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...