Nike Women’s Marathon 2009 – My Training Plan

Oh Lord. Every time I look at this blog, I sort of sigh. It’s always so long between posts. But, since blogging is part of my real job at SeenON.com, it’s hard to muster much enthusiasm. However, as my training for the Nike Women’s Marathon starts to pick up, I’m sure there will be more injured toes, more sore muscles, and more training triumphs to blog about.

So what sort of training plan am I using? Last year for the Chicago Marathon, I more or less took plans from a bunch of different sources and made up my own. This year, though, I am going to more or less loosely follow the Nike Intermediate training plan, located here, and the Lasso intermediate training plan I just found in Runner’s World. Lasso’s is less running overall, which makes me happy, but I like the consistency of the Nike plan.

Regardless, I am going to try to do a few things differently this year. First of all, I am going to try to strength train more often in the first half of the training. This will include some upper body strength training (pushups and the like) as well as some hard hill runs in the middle of the week. I am going to leave the speedwork to the second half of my training plan so I don’t get bored.

In general, I’ll be logging about 25-40 miles a week, which is only slightly more than my normal current training. (Usually 3-4 runs during the week from 4-6 miles, and another 9-12 miler on the weekend.) The main difference is going to be the strength (a challenge when I get super-tuckered in the middle of marathon training) and the hill work. (Unlike Chicago, this marathon will be hilly!) I will be doing my long runs with the Nike group at Marina Green like last year, and keep up my post-run dips in the SF Bay. I’m not sure if I’ll set a goal time this year or not – probably will decide when I get some longer-than-14-mile runs under my belt.

I haven’t run longer than 13 for many months (probably since Chicago) so I am looking forward to the challenge. But first, a fabulous trip to Thailand and Cambodia, where I will probably not run all that much.

 

Got in to the Nike Women’s Marathon 2009! and other updates…

Wow, I really haven’t posted for a long, long time. I can’t believe I haven’t even updated about my finish in the Chicago Marathon last October! Well, in case you are wondering, yes, yes I did finish my very first marathon. It was a pretty respectable time – 4:15 – but not the under-4-for-my-first-marathon I had been hoping for. (Unrealistic as that may have been.) The kicker was the day we ran, it was literally 90 degrees on the course. At mile 8, I thought I was going to die. At mile 10, I gave up expectations of an under-4-hour finish. At mile 15, I almost kissed the angel with ice-cold sponges. At mile 21, I put a big chunk of ice in my hat and let it melt down my face. At mile 24, I did the same thing – but the ice went into my sports bra instead.

My race number is now posted on my office wall, streaks and all. And my toenails have just finally recovered. Just in time for me getting into the 2009 Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco on October 19!

My credit card was charged over the weekend, which is how you know you got in. Having trained with these girls all summer and early fall in the Presidio and beyond for my Chicago marathon debut last fall, I am super-excited to get to run the actual race on my home turf. With the free training, the race practically runs itself. And it’s gotta be cooler than 89 and humid. Right? Right?

More updates to come as my training kicks into gear later this Spring…

 

Lots of running and moving, no updates

Hello out there. I know it’s been a super-long time since I posted, but things have been a little crazy. Yeah, moving – that was hectic. Then there was the vacation (from all things digital) which wasn’t hectic, but decidedly blog-free. Then there was the training. And more training. And still more training. Since my last post, I’ve racked up an 18-miler, 20-miler, and 17-miler. One more 20-miler and I will be set for the marathon – less than a month away! I’ve had to be a little off-schedule because I was helping plan my coworker’s wedding, but other than that, should be on track.

The 20-miler was an extreme challenge since it was a little hot in San Francisco that day. But otherwise, the runs have gone well and now I am just trying not to psyche myself out too much thinking about what I should and should not be doing. It’s amazing how cleansing a long run is – even though it’s exhausting, I find it relaxing, too. Especially the dips in the Bay afterward – I didn’t do that yesterday after the 17 miles since I was on my own, and I am really hurting today!

I am also debating whether to do a two or three-week taper for the marathon. If I do three weeks, my last long run will be next week on Saturday. If two weeks, it would be the next week. If I want to go with the group I train with, it would have to be two weeks from now, since the marathon they are training for is a week after Chicago (Nike Women’s Marathon here in San Francisco.) So I am not sure what to do….

 

Another 14 miles and endless unpacking

Short and sweet since I am writing this from my iPhone… Went for a great 14 miler again yesterday then had a crazy move. Went pretty smoothly though and we are trying to organize. Feel like I should have run longer but no time. Hope all those stairs make up for it!

 

Longest run ever, plus a dip in the Bay

This weekend, I started running with the Nike Run Club SF as I hit longer runs leading up to the Chicago Marathon. We started at Little Marina Green at 8 am on Saturday morning to hit 14 miles – my longest run EVER! It was actually a great run – ran at about 9:30 pace – slower but easier on the joints. Nike’s training group is great because they provide a pacer and several aid stations – no lugging water on the run. We ran around Presidio, The Richmond, and then looped around Land’s End.

After the run, everyone was talking about taking a dip in the San Francisco Bay … and they were serious! Everyone swears by standing waist-deep in the 55 degree water for 15-20 minutes after these long runs to help with swelling, recovery, etc. I’m game, so I hopped in. It was frigid but I actually do feel better than after last weekend’s Half Marathon.

In other news, we packed some more for our move next Saturday, so the house is officially a wreck. I’ll be glad when it’s over with!