1/2 Marathon Training: Week One

Last week, I started my training for my first 1/2 marathon. My goal race in mind is the Space Coast 1/2 Marathon in November here in Florida. After looking around a bit online for a good walking training program, I ended up settling with one from the www.marathonwalking.com website. The training plan is 14 weeks long and incorporates cross-training into the mix. Since the Space Coast 1/2 is 20 weeks out, I figured that I would repeat some of the weeks so my training would be longer. That works out fine for me considering it would take into account any issues that might crop up along the way. So, each week would consist of walking on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Saturday being the long mileage day. My cross-training days would be on Sunday & Wednesday. Friday will always be a rest day, and Monday I figured I would play with between it being a rest day or a cross-training day.

Sunday started off well, with a nice bike ride in the morning. I love cycling, so that is more than likely going to be my primary cross-training workout. Since I felt so good after that workout, I decided that I didn't need Monday off, so I would again do a cycling session. Tuesday was my first power walk workout on the plan and called for 3 miles which went pretty well. I didn't hit the pacing I wanted, but I was around the 15 minute per mile mark which is still good. Wednesday was another cycling workout. This is when I started to feel some exhaustion coming on. Alas, I thought I'd be okay and didn't hesitate to head out the door and onto my bike. By Thursday's 3-mile walk, I knew my energy was lacking. I really felt it the moment I woke up that morning. And, this showed in my 15:51 per mile pacing. My body was telling me that it needed to rest. Thankfully, I did just that on Friday.

I have come to the conclusion that I really might need those two rest days during my marathon training. So, despite the fact that I'd like to be working out six days a week, I'm going to more in tune with what my body is telling me. Friends told me that marathon training takes a lot more out of you than just standard workouts, but of course, I had to learn that for myself. Guess that's the way things are sometimes.

This week, I'm taking Monday and Friday off per the training schedule. If there are weeks down the line where I have the energy and can workout on Monday, that's great and I'll do it, but if not, that is okay. Our bodies need rest to succeed just as much as the actual training miles we put in.

Also, I have a goal set for before my first 1/2 in November. I'm going to be doing the Miracle Miles 15k on September 24th in Orlando. This is a great in between race as recommended by some dailymile/facebook running friends. I am already looking forward to it as it’s going to be my next race event.