Training Considerations

I've been thinking a lot about my training for the marathon, and trying to decide if I want to work with a coach or group or just try to do it on my own, like I did for the half. The problem with training alone for a full marathon is it will be so lonely, plus it'll be hard to stay motivated alone. I think I could really benefit from training with a group or coach. My friend Erin worked with Team in Training when she ran her marathon. She said the benefits were great but the fundraising was very hard-- Team in Training requires you raise $3000 for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. That's A LOT of money! I'm not good at begging for bucks either, even if it is for such a worthy cause. I'm concerned that worrying about the fundraising will distract from my training, but having a coach and support from others with the same goal would really be wonderful. Well, I suppose $3000 isn't THAT bad, I just need to find 100 people who'll give me 30 bucks, or 30 that will give me 100! Apparently Team in Training pairs you up with a patient who'll be benefiting from your fundraising, which would definitely be a huge motivator.

It's a lot to consider. I'm also considering just joining a running club, like the Fishhawk Road Runners down the street from me, and just hope someone there will also be training for a marathon this fall. Odds are, someone will, since Brandon also hosts a marathon in December.

In the meantime I'm just trying to keep running 3-4 days a week and get a long run in on the weekend. I found a maintenance training schedule that suggested to rotate a 6, 8, 9, and 10 mile long run schedule if you have considerable time before marathon training begins. I did 6.5 last weekend and plan to do at least 8 tomorrow.

My next race is the Gasparilla 15K on Saturday, Feb. 9th. I thought about doing the half marathon on Sunday morning but the start time is 6:00am, and I just really don't want to do another 4:00am wakeup at this time. At least the 15K doesn't start until 7:30am! It should be a really nice run too, on Bayshore Blvd. right by the water. It's rained on Gasparilla the past two years so let's hope it holds off this year.