Training Begins: Week 1 of 30

This weekend marks the first weekend of 30 leading to the Seattle Marathon on 6-23-12. I promised some of you a simple schedule.  A little late as usual,  but no worries nobody is behind yet.   The key to the training of course is the long run.  By gradually building up the long run length you not only prepare to run 26 miles but as importantly you markedly decrease the risk of injury. Indeed marathon success for me will not be a specific time but making it to the starting line healthy. In addition to the long run I plan to run/walk 2 or 3 other times a week for 30 to 45 minutes.  That's a total of only 3-4 runs a week: we can do it.

Today your long run should have been 3 miles. Next week (2) 4 miles. Next (3) 5 miles. Next (4)  2.5 miles.  Next (5) 6 miles.  That should give you the idea.  I appropriated the plan from jeffgalloway.com so you can easily get the rest of the schedule from his web site.  As your long run gets longer the weeks between your long runs increase.  By week 17 there will be 3 weeks between long runs and your last long run before the marathon will be week 27  3 weeks before June 23.

As to pace, the slower the better.  The principle adaptation is really to the  length of time you are out on the road not to the speed you are running.  For instance, my magic mile pace was 7:45.  Multiply that by 1.3 =10:05 which is my predicted marathon pace on an ideal day.  My long run pace should be 2 minutes slower or 12:05.  Ideally, at a 10:05  minute predicted pace I should run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute during my long runs.  Actually my comfortable long running pace is about 10:20 which is the pace I ran today when I ran/walked 8.5 miles.  I could have received the same benefit running slower however.  The critical thing to stay injury free is do not skip any walk breaks particularly in the early going when you feel great and want to keep running.

For Robert who I am sure could run a 6:30 magic mile. Predicted marathon pace would be 8:25. His long run should be 10:25 but I suspect he could comfortably run at 8:40 pace. But it would not help him much more than if he ran slower and he must take walk breaks which for him should be 4 minutes running and minimum of 45 seconds walking.  For Jonathon at magic mile 7:15 his running should be 4 minutes then  1 minute of walking with a pace as slow as  11:25(probably comfortable 9:30).  For Lily with a  magic mile 9:30, run 2 1/2 minutes and walk 1 minute.

Enough numbers but remember slower is better to prevent injuries.  More on hill training later.

Since Jonathon threw the weight gauntlet thing down. I am in at 192( I have been as high at 205 recently) and I want to get down to below 180 for the marathon.  Hopefully puttin this in the blog will keep me from eating rice krispie treats which are free and available to me at the hospital break room. Feel free to ask me how I am doing but dont expect me to be happy or  gracious if I have fallen off the wagon.  Also to make some of you feel better I only ran twice this week with a total of 11.5 miles.  I need to get in more weekly runs.  My long run was pretty easy( I was certainly well rested and I took all the walk breaks).

On the home front the Heritage Eagles sixman football team won their 5 th championship in 8 years yesterday beating Happy Hill by 45 pts,  stopping the game in the middle of the fourth.  I planned to go but alas had to deliver 2 babies instead.  Lily was there in the cold and rain well representing the clan.

Nanna continues to workout on Thursday--complaining bitterly but never missing a workout.  Mom's knee is improving and she has started some walking. 

I am anxiously awaiting our full reunion at Xmas and some more memorable runs. Sorry I dont know how to put in pictures of Jake--maybe y'all can teach me in a few weeks.