Next up...the BIG ONE

I ran the Philadelphia Half-Marathon yesterday--2:01 time...not so bad! About 2/3 of the way through the run, I decided to try and do it under 2:00. Ran my buns off for the last 4 miles and got pretty darn close! It was a great run for me and a beautiful day--I was definitely in "the zone." But throughout the race, I couldn't help but think that the next time I am running a race and cross the 13.1 mark...I will only be HALF WAY DONE! It is a daunting thought.

I am a creature of habit--I always follow the SAME tried and true training program for all of my races. My thought--if it ain't broke, don't fix it. For a full marathon, my program is 16 weeks long...so training for Boston begins on December 28th. That means that the first 1/3 of 2010 will be spent preparing for April 19th! Again, daunting thought.

The truth is, I really enjoy the structure of a training program. 3 runs during the week, 1 long run on the weekend. Keeps me active, lets me eat what I want, keeps me SANE. Unfortunately, my current lifestyle presents several training challenges. First is finding time to run. Runs are any where from 30 minutes to 3 hours! Next is finding people to watch my kids when Theo is not available (he always is when he can be...xoxo) so that I can run solo (no such thing as a 3 child jogging stroller...although not sure I would even want one considering my double stroller weighs about 50 lbs plus the weight of my kids (20, 39 & 43 lbs)...pushing & running is no easy feat). Lastly, a marathon training program forces you to really take care of yourself. Eat well to fuel the long runs, watch your alcohol intake to ensure proper hydration, get enough rest to allow for adequate recovery, stretch and do my PT exercises to stay in alignment. All of this on top of taking care of 3 kids...where I often put myself as last priority. And, man, do I love (or is it need???) my wine!

With the completion of the Philly Half, I embark on a much needed 6 week training hiatus...time to wrap my head around my self-imposed New Years Resolutions! I also wanted to send out an all around request for running song suggestions (read my 2nd blog entry...)!