One month of marathon training down and I am feeling pretty good. I am about half-way through with what I am considering base building. Over the last four weeks I have been able to hit my goal of 20-25 miles per week with my long runs being in the neighborhood of 10 miles.
During the next month of base building I will be increasing the distance of my short runs while trying to maintain their intensity. This will increase my weekly mileage goal to 30 miles per week and lead me right into the GO! St. Louis Half-Marathon. I may have a few race reports to post before then.
After my half-marathon I will begin to focus on running distances I have not yet attempted and looking at what changes may need to be made to my current plan… I already have a couple ideas I need to look at a little closer. I am beginning to think that the training leading up to a marathon may be more than half the excitement.
Things learned: Those warm up runs do help. I always thought the runners who ran a mile before a race to “warm up” were crazy and expending unnecessary energy (fuel). I may not do it before a big race, but running a mile to warm up before my long run has helped me finish strong and at a faster pace.