Let the Games Begin....

Today is day 1 of my marathon training! On one hand, I'm so excited to embark on this adventure but on the other, I'm nervous/scared of what the next 28 weeks might bring. This is where my love/hate relationship with running comes into play. I know that once I start training the sense of accomplishment and pride will make it all worth while. (Not to mention what it will do for my diet!)

So why do this? Who would ever want to run 26.2 miles if they didn't absolutely LOVE running? After the half marathon (13.1 miles for those of you who aren't good at math), I wanted more. I wanted to be able to say "I'm a marathoner!" Even if you only do it once, and no matter how long it takes, you are a marathoner until the day you die. I know I'm at a point in my life that if I don't do it now, I might not get the chance again. Then I will always have to ask myself, "Could I have done it?" Who knows, maybe it becomes something I do every year! (OK let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we?)

Here's where this blog will come in handy.  I need something to hold me accountable.  I feel that even if no one reads this, at least it is documented here and if I miss runs I will have to face the reality that I failed for that day. Good news is the training program doesn't seem too hard, it's only 3 days a week. I can totally do that! People have asked me, "How is only 3 days a week going to get you ready?" As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm following the Jeff Galloway program and I don't want to run more then what it directs you to for fear of getting burned out.  This happened to me before when I was running about 5-6 days a week.  I got to a point where that's all I did after work. Work, run, eat and sleep.  I didn't give myself off days and if I took a day off, I felt like I wasn't supposed to so instead of enjoying time off from running, I just felt guilty.  This way, I think I will be more successful with a set schedule.  I will plan social events and date nights on my off days.  It's as simple as that!

Here is what this week's training schedule looks like:
Tuesday - 30-45 min
Thursday - 30-45 min
Saturday - 3 miles

I can TOTALLY do this! One week at a time, right? :)

On a completely different note: Please click here and like the photo so I can win! (more details in this post) Voting ends at 4:30PM Friday, July 6th. Thanks to all who have liked so far! I'm in 5th place!

Ok stop procrastinating....off for a 30 min run!