Marathon Training

Well it’s that time of year again where I run for months on end and then wonder why I think running is a good idea. Or maybe more accurately, I wonder why I think running long distance races are a good idea because running in general is great if you are only out for 30 minutes. 

I am (mostly) joking but I am two months in to training now and the first couple months are always seem to be the hardest thanks mostly to the weather. Running in the cold is never fun so I am VERY much looking forward to when it finally decides to warm up and the days get longer. I am a summer lover and when you combine actually having to be out in the cold I can’t really say it’s my idea of fun.

I am running three races this year which was a little unexpected. I had planned for my two bigger races but the half-marathon in August is a random draw entry and I didn’t think I would be lucky enough to get in two years in a row. VERY much looking forward to it though because of all the races I have done it is by far the most fun. 

I am very nervous for the marathon because I have never run anything past 21km at this point, that being said though, to me running is mostly a mental game. I saw a quote one time that said “Whatever distance you believe you can run is the exact distance you will end up running” and I completely believe that. Sure your legs get tired and, in my experience, you can feel pretty sick if you aren’t getting some food in while you are running but it really is mostly just about putting one foot in front of the other and believing you can do it. 

So the races…

The 30k is in Whistler. I ran their half-marathon last year and really enjoyed the route. It is a mix of road and trail, which I love. I was going to do the half again but realized that the weekend of the race lined up with when I should be running 30km anyways in my training so I decided to go for it and add those extra 9 kilometers in a race setting before doing a full marathon. 

The marathon is the Chilliwack Revel. To be honest I was having a hard time finding a marathon to do and this one was pretty near the only one left on the list by the time I went through everything so not really a first choice but we will see how it goes. It would seem as if most of the route is trail, which could make for a very nice race.

Last but definitely not least the Lululemon SeaWheeze half-marathon. If you read my post from last year you will know what I think this race is great…absolutely crazy but great all at the same time. There are SO MANY PEOPLE in this race and so much going but that is half the fun. I still think every runner should try it at least once. 

So here we are two months down and about 6 more months to go. I am hoping I am going to get in to a better routine with my training now that spring is just around the corner but other then that…bring on the marathon!