The Plan: 1/2 marathon, marathon, and beyond!

Joy here...Okay, so last week and the week prior I was dealing with one heck of a cold.  I took a total of 10 days off working out, and now I feel like I'm starting from scratch.  But I wrote before that I shouldn't be discouraged when I feel like my fitness is fading and I'm regressing back to zero, because the truth of the matter is that the valleys in my fitness are never quite as low or deep as I think they are.  I just need to remember that when I was 30 years old and I started running, a nine minute run was all I could pull off, and now I'm 35 years old, and I can pull off a 10km run even after taking 10 days off working out.

So when I feel depressed that I'm not anywhere near where I'd like to be in terms of distance or speed for my upcoming 1/2 marathon at the end of May, I just need to remember that adage that every journey begins with the first step.

And I'm taking that first step now.

And that first step is a plan.

I sat down with The Man, the Daniels' Running Formula,* and a calendar and worked out a plan beginning next week (the first week in March) to get me comfortably to my next 1/2 marathon.

Then we went out to the local fitness shop and bought more supplies:  a weight vest, a bosu ball, and a scale.  We've added these little tools to our arsenal in the hopes that they can help us with our fitness goals, because beyond this next 1/2 marathon, I have my sights set on an October marathon.  I may have had to shelve those goals last year, but I'm not going to do that again.

So with the can-do attitude engendered by a plan and a positive attitude (and reduced coughing!!!), I got on the bike on Saturday after my double-double Thursday work out (a spin class and a strength training session), and rode indoors for 60 minutes.

I didn't hold a high speed (avg around 26km/hr), and it felt rather tough on that bike, but something is better than nothing, and as I've said before, I just have to remember a couple of key mantras:

Onwards!

and

Just keep going!

So with that in mind, I've got a plan, and now I just have to follow it!

Over and out,

Joy

*I've used the Daniels' Running Formula book before, when I was training for my first 1/2 marathon.  I've now created a plan for my next 1/2 marathon and the subsequent full marathon based on some of the principles in this book.