Running lessons: Carpe diem!

It was a full weekend of noodling - about the races I hope to run this year, our upcoming kitchen renovation, our travel plans for March and June and (last but not least) my novel. By Sunday night, my brain was exhausted from all the activity. I didn't make much progress on the novel, but I'm happy to report that kitchen and travel plans seem to be coming together, and I finally sat down and wrote up a marathon training schedule that I hope will prepare me to run the Fredericton Marathon on May 12th.

Marathon Training Schedule  2013
Week #	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Weekly Total
1.   Feb 18 - 24		6k easy				8k easy	14k	28k
2.   Feb 25 - Mar 3		6k tempo		6k (3 hills)		8k easy	16k	36k
3.   Mar 4 - 10		6k tempo		6k (4 hills)		8k easy	18k	38k
4.   Mar 11 - 17		6k tempo		7k (5 hills)		20k	8k easy	41k
5.   Mar 18 -24		8k tempo		7k (6 hills)		23k	8k easy	46k
6.   Mar 25 - 31		8k tempo		8k (7 hills)		16k	10k easy	42k
7.   Apr 1 -7		8k tempo		8k (8 hills)		26k	10k easy	52k
8.   Apr 8 - 14		8k tempo		9k (9 hills)		29k	10k easy	56k
9. Apr 16 - 21		8k tempo		9k (10 hills)		32k	10k easy	59k
10. Apr 23 - 28		8k tempo		8k easy		20k	8k easy	44k
11. Apr 29 - May 5		8k tempo		8k easy		16k	8k easy	40k
12. May 6 - 12		6k easy		6k easy			42.2 RACE	54.2k
Total distance								500.2 k

I've been talking about running another marathon for awhile but couldn't seem to commit. Then on Friday I realized it was time to "piss or get off the pot", as we say in NS. With just over 11 weeks until race day, I had to make a plan or my 7th marathon wasn't going to happen this year.  

Having run regularly all winter, I'm starting with a good base so am optimistic I have time enough to prepare - maybe even to improve on my personal best time - so long as I stick to the schedule.  I've put a big emphasis on hill training because, as the saying goes, "hill training is speed training in disguise." In addition, it should help me get ready for the second big race I hope to run in May - the Cabot Trail Relay.  

At some level, I think I was trying to talk myself out of another marathon over the past few weeks. After all, with work, renovations, trip planning and other volunteer and family commitments, I've more than enough to keep me busy in the coming months.  But the truth is - whatever common sense tells me - in my heart of hearts I know I want to run another marathon this year. After all, who knows what next year will bring. Carpe diem and all that.    

So, now that it's official, it's time to get busy thinking about how I'm going to juggle all that training with the rest of my life. Although Husband is being as incredibly supportive as always, I'm determined not to leave all the chores to him. In particular, I'd like to get back to doing more cooking. I whipped up an awesome pasta (with fresh scallops, sweet peppers and arugula in a pesto cream sauce) on the weekend and it felt great spending time in the kitchen.  

For the running geeks out there, I only managed to squeeze in three runs over the past week (as shown in Week 1 of the Chart), but they all went well so I feel ready to begin training in earnest. Speaking of which, here's a pic from Saturday. It was a glorious day so I thoroughly enjoyed running an easy 8k along the river.  

Sunday, the weather much less inviting but my 14k LSR still felt great because I ran it with my friend David along one of our favourite routes. As usual, it was great fun chatting with him and the time flew by. Afterwards, I stopped for a short visit with his wife Julite and their little guy, Graham, before heading with half a loaf of cream cheese pound cake tucked under my arm. Delicious! Thanks again, Julite!

In closing, a quote to inspire:

When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.- Nancy Coey