On this rainy Saturday morning I decided to sit down with the iCalendar and plan things out for the training cycle. I have put this task off long enough and today seemed like a good day to take care of this important thing.
As I did with the Flying Pig training, I worked backwards from the date of the marathon. October 10th will mark my 36th birthday and my first full marathon, so that’s where it begins. That day will mark the longest single run in my life to date. Each Saturday starting a week from today will be my longer runs (mainly anything over 9 miles), with Tuesdays and Thursdays being my shorter runs (anything 9 miles or less). Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be cross training days (weights, eliptical, stationary bike, and swimming). Ideally I will get in all of the long runs, but as things pop up on the family schedule, that may be subject to change. I don’t have a full total for miles yet, but that calculation will be forth coming soon.
As I get closer to the race date I have to maintain a balance of family, running, kids back in school, myself back in school, and the fall hunting season (which will include each person in the house this year). I am hoping that all of this won’t interfere too much with the running schedule, but that is yet to be seen. Only time will tell.
Lastly, this past week has been rather eventful for me. First, I haven’t seen my in-laws in quite some time, and they came to visit for five days. It went well, but could have been better - no fault of theirs. I developed gout in my right big toe early in the week, which led to a lot less outings with the house guests. The doctor wasn’t concerned, as long as I rested properly and maintained a decrease in certain foods and drinks, as well as a strong regimen of ibuprofen to reduce inflammation in the joint. I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone, and am glad that I can walk without pain again. For those that do not know, gout is like arthritis gone haywire! It is a build up of uric acid around joints (elbow, knee, ankle and big toes especially), this forms crystals around the joints which causes the extreme pain.
That said, I will resume running after the pain has completely subsided and get into the training cycle for my first full marathon. By the time I get to Chicago I will have run four half marathons, three 10k’s, and one 5k race (all in under two years). Two weeks before I run Chicago I will be running the Air Force Half Marathon just as I did last year, and I am hoping to post a sub-two hour time on that. If the Flying Pig was any indication, I should be able to drop at least 8-10 minutes off of my previous AF half. If I can do that I will post that elusive sub-two hour time!
Until next time, keep up or catch up!
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