And so it begins

One week from today training for the Marine Corps Marathon officially begins! Rationally I should be nauseatingly nervous, but quite honestly I'm downright excited for training to start in earnest. Like schoolgirl on prom night excited. For the past year, I've run consistently - slowly building my base and tackling distances that this time last year I would have scoffed at. While I've talked about running a marathon for years, I never took the leap and committed myself to the actual running part of the dream. Minor details. This time is different though. My registration fee is paid, marathon tech t-shirt has arrived, and most importantly I'm now confident in my ability to log the miles necessary to pull this off. That's not to say I don't envision moments when I will want to burn my Brooks sneakers and quit. Thankfully the combination of a detailed training plan, tons of NYRR races, and my amazing race partner Kim should be more than enough to keep me on track.

After several weeks of research, I've settled on a 16 week training plan courtesy of Runner's World. The plan offers a solid combination of easy runs, speedwork, gradual mileage increase, plus necessary rest/cross-training days. Every three weeks the mileage backs off a bit to prevent injuries and burn-out. A sample week will look something like this:
Mon/Wed/Sat - Rest / Cross-train
Tues/Fri - Easy run (6-8mi)
Wed - Tempo run / speedwork (5-9mi)
Sun - Long run (10-20mi)

I won't be running more than 4 days a week, a prospect that does slightly worry me. My natural impulse is to run as much as humanly possible in preparation for the daunting task of running a marathon. Clearly, however, that would not be a particularly responsible or safe way to go about training. As much as I'm looking forward to the MCM experience (and Comrades after that), running is an activity that I'd like to continue throughout my life, which means not blowing out my joints in my mid-20s as a result of overambitious training. Me, take on more than I can handle? Neeeeever.

Sadly Kim and I won't be able to train daily together for the race, but we have signed up for a bunch of races this summer/fall to keep us honest and force us out on the dreaded 20 mile long runs. Yes, runs. Our training plan includes three 20 mile runs before the actual marathon. AWESOME. Luckily, many of NYRR's summer races are timed perfectly to overlap with the training plan's scheduled long runs. It will definitely be a ton easier to slog through 3 hour runs with volunteer manned water stations and post race bagel/banana stands. Also speaking of race prep, Kim and I are in the market for a team name. Any ideas? Something preferably that won't raise awkward questions from my parents when they see it printed on our singlets...

Upcoming races:
July 10 - NYRR Splash and Dash 10k
July 24 - NYRR Queens Half Marathon
August 1 - NYRR Marathon Tune-up #1 (14M)
August 15 - NYRR Bronx Half Marathon
August 28 - NYRR Marathon Tune-up #2 (20M)
September 19 - NYRR Marathon Tune-up #3 (20M)
September 26 - 5th Avenue Mile
October 31 - MARINE CORPS MARATHON