Marathon Training: Reconsidered and Revised

No.  I’m not reconsidering running another marathon.  A friend and I got selected a few weeks ago to run the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco and there’s no way I’m missing out.  The plane tickets are paid for, the hotel is booked, and I’m already planning what new running outfit I’m going to buy for race day (I feel a runner’s wardrobe post coming on).  Nope, not rethinking running at all.  I am, however, rethinking what its going to take for me to prepare for this marathon.  I didn’t train intensely for my first marathon in April, so over training and injury weren’t an issue.

I’ve revised my training schedule so that my brother and I can train together.  We’re working to cut our time by 15 minutes so he can qualify and I don’t have to run Boston alone (I’ll do it but I’d rather not have to).  The new training plan in intense.  We top out at 50+ mile weeks and thats more than I’ve ever run before.  I’m already thinking about what I’m going to do to keep myself healthy and get my body to preform at that level.  So, here’s what I’ve come up with.  I know that this is sort of a boring post, but I’m writing to get my ideas down and keep myself accountable.

1.)  Get sleep.  Lots of sleep.  I need 7 hours minimums every night.  8 is better.  I’m going to shoot for 10 hours before my long runs.  Sleep is the biggest factor in how well and how fast I run, so I really need to be responsible about getting to bed.

2.) Water.  Lots of water.  That whole 8 glasses-a-day thing isn’t going to cut it.  I need to keep my 24 0z bottle on me at all times and refill it 4-5 times a day.

3.) Yoga + stretching.  I need to be consistent in doing yoga on my two rest days each week.  This includes ab work and light weightlifting for my arms.  I’m finding that better core and arm strength make me an overall better athlete.  Thus, I’m less prone to injury.  A strong core is great for balance and strong arms help me power up hills. On days when I don’t do yoga I still need to squeeze in a few downward dogs and sun salutations to keep my legs loose.  I should probably also look into a dynamic stretching routine, I’m just a bit stuck in my ways.

4.) Nutrition.  Diet is obviously going to be crucial.  For me, I’m going to have to be super diligent about getting in enough calories.  Specifically I want to 1) increase protein intake to help with muscle repair (right now I get in about 45 grams per day but I should really try to get that up to 60 grams) 2) avoid carby filler foods that I tend to munch on when I let myself get too hungry. (no more pretzel binges…bummer) 3.) I really want to try to get in more smoothies and juices post run as they are easy on the system and great for recovery.

5.) No Counting.  Always my goal, but I’m rarely successful in not counting calories.  Its the disordered eater in me.  I do it subconsciously…and I hate it.

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