Let the Training Begin

Don’t you love it when someone randomly thinks of you?  That happened to me today.  My cousin thought of me after seeing this quote – “The way to know life is to love many things” –Vincent Van Gogh.  Her email telling me so really made my day!  Love you, Bijalben!

So, I’m not sure if you remember or not, but my sister and I are running a half marathon together in August.    I just put together my training plan and wanted to share.  Please feel free to give me some feedback if you see something you don’t agree with.  We don’t start training until next week, so there’s plenty of time to make changes.

S&S – stretch and strengthen; CT – cross train

When I trained for my first half marathon, I followed a similar plan, but this time around I’m doing things a bit differently and am encouraging my sister to do the same.

• The first time around I didn’t do any strength training/yoga or cross training.  I think it’s important to set aside days for this and this alone.  Specifically for me, I think S&S will help alleviate (hopefully prevent) some of the knee pain I had when I trained the first time around.  And let’s face it, I like muscles!
• Something I am a bit ashamed to admit is that I never, until recently, had proper running shoes that supported MY feet.  I started running over six years ago in an effort to lose weight, and since then, I’ve been wearing your run of the mill “running shoes.”  I always assumed that if they felt springy when you put them on, you were good to go.  I assumed wrong.  I got fitted for shoes last October, and what a difference that has made for me.  I even made my sister go get fitted a couple of weeks ago.  The shoe thing alone makes me feel more confident this time around.
• My weight lose journey actually began my junior year of college, but my true healthy living journey only began a year or so ago.  I know for a fact that the first time I trained I didn’t fuel my body properly.  I would eat a granola bar and drink a small glass of milk before a long run ( 5 miles and above)…eek!  I now realize that in order to maximize performance you have to try to incorporate a good mix of proteins, healthy fats, and carbs into your meals.  I know I ate enough the first time around (for the most part), but I could have done better in the quality department.  And I’m only human, so there will be days of imperfect eating this time around, but at least I’m going in with a plan.
• Hydration is something I try to work on in general, but I think that it’s even more important when you’re putting your body through 12 weeks of something it’s not used to.  I never paid much attention to the amount of water I consumed on a daily basis, but it’s something that’s now important to me so I try to be more cognizant of it, especially now.  My goal is to drink at least six glasses a day.  Wish me luck!

So there you have it – my 12 week training plan and must dos.  Please share any thoughts you may have.  There are so many seasoned runners out there that have done lots of different races, and I’d love to hear from all of you!

Thanks, y’all!  Have a great night!