Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Marathon Training: Week One

So I've officially decided that my next marathon will be the Little Rock Arkansas Marathon. Thanks for all of your advice, most of you seemed to think Little Rock would be a good choice. Hilly or not, it looks like a great event and I'll just have to train harder and on some hilly terrain.

Yesterday marked day one of the new marathon training schedule. It was a rest or cross training day. This is my kind of training program! In all reality though, the new training program is really challenging, which I'm both excited and nervous about. Thanks Aron for giving me advice and getting me started on the program.

It's a 12 week program, which I like, since I can't wait the traditional 18-24 weeks between marathons, being a maniac and all. Today is my first run, and I'm a little nervous since I know it will be tough due to punishing conditions. The temperature outside is -8C or 17.6F. Like extreme heat, extreme cold slows you down (not to mention ice-covered roads). Oh well, it will just make me stronger. I have to tweak the plan a bit for the 10 miler race I have this week, it will replace the 9 miler I have planned for Thursday.

I also changed my Garmin from kilometers to miles since the training program is in miles, and the pace is in miles, I just want to keep it simple. I've spent the morning crunching numbers and figuring out my pace in miles/minute compared to kilometers/minute.

Along with my new training plan is a brand new eating "plan". I have decided to cut out as much processed/preservative-free food as possible, so I am good to try the eat clean diet. It's not really a diet, but rather a commitment, to eating whole foods that don't come out a can or a box.

To get things started I went out a bought a bread maker which I am super-excited about. I'll bake my first loaf tonight and report how it goes. I like the thought of fresh bread on hand (although I'll have to watch the quantity of course), and I'll know exactly what I'm eating. I'll try to post my weekly dishes up here so that I comitt to actually doing this.

As for the cold (I've been told its called the 100 day cough! WTF!!??) I still have the dry cough bouts, but I am moving forward. I refuse to let a pesky cough stand in my way. Little Rock, here I come!!


Have a great day and may you get your last minute shopping/cooking/baking/running done! Thanks for reading.

P.S -If anyone knows how to put a countdown ticker on their blog, would you mind letting me know? I tried to add one yesterday but failed miserably.

33 comments:

Unknown said...

WoooHooo!! Week 1!! Let the games begin!!

I've added a ticker, I used the layout feature in blogger and added it that way. Not sure if I can explain it very well though. :-(

No Longer Using said...

wow this post has really inspired me to make my own commitments-- i am great at making goals, but on a day-to-day basis lately i haven't been very energetic about any of them. i'm using hal higdon's marathon training plan (for my first marathon) which is 18+ weeks-- where did you find the 12 week plan? (not that i could use it since it's my first marathon, prolly not a good idea...)

GOOD LUCK! and congrats on all the motivation and plans!

Aron said...

YAY for pfitz! i cant wait to see how you like it :) its tough but worth it i think. definitely let me know if you have any questions now that you are getting into it!

i have a ticker at the top of my page... i just went to that website (i think it says on it) and then found one i liked and then copied the link in and it worked??

joyRuN said...

Good luck with the training & nutrition plan! Especially with pfitz - I'm too chicken for that one :)

Marlene said...

Congratulations on starting your new program and deciding on your next marathon. All very exciting.

I like the 'eat clean' plan as wlel - something I really would like to commit to one day. I'll be interested to hear how this goes for you.

I used tickerfactory.com for my ticker. Copy the HTML code, then go to "Layout" and "Add Gadget". Select "HTML/JavaScript" and paste your copied code in the "Content" box. Hope that helps...

BeachRunner said...

WOO HOOO! That is awesome. Happy training you maniac. Next stop on the Marci Marathon Choo Choo Train - Little Rock, Arkansas. :)

tfh said...

Hooray for Little Rock officially on the schedule! Good luck with your new breadmachine-- I love mine, except I find it very, very hard to resist the allure of fresh-baked bread!

Kim said...

You'll have a great time at Little Rock. I did the half and Doug did the full in 2006. That's where my half marathon PR stands.

Anonymous said...

Have a great time at the Little Rock marathon! I like the idea of the eat clean diet, may have to try that after the new year. I'm currently participating in the "eat as many cookies as is humanly possible" diet. LOL

J said...

Good luck with your marathon training! Running in cold is hard but maybe with the running on the snow it will help because you have to work harder so your muscles get the hard workout even if the pace is a little slower!

Lily on the Road said...

Merry Christmas!

Sounds like you've got a great plan a head of you!...

Eating "green" is great! It might take a month or two to see the real results, but you'll love them!!

Hope to see you again in 2009!

*hugs*

Progman2000 said...

Coolness - good luck with the eat clean diet. I am making diet changes to0 but not sure I'm ready to jump on that one.

I have a very simple countdown timer that I can give you if you want to email me. There are a ton of them on the web, just add a html/Javascript gadget and stick the code in.

Ali said...

I like the sound of the eat-clean plan - looking forward to see your meal plans.

I don't think I eat that much processed, but then I open the fridge or cupboard and see condiments, salad dressings, sauces ... etc.

Vava said...

Good luck on the new plan, and I hope you have a great time at the Hamilton Boxing Day 10 miler! I was going to run that race until my foot decided that it simply wouldn't cooperate. Oh well, next year. Happy Holidays!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

you have an awesome plan for 2009! I am looking forward to hearing about your eating plans, 'clean' eating is something i would love to do much better! Hope your 100 day cough goes away soon! I've also used tickerfactory.com in the past. pretty easy. hope that helps!

Doug said...

I have done both the Little Rock and Virginia Beach Marathons. If I had to choose one, I would pick Va Beach, but you can't pick a wrong one...they are both great races.

Heather said...

How exciting to start your marathon training - you have a fun year ahead of you! Merry Christmas!

SuperDave said...

If you can run in this brutal cold, then you can do anything!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Unknown said...

Let the games begin. It will be a fun ride. The off season seems to get shorter every year.

Sonia said...

Hi Marcy!

The book had arrived when I came back from Windsor, I already started to read it. Thanks for sending it to me =)

As for the ticker, I use this website: http://www.widgetbox.com/search?q=Countdown

You can choose the template you want and it will give you the code you have to cut and paste in the template of your blog. Good luck!

Hope you'll feel a little better for the race, I've had the sniffle for a week but not full blown cold. Still bugging me enough not to feel 100% right. sigh stupid winter!!

Have fun with your new training!

Denise said...

try tickerfactory.com. It's pretty easy and you just have to cut and paste the HTML address to your blogger add on box. Does that make sense?? If I figured it out, you can!

BOBBI McCORMICK said...

hey great goals here, love it all!!!! I look foward to fallowing your plan!!!

Felice Devine said...

100 day cough? Huh. Never heard of that one. Ick!

Yay for the start of your marathon training -- much luck for the whole time!

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Let the Marathon Trainings Begin!!

Here is the best countdown ticker I found so far....

Merry Christmas :-)

CLICK HERE

Julianne said...

I prefer 12 week marathon programs so much more over the 18 week ones. I get really distracted during the 18 weeks and end up skipping out on some runs. So bad! Also, good idea on training with the miles instead of the kilometers on your Garmin!

Good luck on your training for Little Rock and Merry Christas!!

RunToTheFinish said...

what training plan are you using??

I can't totally do the eat clean, but it has helped me really focus on getting in fruits and veggies

E said...

Good luck on your training!

Nat said...

Oooooh. sounds like fun..

you just might inspire me to do another... might... LOL.

Merry Christmas and all the season's best.

Lindsay said...

good luck with training! can't believe you are running in 17 degrees, sounds miserable! have a very merry Christmas with your family.

Meg said...

I remember from Aron's training how hardcore Pfitz is. Good luck, I'm excited to hear about it! The diet changes sound like they'll be great for your running too. If you end up with some good healthy recipes, share them please! :)

N.D. said...

LR sounds great and the detox/eat well plan!! good luck !! cant wait to hear your recipes. Good luck with the start of the training!

Laura said...

I think I'm going to do Little Rock as well :)

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