all the right gear. I gave myself very little grace. I anticipated COVID-19 restrictions and while bummed, I was cool with no crowds, having staggered starts, and even wearing a mask…because it would be in freezing January…it would be fine! What I wasn’t prepared for was the race being pushed back 8 weeks to the much warmer month of March. I wasn’t prepared to add 8 more weeks of training…my body was tired but more importantly, my mind was tired. I was no longer looking forward to my long runs or the race day even…I was dreading it. But I powered through and that resulted in a 14’56” pace and an overall time of 6:39. See…fine…just fine.
When it came time to sign up for the 2022 Louisiana Marathon, I decided to give it another go to see IF the odds were really stacked against me last year OR maybe I really am just that slow! 😉
I’ve decided to approach things very differently this go-round and that resulted in the 20 week training schedule below. Now, I’m going to kick this off with a disclaimer, I am NOT an athlete and I have no reason to believe that the following will work for anyone, including me. I anticipate a ton of criticism for my following words and that’s ok. I’m working off of what worked for me last time and what didn’t while keeping my already jam-packed schedule in mind! So here we go…
Long Runs
I’m going to tackle my long runs over the weekend, likely on Saturdays. It’s boiling hot in Louisiana currently so I’m either running first thing in the morning or in the evening. I hate mornings and refuse to wake up before 7am on a Saturday so evenings it is! 🙂 Last year I did my long runs on Sunday to better coordinate with race day being on a Sunday. But when looking at my calendar for the fall that would mean possibly missing church (which I just can’t) and possibly Spurs games or other soccer games…which I also love so I don’t want to punish myself! There are some weekends coming up where I’ll have to switch it up but I’ll just be flexible those weekends.
Cross Training
As a part-time graduate student, I have a discounted access to the campus recreational center. I’ve taken a gander at the classes available and love the idea of a barre class and cycle class. My plan is to try both out this week to see if I like them and if not…I’ll regroup! But, my hope is to incorporate some strength building to help those long runs be a little easier! If you are looking for a great, free, option, I suggest checking out Sydney Cummings on YouTube. Her videos are FIRE. I’ll likely incorporate some of her work outs as well when I don’t feel like leaving my house!
Walking
I love walking on the treadmill. Its relaxing and my chance to catch up on a favorite show while also moving my body. My plan is to use this as a chance to actively rest with a 30 minute leisurely paced walk once a week. When things cool off outside, I could see a nice little family walk down the street and back being quite pleasant!
Short Runs
I only plan on doing a short run (2-4 miles) once a week and try to focus more on improving my pace more than anything else. I’ve always been quite slow but I’ve also never really tried to improve it…so we’ll see!
Running Club
I’ve never participating in a running club before and I’m not even sure I’ll like it. But, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I got a random email inviting me to participate in one the same day I was planning out my training schedule! So, I’m going to check it out this week and see how it goes! If I hate it, I’ll just switch to another short run this day!
Yoga
I love yoga and how I feel after a good session filled with stretching and breathing! Running tends to make my muscles tense up so my hope is that a good regular yoga session will help me elongate those muscles! Again, my plan is to check out classes at the recreational center or my favorite YouTube yogi, Yoga with Adriene.
Grace
This is the biggest and more important thing for me to remember as I kick off training. I have a very awful tendency of giving myself ZERO grace when things get overwhelming and my to-do list gets too crunk. Looking into this fall, I have a lot of things on my plate: two doctoral courses, a rather relentless job, a husband that can’t be expected to keep our family afloat solo, kiddos that have social calendars that rival mine, a garden I care about deeply, a period that wrecks my world once a month, and more and more. So, I have to give myself permission to rest when I need rest…and not punish myself afterward!
So, here is a breakdown! You’ll notice that week one and two are essentially blank…here is that grace I talked about. Hurricane Ida took precedence those weeks, shrug.
I’ll check in every few weeks with any tweaks or edits I’ve made. I’ll report back on what’s working and what’s not. If you are also training for an upcoming race, I would LOVE to hear how you are prepping as well! Let’s do this! 🙂