Run 1 Week 1...Only 19 more weeks to go!

What a great Memorial Day weekend! I have been waiting so long for a 3 day weekend and this was the best! Everyday in the 80's and sunshine! Did a little yoga, a little kayaking, and a little running! Today was day 1 of official marathon training!

These photos are of Island Heights, NJ. The boardwalk is only about half a mile long so Stephanie and I ventured off through out the neighborhood as well so we didn't have to just keep going back and forth. It's pretty hilly over there so even though it's the first run of training we did have to run 2 hills...but since we were doing a run/walk interval the whole time it wasn't so bad.

Since it was so hot out we waited until 7:30pm to run. It was still pretty hot, but not unbearable, probably because the sun was going down. We did 35 minutes (walk 2 mins, run 3 mins.)

The next run day is Thursday so the plan for tomorrow is light weight training and Zumba and Wednesday is going to be pilates.

One run down....about 59 more to go...

Official Training starts on Monday!

Happy Memorial Day weekend all! I am excited for this awesome weather here in NJ! I feel like I have been waiting SO LONG for summer...and here it is!

I look forward to relaxing, kayaking, BBQ-ing, and drinking this weekend because come Monday morning I am officially on my 20 week training program!

Last Saturday I ran a 5k race. Now, I have not run 3.1 miles straight in probably almost 2 years...so I wanted to use this as a "baseline" for my fitness level. How bad was I starting out at??? Well, I was pleasantly surprised by my time...30 minutes 5 seconds...this is roughly 10 minutes per mile...or for those of you who run on a treadmill...equivalent to the speed of 6.0.

I felt good, and for the first time caught myself reciting a mantra over and over to myself the entire race...."Slow and steady finishes the race." Not sure how many times I said it before I actually realized I was saying it, but it definitely helped get me through it! The last quarter mile was awesome because my High School Cross Country and Track Coach saw me...jumped back onto the course and ran with me...that was pretty cool! Thanks, Coach B!

The day after the race I felt like I was hit by a truck! Everything hurt! But, in a weird way I liked it!

Today I bought my first pair of running shorts...I actually don't own any athletic shorts...and with how hot it's been the past 2 days figured there is NO WAY I will survive running in pants, even if they are cropped!

Here's to a fabulous holiday weekend!

Planning, Planning, and More Planning

Immediately after receiving my acceptance email into the marathon I loaded the Marathon Training Program in my "Run Coach Pro" app on my iTouch to see what I was in for. I want to be fully prepared for everything. I have alot to learn and I want to make sure I don't miss anything.

This past weekend I made my way over to Road Runner to get properly fitted for my running shoes. They offer a service where they help you find the right shoe based on your gait. I found out I needed a stability shoe. (See my beautiful kicks below!) I also got fitted inserts, special running socks, and my running log journal to keep track of my miles.

(If it's possible to be in love with shoes...I am IN LOVE with these! I can't wait to run in them!

I begin my training on Monday, so this weekend and next week I am going to start planning out my meals. In addition to getting through this injury free, it's very important for me to get my nutrition right. Lucky for me I have a lot of experience writing up meal plans and playing around with macro-nutrients, so I look forward to doing that.

I also have downloaded the podcast Marathon Training Academy which is exactly what I was looking for...a podcast filled with information for people new to marathon training. They offer great tips on training, running clothes, stretching, nutrition, injuries, and they even sometimes do interviews with some amazing people. This one guy they interviewed did 63 Marathons in 63 Days!!! The event was documented in a film called "FEAT" that I definitely plan on watching!

This Saturday I signed up for a 5k...maybe I'll break in my pretty little sneakers...

She used to be a weight lifter...

Welcome to my new blog. Some of you may be my old blogger friends and some of you may be new, but either way thanks for following me! I figured it was only right to start a new blog, because I have a new journey...a new goal...and it's much different than My Life as an Amateur Fitness Competitor. This year...this month...(May 30th to be exact) I begin training for the Nike Women's San Francisco Marathon...my FIRST marathon...EVER.

I never in a MILLION years thought I would ever be training for a marathon...in fact, I think I remember telling my self I would never be crazy enough to do it...so how did I end up here? Well, I subscribe to a bazillion fitness related emails...and most of the time get so many I just end up deleting them...unless the subject line catches my attention. I think this one said something about entering your name into the lottery for the NWM. For whatever reason I opened the email clicked on the link and without giving myself time to back out filled out the registration. The race is 12 days before my 30th birthday and I figured if I was going to run a marathon the only way would be if I was "randomly chosen." There are 20,000 runners in this race (half marathon and marathon combined) and Team in Training and college students get an automatic bid into the race...I thought, my chances are slim...well here comes the morning of Wednesday, April 27th...I'm not even out of bed and I grab my itouch...immediately check my email and see that I have a "Congratulations! You're IN, baby!" email. I started to laugh...WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?!

I'm not gonna lie. For a girl who said she would NEVER be crazy enough to run a marathon I was checking my email and bank account 10 times a day to see if my account was debited. I was anxious to throw myself into a NEW challenge...one that would help get me back into shape after 2 years off from competing in NPC fitness. I'm excited about the challenge of having to get back on a strict training schedule, and more importantly eating healthy. The last 2 years I abandoned the "clean eating" lifestyle (ok, not entirely, but instead of 90% clean 10% fun it was more like 30% clean and 70% fun) and now I am paying for it. Up about 20lbs from my April 2009 competition weight I am READY. I'm SICK of the pants being too snug and with summer a month away I am definitely NOT beach body ready (well at least in my eyes...I'm still "better off" than the average American woman my age, but who wants to be average?)

So, sit back and enjoy the ride. Feel free to comment, ask questions, or post advice for me. I look forward to meeting new friends as I transform into an endurance athlete! Like I said, "She used to be a weight lifter..."