We’re officially halfway done with our 20-week marathon training program for the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon in January! We’ve stuck to the program and haven’t missed a training run yet. That means we’ve completed 46 training runs and a total of 197 miles ranging from 2 to 12 miles, which is 37% of the total miles we’ll run before race day. I’m really proud of sticking to the training plan; there were definitely days I didn’t want to run and moved a run from one night to the following morning, but overall have sticked to the schedule!
When I first started training, I had a pretty specific time goal in mind. That lasted for the first six weeks and then as the mileage increased, I’ve shifted my thinking a bit. My primary goal is to finish in relatively good health. This is my first (and maybe only) marathon and finishing will be a huge accomplishment. I read an article in Runner’s World a few weeks ago that discussed the importance of developing a goal range for longer races. That way you aren’t disappointed if you don’t beat a specific time, especially since there can be so many variables on race day. I haven’t settled on a range yet, but it’s definitely changed over the past several weeks and it will likely change more before January. I love the concept and plan to incorporate it into race day. I can set lofty goals for myself and tend to get disappointed if I don’t achieve them. A range will provide a more flexible goal and hopefully allow me to celebrate the experience, rather than concentrating all efforts on a specific time!