Week 1 of Marathon Training: 16 weeks until 2:59 Marathon

On December 6, 2008, I’ll run the Memphis St. Jude’s Marathon. This week marks the first official week of my marathon training. I’m following the 16 week program by the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST). This program includes 3 quality runs a week, and then 2-3 days of cross training (swimming and cycling) per week. This plan is covered in their book, Run Less, Run Faster.

I tried to run a marathon once before (Feb 2007). I did not respect the distance and tried it without any serious training. After the halfway mark, I had to stop due to a flare up of illiotibial band syndrome.

This time, I’m following a careful plan and working hard to avoid training errors that could lead to injury. I have a good base. I’ve been doing between 12-17 mile long runs for the last two months. I’m doing resistance training twice a week. After my long runs I use the 50 degree cold pool at the gym to cool my legs.

I try to remind myself that every time I run, I’m running the marathon. The race is not on one day, it is the totality of my training leading up to it. Here’s hoping that everything goes according to plan.