Monday marked the start of my official marathon training for this fall’s New York City Marathon! This will be my 7th marathon overall, but possibly one of my hardest, given my injury issues over the past year. I will also be raising money to support buildOn and the great work they do to build schools in Mali and other developing countries around the world – your donations are greatly appreciated!
Here’s a look at my first week of training:
Monday, 6/15
Today was technically a rest day, but I felt like it would be kind of silly to start my official training off by resting! I also had the chance to sleep in a bit due to working from home, so I had extra time to hit the gym that I don’t normally have in the morning. I did an hour on the treadmill, ranging my incline from 3 to 5 and my speed between 3 and 3.5 mph – basically an hour of walking hills, both to prep for the marathon but more so to prep for my upcoming hiking trip in the Balkans! I followed that up with my normal 20-minute physical therapy routine of strengthening exercises for my hips, core and glutes, as well as lifting weights to tone my arms.
Tuesday, 6/16
I was very proud of myself today – I had an early morning where I had to be downtown by 7:30 a.m. and then had a work event than ran past 8:30 p.m. But I still ran three miles at 9:00 pm after I got home from the event and got my PT exercises in.
Wednesday, 6/17
Today was a real rest day, although I still did my PT exercises. Gotta strengthen that core!
Thursday, 6/18
Today was my first morning waking up super early to get in a run before work – three miles in almost 100% humidity at 5:30 a.m. followed by lifting weights. I went out with friends tonight so skipped the PT exercises.
Friday, 6/19
After work, I hit the gym for 45 minutes on the elliptical, followed by my regular PT exercises.
Saturday, 6/20
My first “long” run of training! I ran six miles at around 7:30 a.m. and felt really good. While I started slow (a 12:00 pace for the first mile), I soon got into a good rhythm and got a couple miles in under 11:00 pace. A rule of thumb is to do long runs at about 1:00 per mile slower than your goal marathon pace, so if I can consistently do my long runs around 11:00 minutes per mile, I’ll be in good shape!
Sunday, 6/21
Last day of week one and I ran four miles, averaging 10:48, with my fastest mile at 10:12. Yay me!
Total mileage: 16 miles
