This morning during my scheduled 6 mile easy run, I realized why I love training for the marathon each year despite the miles I'm logging each week. It's summer and each weekend my partner and I spend the weekend at the chalet away from crazy, neurotic Montréal. I could easily fall into line like everyone else and just eat and relax while enjoying the natural beauty around me. Instead, I get up early in the morning--on a weekend--to beat the summer heat and log an easy run on Saturday and then a long run on Sunday.
Well into my second mile during the morning's 6 miler, I wondered what will my training look like after the marathon is over. What will I do? HIIT (high intensity interval training) routine every other day? Weight training? Crossfit? Okay, crossfit is crazy, but I wouldn't rule it out. Yoga? Or just sit around and eat whatever I want? NOT! Then I realized why I love training for the marathon: it's already planned out for me.
Fall, winter, and spring, my training is pretty much maintaining a healthy physical level--basically don't get fat, but stay fit. This, however, doesn't lead to any one particular event--a 5k race for example. With a marathon training plan, each day is planned out: easy days, intervals, tempo, long run, and an off day. All this leading to that one event: the marathon.
I have to get up early in the morning on Sundays to beat the heat. During the week, I either run at the gym or run outdoors, depending on the distance for that particular workout. And one day during the week, I have no running whatsoever. Rest day, which I have come to worship and adore. I'm currently using Hanson's Marathon Method, which you can buy online or visit your local book store for your own copy.
There's already a schedule of what the training will span until your target marathon. In my case, it's the Montréal Marathon on the 28th of September. In the book, the Hanson brothers detail at what recommended paces each workout require, depending on past recent races or even testing one's VO2 max. Everything is there for me. All I have to do is just run, then enjoy finishing a marathon.
Well into my second mile during the morning's 6 miler, I wondered what will my training look like after the marathon is over. What will I do? HIIT (high intensity interval training) routine every other day? Weight training? Crossfit? Okay, crossfit is crazy, but I wouldn't rule it out. Yoga? Or just sit around and eat whatever I want? NOT! Then I realized why I love training for the marathon: it's already planned out for me.
Fall, winter, and spring, my training is pretty much maintaining a healthy physical level--basically don't get fat, but stay fit. This, however, doesn't lead to any one particular event--a 5k race for example. With a marathon training plan, each day is planned out: easy days, intervals, tempo, long run, and an off day. All this leading to that one event: the marathon.
I have to get up early in the morning on Sundays to beat the heat. During the week, I either run at the gym or run outdoors, depending on the distance for that particular workout. And one day during the week, I have no running whatsoever. Rest day, which I have come to worship and adore. I'm currently using Hanson's Marathon Method, which you can buy online or visit your local book store for your own copy.
There's already a schedule of what the training will span until your target marathon. In my case, it's the Montréal Marathon on the 28th of September. In the book, the Hanson brothers detail at what recommended paces each workout require, depending on past recent races or even testing one's VO2 max. Everything is there for me. All I have to do is just run, then enjoy finishing a marathon.
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