And Here's to Week 2!!

Well, week 2 of training has come and gone! I put in a total of 16.30 miles this week and I kept all of my average minute/mile times under 13:00 minutes! This is something that makes me happy because every little bit I take off of my average time gets me closer to my goal pace. Other than my left ankle feeling a bit sore today, I am feeling great!

Monday, January 17
Miles - 3.25
Total Time - 00:40:13
Average minute/mile - 12:22
Location - Ardmore Regional Park
Thoughts - A good run! It was a nice day. My time would have been better if I would have either paused the time at the stop light both ways OR not have been stuck at the light both ways for pretty much the entire light cycle. Oh, and an ant bit me while I was cooling down and stretching by my car... it freaking hurt!

Wednesday, January 19
Miles - 4.01
Total Time - 00:51:33
Average minute/mile - 12:51
Location - YMCA Treadmill
Thoughts - Went OK. Definitely my worst run of the week. I was crazy thirsty on this run. I didn't drink enough water and I had a salty lunch. I didn't pay attention to my note to self last week I guess! Lesson officially learned! I did keep my average time under 13 minutes though, so that's a plus. :)

Friday, January 21
Miles - 3.00
Total Time - 00:37:13
Average minute/mile - 12:24
Location - YMCA Treadmill
Thoughts - This was supposed to be a Thursday run but my schedule got screwed up and I didn't get to run on Thursday. I was a little worried about it being right before my "long" run of the week so I did take it a little easy. I was happy with this run.

Saturday, January 22
Miles - 6.04
Total Time - 01:15:53
Average minute/mile - 12:34
Location - Ardmore Regional Park
Thoughts - I was very happy with this run! I felt really good during and after and I kept my average minute/mile down! One negative to this run was that one of my shoelaces, which I always double knot, un-knotted and loosened (never actually completely untying). This caused my shoe to loosen and I managed to rub a blister on the bottom arch of my right foot. Silly me, I didn't stop because the "looseness" of the shoe wasn't obvious and since I didn't see shoelaces flopping around, I didn't stop to tie it. Another lesson learned, right?

At the beginning of the week, Saturday's run had me a bit nervous (actually every Saturday run has me nervous, haha) because last week wasn't great. This Saturday's run actually made me pretty excited, though. It helped me realize that this is only week 2! I still have 14 more weeks to get ready for this thing and I know I will keep getting better and stronger every week!

So, week 2 was a success! Here's to hoping week 3 is even better!

One week down!

I'm proud to say I survived week one! As you know, I am training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and am on a 16 week journey to prepare myself for the 26.2 mile run. During week 1, I put in 15.51 total miles! 10.2 of those miles were done on a treadmill because we had a serious arctic cold front come through this week and I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to temperatures in the 20's and wind chills in the teens. Chances are good I won't be running in these temperatures for the marathon on *May 1* so I'm going to be a baby and not train in those conditions!!

Before I give a the breakdown of my runs this week, I'd like to share my goals with you. I am hoping to finish the marathon in 5 hours, which I googled as being the "average" finish time for females. I know this is my first marathon and may not make that number but I like to dream big. ;) In order to finish in just over 5 hours, I need to have an average pace of 5.2 mph which is an 11:30 minute/mile.

Monday, January 10
Miles - 3.10
Total Time - 00:39:54
Average minute/mile - 12:52
Location - YMCA Treadmill
Thoughts - First run of the training program! Felt great, no complaints!

Wednesday, January 12
Miles - 4.00
Total Time - 00:54:08
Average minute/mile - 13:32
Location - YMCA Treadmill
Thoughts - Eek! I didn't drink enough water during the day and felt like crap about 1.75 miles in. Note to self - drink more water... especially on run days!

Thursday, January 13
Miles - 3.10
Total Time - 00:38:14
Average minute/mile - 12:20
Location - YMCA Treadmill
Thoughts - Better total time and average minute/mile than Monday! Felt great during and after!

Saturday, January 15
Miles - 5.31
Total Time - 01:11:48
Average minute/mile - 13:31
Location - Ardmore Regional Park
Thoughts - First outside run! Noticed a definite decrease in energy for the last 1.5 miles but nothing that can't improve! I had some Jelly Belly Sport Beans before this run... I am going to get several different gel packs and see which I like best to use as my runs get longer and for the actual marathon.

So, as you see I am definitely not the fastest or the best runner out there but that's part of the challenge! I wasn't very good at doing consistent runs in the months leading up to the start of my training due to various life events so I'm not disappointed with where I am. I am working on maintaining a steady pace throughout the run rather than start quickly and not have any energy left! I can do sprints all day but since this isn't a sprint, it won't do me any good! :) Looking forward to showing off my progress throughout these 16 weeks!

On to week 2!!

And so it begins!!

Monday marks the start of my 16 week marathon training schedule!! On May 1 I will be ready to take on 26.2 miles! Eek!! I have some support for this one... my husband, Eric, and our friend, Nathan, have decided to take on the challenge with me! Support is nice but honestly, in the end it'll be up to me to complete the challenge! I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous... but I'm definitely more excited than nervous!

And so it begins!! I am excited to have a place to share my adventure!!