I want to write about why I decided to train for and run a second full marathon, but will do so a bit later. I find that keeping a journal of training is really helpful as a motivational tool, so I will just launch into a summary of Week 1.

Saturday-3

Tuesday-3

Wednesday-3

Thursday-5

Saturday-6

Total Mileage: 20 miles

This week was all about recovering from one of the worst colds I can remember, and starting to establish a reliable base for increasing mileage. After hardly running the week before last due to illness, it felt really good to hit the trails/pavement and get sweaty once again. The silver lining of getting sick was that my body got a solid chunk of days to rest. I resumed running feeling really good–joints and muscles are pain-free and going strong.

I am working on feeling more comfortable with a slower mile time. After focusing on speed goals the last few months, it is time to switch back to distance goals. This morning, I ran a 10K race 6 minutes slower than my 10K race last month. Last month, I crossed the finish line and was completely spent. This morning, I crossed the finish line and could have kept running. That is one of the lessons I can remember from two years ago when I trained for my first marathon. Save energy for the end, burn your energy slowly, do not fret about notions of speed.

Since today consisted entirely of road running, I am going to kick Week 2 off tomorrow with a trail run. The plan is to achieve a long run of 10 miles during Week 2.

One thing is for sure–I could not do this without the support of family and friends!