How's It Going?

Training has been slow so far. I confess, I've been staying up to late and not getting up early enough to go to the gym. Maybe once the TV finale's are over in the next week or so, I'll get better. Scratch that, I'll start going to bed earlier right away! I promise.

The last time I ran was Saturday in a hotel gym while in Las Vegas. I did an easy 4 miles. I should have done 8, but I felt guilty leaving my husband with our 2 daughters in the hotel room alone. So I just did what I felt I could.

Which brings me to an important point. You do have to have ample time to prepare for a marathon. Especially a 2 to 3 hour block of time one day a week to do a long run. And if you have young children as I do, you need an incredible support system to watch your children while you run. My husband is my biggest support. I've tried to get him to run, but he just isn't into it. He's a golfer, not a runner. But he'll still let me get out when I need to to accomplish your goal. If you don't have that support, find it. It doesn't have to be a spouse; it could be a trustworthy friend or relative who is willing to watch your kids for a while. You can run with your kids in a jogging stroller, too. I've never done it for more than 3 miles, but I've seen people (mostly men!) doing it! I remember in the 15k Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run last July 4 a guy ran with a stroller the entire way. He'd have to stop to give them snacks or make adjustments, then he'd pass us again.

Back to how my training is going. So I stayed up too late on Sunday and Monday nights and skipped the gym for more bed time. Then on Tuesday I stepped wrong off of a neighbor's porch and felt incredible pain shoot up my right leg.

Uh-oh.

Seriously? I just decide to run a marathon write this blog about my training, and this happens? I walked it off, and it felt okay, but I knew it would need a day or two of rest. Last night before bed (I stayed up late again, knowing I wouldn't be going to bed anyway and having lots of Christmas presents to wrap), it was starting to hurt and swell. The pain was great enough by 3 am to wake me up. But today it feels better, although still slightly swollen. To be on the safe side, I'll take the rest of the week off, and I'll get back to training on Monday.

But keep checking my blog this week! I have plans to post about what to wear during training and running (I've learned this the hard way!) and ideas on what to eat and drink before, after and during (yes, I said DURING!) running to help you improve your performance.

Please comment about how your training is going! Also let me know if you have any questions about trainng. I probably won't know the answer, but I'll enjoy researching it for you!