I'm a wife, mother and preschool music teacher who runs marathons. What a wonderful combination! I do wear a few other hats but I won't bore you with that. Today I want to tell you about how I plan to fit marathon training in my schedule.
I took this photo after a 4-mile run on Monday morning. Can you see the makeup from the night before in my face? I'm fancy like that. Seriously, here are a few tips to make it work:
Happy face AFTER the run |
Specific - my goal is to finish the Chevron Houston Marathon under 5 hours.
Measurable - I will train 5 times a week in the morning.
Achievable - I can totally do what it takes to train and run the race if I keep the correct pace.
Recorded - I am keeping my mileage and other training stats.
Time Based - my deadline is January 17, 2016.
• Put it on the Calendar - lock some time to be sure for training. I like to exercise in the mornings. I write it down on my calendar each week and each week I get it done.
• Rest - because it's the only way you will last. In order to be productive in every area of life, you need to give your body time to recover. Do not make the mistake of doing too much and risking your health. I have to make sure that I get to bed on time and that I pursue peace. Resting and being at peace can do wonders when pursuing a big goal.
• Ask for Help - There's nothing wrong with asking for help. Whether you need help with your kids so you can train or if you have a question about training itself, reach out. I recently reached out because I wanted to start adding hill work in my training. God blessed me with a wonderful group who does that type of training together every week. All I needed to do was to get out of my bubble and reach out.
• Believe - everyone believes in something. I want to warn you that when the going gets tough (because it does) you need to know in what or Who you believe. I often have to remember to believe that the training will work. I have to remind myself that resting for a couple of days will not hurt my running base but it will benefit me tremendously. I have to believe that I have what it takes to cover 26.2 miles again. That's what I mean by believe and believing the best about your goal.
Friends, I pray that you do not give up on your goal, no matter how challenging your schedule may seem. I appreciate your prayers that I will persist, rest well and keep training. With 149 days to go I am eager to keep going till I reach that glorious Houston finish line.
• Register for the Chevron Houston Marathon here
Previously in this Series:
• Weeks 1 - 6
• Week 7
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