Marathon Training

So, back in April Kyle and I decided we were far to slug-like and needed an actual race/goal to train for if were were ever going to get our butts back in gear. Originally we had set our sites on the Chicago marathon, but we missed the registration deadline. We then determined there was a marathon in Toronto the weekend following the Chicago marathon. What could be better? We'd have an extra week for training and we could stay with Kyle's Dad and Val for the race weekend.

Jump forward to today, the last week of June. We have only been sporadically running, and not following a plan of any sort (yes, believe it or not, we ran 3x during our honeymoon). Last night I frantically searched the internet for a free training program that would ready us for a MARATHON that takes place in just 15.4 weeks -- YIKES. As luck would have it, Runner's World has a 16 week "rookie plan" posted. While we are not exactly rookies, I don't have a clue about how to modify an 18 week plan (that begins with a 10 mile run) into something we could actually accomplish, so I'm very grateful to have found this plan. And while we are technically a few days behind for this week, week 1 - this is not a setback we can't overcome. Whew. Disaster averted. Now we just have to be diligent and follow the schedule.

If all else fails ... there IS a 1/2 marathon option. And it's tempting to just train for the easier race, but now that we have a program to follow that actually fits with our "last minute" start and level of out-of-shape-ness, I feel much better about getting across the finish line for a second time!