A job, a husband, three kids, countless after school activities, and a plan to run a marathon in February 2017. Is it even possible to make all of these priorities fit your schedule?
Can Marathoning Fit Your Schedule?
Yes.
But hoooooooow?
I have my marathon training plan guides all around me (more on that coming up Thursday!), a paper monthly calendar October 2016-February 2017, and my trusty pencil. I’m ready to start mapping out how I’m going to achieve my goal: to run the 2017 Austin Marathon in under 4 hours.
Let’s be honest: My real goal is to run under 4 hours so that I have “D” Batch seeding at 2017 Comrades Marathon, where I’d like to run from Durban-Pietermaritzburg in pursuit of a second Comrades finish and the coveted back-to-back medal. But family emotional and financial priorities have that goal on the back burner for right now, so my focus is on running a quality marathon.
But between now and February, I have a few benchmark runs. As part of the Austin Runner’s Club Distance Challenge, I am going to run four races leading up to the Austin Marathon. The first race, Back to the 80s 8K is in two weeks. I am not even close to ready! Summer in Austin is still in full force (temps in the high 90s), which means running has been slow and hot.
Regardless, I’m looking forward to lacing up my racing shoes again. And then the day after the first race is Day One of my official marathon training. (Really…I promise….More on that coming on Thursday!)
In November, there’s the Race for the Water 10 Miler. The third race is December’s Decker Challenge 13.1, a race so hilly I haven’t run it since it pummeled me in 1997 when I was training for my first marathon. The fourth tune-up race is the 3M Half Marathon at the end of January. It is the fastest and most raceable course, and I’d like to turn in a strong run there.
The final race in the Distance Challenge is the Austin Marathon itself. The last time I ran the Austin Marathon, I set my marathon PR. Woo hoo! But that was in 2000, and the course was a delightful downhill dash to downtown. I know there’s no way I can run 3:26 anymore, and the current hilly course will be a good challenge for breaking 4:00.
Now that I have those five dates on my calendar, I can clearly identify potential pinch-points in my training. In any training cycle there are times where I’m travelling for a work conference or completely booked with kidstuff all weekend, or we have a house full of guests who don’t understand weekend long runs. By seeing these dates in advance, I can better prepare for when my training should ebb and flow.
There you have it. With some forethought and careful planning, running a marathon really can fit your schedule.
Good health and great happiness to you!