After months of talk, promises of base building and a little bit of procrastination…I’m finally ready to share (and commit to) my Marine Corps Marathon training plan. For some background information on why I chose this race and who I’ll be running it with check out this post.

Now, prepare to be underwhelmed by this plan. I am the first to admit that ever since I started practicing yoga to help with running injuries and imbalances that I’ve fallen in love. I don’t feel the constant urge to run like I used to. It’s really become my second love. I thought that this would pass but it just hasn’t. I’ve been so much happier with a mix of running, yoga and teaching BodyPump.

I was really looking for a “bare bones, get me to the finish without injury and let me maintain my yoga practice and teaching BodyPump” kind of training plan. I plugged all my info into the Runner’s World Smart Coach application and it happened to spit out the plan of my dreams.

I really struggle with injury during marathon training. I spent a lot of time in physical therapy while I was training for my first marathon (achilles tendonitis) and ended up having to drop down to the half when I was training for my second due to injury. Every time I hit 40 miles per week I end up injured.

With this plan I will only be running three days per week and max out at 30 miles per week. Before you judge me, please keep in mind that I just want to stay balanced and have fun with this. My friend Meghan is running it with me and this will be her first marathon. I am not leaving her side. Smart Coach says I’ll finish in 4 hours but I will finish when Meghan finishes. I will never forget her encouraging words at mile 25 of my first marathon when I thought I couldn’t go on.

So here it is…click this link to see it in a Google Document.

And just for fun I wanted to share a few photos from my first marathon – the Merecedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama in February 2009.

Feeling good at the half.

Giving my wedding rings to my dad at mile 15 when my fingers were swollen like marshmallows.

My mom had to run with me for a little while around mile 20. I really hit a low point and was in tears. My stomach was KILLING me.

Crossing the finish.

Official finish photo.

TOTAL emotional breakdown at the finish. I have video footage of this that I will try to get up on YouTube soon.

Okay, I will admit that this post got me more excited about the race and about training. I’m so happy that I have this blog where I can document the ups and downs of training. I promise to keep you guys in the loop on everything I’m feeling and how it’s going. I know you will be a great support system.

HERE WE GO!

Have you ever run a marathon? If not, do you want to? And how do you balance training with other things you enjoy?