Boston Bound

Sorry it's been so long since I posted last ... but I'm back now and training for the 2010 Boston Marathon is underway! I'll be using the same training schedule that I used for the OBX Marathon. Why change something that worked so well? Monday kicked off the 16 week long journey. What I didn't realize is how much harder it's going to be to stay motivated when it's so cold and dark all the time. Training for OBX will seem like a cake walk compared to what I'm setting out to do for Boston. I guess this is where I'm supposed to get tough and not let the weather break me down and not let the early mornings scare me away. Conquering the obstacles during this training will be a very rewarding experience, and there's no doubt that I can do it.

I went home to Maryland for Christmas, which is where I started my first day of Boston bound training. It was supposed to be a 30-minute run but the bitter cold turned it into a quick and stiff 20-minute run. Sadly, I took the next two days off just because of my busy schedule and my holiday exhaustion. Good start, eh? Thursday I found a drop of motivation again and I ran with it - literally. Something tells me there will be a lot of treadmill work outs this time around because that's where I found myself running four miles that night. Since treadmill running is typically easier because of the rotating belt, I varied the incline percentage throughout the run to simulate running up and down hills, and I also cranked up the speed. My average pace was 8.05 (or something like that), of course with variation there too. I figure if I'm going to resort to those kinds of work outs, I'll need to make it challenging and realistic. That brings me to Friday, where I took advantage of my rest day to, well, rest! Today marks my first long run and I'll head down to the treadmill again to run four to five miles. With wind chills making it feel like 18 degrees - I say NO THANKS to braving the cold.

I haven't been doing that much since I ran the OBX Marathon. A lot of elliptical work outs, an occasional treadmill run and some weight lifting and ab work. To keep my body guessing, which is always good when you're trying to slim down, I like to incorporate intervals and weights into my elliptical work outs. Since I train for long distances my intervals need to be longer too - like two to five minutes on and off - depending on how I feel that day. When I use weights while I'm on the elliptical, I weave in curls, presses and arm raises, or just hold very light weights. I like to think of it as multi-tasking! Strength work is usually kept simple. Squats, lunges, leg raises and calf raises round out my leg work, and curls, presses, tricep pulls and some other made up lifts make up my arm work. Also, I like to incorporate weights into my ab work outs so that I know I'm not just going through the motions. Weight training will be especially important in training this time around since I'll be facing a lot more hills than I did in OBX.

Happy New Year! Here's to many SUCCESSFUL RESOLUTIONS! :-)