Saturday, July 12, 2008

Marathon Training Report (16 Weeks Out)

I never thought back in February when Hoover first asked me to train for a marathon that it would take me this long to get back into running form. Here it is, the beginning of July, and I can finally say that I am fully prepared to embark upon my 16-week training schedule.


But I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what I’ve done to get to this point:


Feb – March: Struggled to run 1-2 miles 3xweek

April: Returned to my gym for 30min workouts 3xweek

April 13: Joined WW at 220.2 lbs

May: Continued struggle to run 3xweek; upped mileage to 2-3 miles

June: Started speed workouts of 4 ¼-mi repeats; upped mileage to 3-4 miles

June 17: Weighed in at under 200 lbs (psychological milestone!)

July: Fully developed 16-week marathon training schedule; began running 5xweek

July 12: Completed 1st long run of 7 miles in 1:21 – average 11-12 min pace


I’ve lost 30 lbs to date, which I am immensely proud of. I’ve set myself a goal weight of 150 lbs for the marathon.

Weight Watchers has been a great system to live by and I have to admit that I enjoy my meals much more now than I did previously. Who knew that eating fresh fruits and vegetables 5xday would taste so good and keep you satisfied?

The only negative side-effect of the WW lifestyle is that my hash weekend drinking is severely curtailed. I still manage to fix some mixed drinks and drink a couple of beers throughout the day, but the majority of my fluid intake is in the form of water. Does it make me less of a hasher? I hope not. My greater level of sobriety provides me ample brain cognizance to remember everyone else’s crazy antics.

2 comments:

Carie said...

Woohoo, marathon! They are for people with vajayjays, you know. : ) Which marathon?

brownie said...

Not only does it make you less of a hasher, it makes you less of a person!

Saw Hoover at the Garden 10 miler, when she made me eat my words because I said she wouldn't finish it.