Back to {marathon} School...

After finishing my first marathon, and registering for my second (obviously before reality set in), I've decided to give the Hansons-Brooks training plan a shot.  I trained for the Rock n Roll San Diego 2011 Marathon with Team in Training and not only was I able to complete my first marathon but also made some great friends, learned about Leukemia and Lymphoma, raised over $3100 for LLS, and had a life changing experience.  I would highly recommend TNT to everyone...they have other events including half-marathons, century bike rides, triathlons and hiking events.  If you aren't inclined to these activities, there are many support rolls as well.

Team Solano at the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon

That being said, as much as I wanted to come back to TNT as a Mentor for summer season, I promised to take a few months off from the time commitments so that the BF and I could travel and go camping.  So, even though I STILL have dedicate time to training for both the Tough Mudder in September AND the Nike Women's Marathon in October, my schedule will be flexible enough to allow plenty of summer fun.

Source

That's where the Hansons-Brooks plan comes in...you see, there are no super long runs.  Most "long" runs in the plan are 10 miles and none go over 16 miles.  In the recent past my training schedule has consisted of one Buddy Run of 1.5 hours, one track day lasting 1 hour, and one long run day which, with travel, lasted half the day on every Saturday.  Personally, I think I need to run more frequently.  That doesn't necessarily mean longer runs...but definitely more often if I want to improve my times and set a half and full marathon PR.

Source

I've been doing a lot of research, from the Cross-Fit Endurance plans with minimal running to the Lydiard Plan with several 20+ mile long runs and, based on my goals (and admiration for the Brooks runners), I have made my decision.  I admit that I AM a cardio junkie but I also need to get lean and gain some upper body strength for the upcoming Tough Mudder race in September.

So, the catch here is that I will be incorporating the P90X workout along with my running.  It will be a fine balance of running and cross-training, mostly including double workouts daily.  My health will be of utmost importance and I will need to pay better attention to my diet and to the signals my body gives me.  I cannot risk injury or illness at this point.  And, to be honest, I really want to put my training and nutrition to the test, so to speak.

I am very committed to my training plan and have it all laid out in my Google Calendar.  Next I will be refocusing on my nutrition.  I plan on following Brendan Brazier's Thrive Diet, as I've mentioned before, eating mostly vegan.  My only "planned" deviation will be Shakeology, which I will start using as soon as it arrives in the mail.  However, I will be getting back into making the Thrive Energy Bars, Recovery Pudding, Energy Pudding and gels.  I'm looking into some of the Vega products (Brazier's company) so that I can have some quick and portable energy foods to keep me from sabotaging myself when I don't have time to make my own.

It's got glow in dark medals...woohoo!

Just for good measure, I've registered for the Davis Moo-nlight Half-Marathon in July.  It will be a great opportunity to measure my progress and tweak things (if need be) before Nike.


This training plan is taken from the Running Times article found here.

S.O.S. Something of Substance Training
Week	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1					6	6	6
2	8	6	Speed	Off	3 or 6	Off or 6	3 or 6
3	4 or 8	Off or 6	2 or Speed	Off	3 or 6	3 or 6	3 or 6
4	4 or 8	Off or 6	4 or Speed	Off	4 or MP 6*	4 or 7	4 or 6
5	5 or 10	Off or 6	5 or Speed	Off	3 or MP 6	3 or 6	5 or 8
6	5 or 8	Off or 6	5 or Speed	Off	4 or MP 6	5 or 7	4 or 6
7	6 or 12	4 or 6	Speed	Off	MP 5 or 7	4 or 6	8 or 10
8	8	4 or 6	Speed	Off	MP 5 or 7	4 or 7	6 or 8
9	10 or 14	6	Speed	Off	MP 5 or 7	5 or 6	6 or 10
10	10	5 or 8	Speed	Off	MP 6 or 8	6 or 7	5 or 8
11	15	6	Speed	Off	MP 8	5 or 6	8 or 10
12	10	5 or 8	Strength	Off	MP 8	6 or 7	8
13	16	5 or 6	Strength	Off	MP 9	5 or 6	8 or 10
14	10	7 or 8	Strength	Off	MP 9	6 or 7	6 or 8
15	16	5 or 6	Strength	Off	MP 9	5 or 6	8 or 10
16	10	7 or 8	Strength	Off	MP 10	6 or 7	6 or 8
17	16	5 or 6	Strength	Off	MP 10	5 or 6	8 or 10
18	10	7 or 8	Strength	Off	MP 10	6 or 7	6 or 8
19	8	5 or 6	5	Off	6	5 or 6	3
20	Marathon
____________________________ *MP=Marathon Pace Beginners start Thursday of week 2, and use the first workout listed for a particular day, or the lower end of the mileage range. All distances are listed in miles. Do you stick to any particular training plan or nutrition plan before a race?  Have you ever considered doing something like Team in Training to help you reach your goals? Something cool...I know how important it is to have a gear bag ready when running/training/going to the gym.  It can make or break a workout, especially when you realize that you've forgotten something important like socks.  Check out these amazing gear bags and a GIVEAWAY from Live Well 360.