summer training begins

So it has begun. The time of the year when everyone gets back on the road and trails to push and train for the plethora of running festivities in the fall. I for one, have not missed this and am back on the training regiment. After my 50 miler at the end of April, I stuck to strength training and not much cardio during the month of May. The one thing I realized during that time was that when I did go for a jog, I felt stronger and faster.

This has led me to start an aggressive marathon training plan. If I can push myself, and really stick to a plan, I can attain a sub 3:00 time, a full 60 minutes faster than my current marathon time. Speed is where I lack because, honestly, I have reached a point where my endurance has allowed me to go for 50+ miles in a day, which is in itself amazing but at the same time I can only cruise at a jogging pace. So this is the summer of speed strengthening so that I can finally PR in a landslide at my marathon time but also so the next time I run a 50 I can cut my time by 3 hours instead of 30 minutes.

So how am I doing this? I am sticking to the Asics 3:00 Marathon Training Plan. I used to mentally layout my training plans which were nice because they were flexible. Though this time around, I need something a bit more rigid and visual, and the pre-populated training plan provides that for me. I have also taken the act of using marker to write out my run for the day on the inside of my forearm, so that when I check my Epson GPS for time I can visually see where I am at.

Some of this is probably very elementary to most runners, but I am gunning for the next level in my running career and even though it is elementary, I need to learn and implement the practices that work. Unfortunately, the increase of summer projects and other summer activities have made it slightly difficult for me to stick to the plan. Although I am missing the longer runs, which I am fine with, I am complying with the various speed workouts that the plan outlines. So even though my mileage per week is low, I feel that with the increase of a more focused track type workouts I will attain that speed.

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