Friday, September 12, 2014

Marathon Training

Back in July I entered and won the lottery! The lottery for a race, that is: the Stone Cat Trail Marathon.

A Stone Cat finisher's sweatshirt posted by
http://ummironwhat.blogspot.com
I signed up because I thought that after all of these years of running, I am finally ready to take on the challenge of a marathon.

For the past 11 months, I've been training with a corrective exercise trainer/kick-ass ultra runner to even out muscle imbalances and get past all of the obstacles that have been holding me back. I've noticed improvements in my gait, posture, heart rate, and race times. And all throughout this year, I've been inspired and motivated by my trainer, her trail running team members, and other clients. Check out Mountain Peak Fitness to see what I'm talking about. Race reports about utlra races like Wasatch, Badwater, and Western States have stuck with me on my own runs and give a totally different perspective to things.

Of course, there are always little setbacks that pop up. Mine came days after I found out that I was picked for the marathon. An area under the inner knee started hurting after I overextended the knee while jogging on a hiking trail while wearing heavy hiking boots (I couldn't help it - I love running!) and then ran a 5 k later that week. After that I scaled down mileage and intensity, iced it, and replaced a lot of running with cycling, and it got a little better. Not completely, though. Two months later I am still taking things one step at a time, cautiously seeing how the knee feels, and tailoring my workouts to it. I went to the doctor this week and will be getting an MRI for more info. Whatever it is, I don't think that it's very serious. With cycling, elliptical training, and hiking to prepare me, I'll be crossing the finish line on November 8th.

So this is it - I'm getting ready to go 26.2 for the first time!

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