Chevron Houston Marathon 2017 Training Week 1

Monday, June 27, 2016

201 days away! It seems far away but trust me, time flies so I started my (official) training for Houston last Saturday. I never really took time off from running but I did take time to rethink my strategy and come up with a plan that will give me the results I need in January. Before I tell you about that, let me tell you about my awesome running group. 

First run of the season with my running group. Hoo Yah!
We started the season with a 2-mile run. Fort Bend Fit really does take you from couch to the finish line of your race of choice. I ran at a pretty fast pace. Ask me if I can replicate that in November and we'll see if my new strategy pays off. 
Breakfast time!
At the end of the run we had a pretty awesome breakfast. It was also a great time to catch up with friends I haven't seen since January. 

happy runner I am!
I took a hard look at my race finish times, my weight and my average pace for the past two years. I realized that I wasn't getting any faster. I also took a hard look at the past 12 months of my life. I did pretty good with keeping up with training with all I had going on. Still, I am determined to change several things about my training. Here's the new plan:

Nutrition - I am going to treat myself as if I was an elite athlete. My nutrition will have to aid my training. After many attempts to get this done, my husband and I settled with a plan that we can both do and succeed. I am on week 2 of The Shred Revolutionary Diet and he is on week 3. So far, this has been the most success I've had in a while. My goal is to PR my October Half-Marathon and to arrive at the start line of Houston lean and ready to run 26.2 miles well. 

Hydration - I bought a new hydration system, so I will be running with a fuel belt. I will also continue to hydrate well during the day and be sure to drink up my electrolytes. 

Rest - I'm giving myself a little grace during the summer but I am going to be super strict with my rest schedule. It's vain to train hard and not to let my body recover. Resting is essential do make this whole thing work. 

Exercise -  I decided to return to my original pace group because my pace hasn't improved in 2 years. Good thing I'm the "over excited member" in the running group so I basically know people everywhere. I'm ready to just face the truth about where I am instead of feeling the pressure to keep up with where I wish I could be. I also decided to swim more this summer and to add resistance training to my schedule. This morning I swam 16 laps in this pool. Swimming has been such a gift to my weekly exercise schedule. It's also extra interesting because of the water aerobics class that meets while I'm training. They listen to Old School R&B and while I'm swimming I can see their dancing feet. Entertaining for sure! 
Swimming in the summer: so far so good!
So this is week 1 of my training for Houston. I hope you know that you can still sign up and join us in January. There's plenty room if you want to be part of the Charity program and you can still sign up for the 5K. Click here for more info. 

I appreciate your love and support as I start my journey to the finish line at Houston. This will be my 5th marathon and with God's help I will finish strong.