My Marathon Training Journey

Everyone told me the hardest part of running a marathon would be the training. I would dread it. It would become something I "had" to do. I didn't want that.

So Skyler and I sat down to plan our marathon training summer. I wanted my long runs to be part of the experience, not just something I had to do.

What a journey it's been! I've done runs at Lake Mead, to the top of Mt. Baldy, on the Kalalau Trail in Kauai, the local Santa Ana mountains, and randomly in Virginia. And let's not forget the treadmill...it's become my best friend.

No matter what happens on Saturday, I have already succeeded. The hard part is over. Now all that is left is enjoying a marathon.

Ran to the Top of Black Star Canyon

This isn't normal marathon training. The St. George Marathon is a downhill marathon, so I need to incorporate downhill training into the mix. Orange is pretty flat, so I knew I'd have to hit the trails to find my downhills.

Saturday morning Skyler and I got a babysitter for Des and we headed out to Black Star Canyon. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep the night before. The weather was perfect and there was even some sprinkles at the beginning.

Black Star is 8 miles up and 8 miles down. The up was just a conduit to get to the downhill. I really enjoyed the run and of course I loved that Skyler and I got to run together.

We made it to the top in 1:29. I was sweaty, but felt great. I couldn't wait to run down.

I thought running down would be faster, but we maintained an 8:00 pace. We came down in about 1:05.

I loved this trail and can't wait to do it again! I felt great for the rest of the day, but the next day my legs were sore. I felt like I had run a marathon.

Marathon Training Week #7

I used to get butterflies every time I thought about running the treadmill at the gym because that meant SPEED INTERVALS. And running fast scares me. Or at least it used to.

I've been hammering the treadmill lately with my speed and tempo workouts. I've been sticking with my 3 days a week running schedule and I feel it's been working. I'm not killing my knees and I'm getting faster. Oh, and I discovered negative incline on the treadmill. Hooray! This will be great for my downhill training!

Monday: Swim 2300 yards

Tuesday: Speed intervals on treadmill, 1:01, 8 miles, 8x800 @ 6:40

Wednesday: Rode outside! Hill sprints, 6 x Cannon hill, 22.1 miles, 1:49

Thursday: Temp Run, 60 minutes, 8 miles, 3 @ 7:30, then 4 @ 7:00 with negative incline

Friday: Trainer, 70 minutes, 20 miles

Saturday: Trail run with Skyler, 16 miles, 2:38, 1/2 downhill