Running 26.2 miles was probably one of the hardest things the five of us have ever done. However, it was also one of the most rewarding things we've ever done. To embark on a journey that involves so much time and dedication and to cross that finish line is something that you only know if you've felt it. So, we've decided to torture ourselves again for that feeling :)
As with our first marathon, we've decided to raise money for the Run for Our Sons organization. JB, Alison, Lisa, Mitzi and myself will be considered charity runners for the Chicago marathon. We wouldn't have it any other way. We will again be running for Ethan and Team Higgie and this time, we all 5 are required to raise $1,000 for the race. This is something we will be fundraising for in the near future, so get your wallets ready :) It is our hope that maybe next year we won't need to run a marathon to raise money because they will have a cure or treatment. Here is a link to our Team Higgie page: Team Higgie
Our first dilemma - TRAINING. This is by far the hardest part of running a marathon. It is very difficult to tell yourself that you are going to dedicate 5-6 days of your week for the next 18 weeks to run. That's tough. Anyone who has trained for a long distance race knows how taxing that can be on yourself and especially for your family. But again, it's the torture we put ourselves and our families through.
One thing that we've gone back and forth on is our training schedule. For our first marathon, we followed a strict schedule that included 3 days of running during the week and one long run on the weekends. It worked for us the last time, but we've decided to try something new this time around. We will be following a new training plan called the Hanson Marathon plan. The strategy behind this plan is that you don't have to kill yourself on one long run, you can get the same mileage by spacing it out over the course of the week. One thing that will be different for us is running 6 days in a row. And they throw in a speed workout on the 6th day. The theory is that we must run faster when our legs are tired on that 6th day and that is simulating the end of a marathon when your legs feel as if they've grown roots. We will be completing our speed/strength runs on the track or in the street with designated distances and specific pace times. On this plan, the furthest distance we will run is 16 miles three different times. Again, we will still run similar weekly mileage as the schedule we followed the first time, it's just more evenly spaced between the days of the week. Mentally, this may be tough for us. It is hard to think that the longest distance we will run is 16 miles during training, but we will still have 10 more miles to go race day. So... we may alter the schedule a bit depending on how we feel??
One thing that we've gone back and forth on is our training schedule. For our first marathon, we followed a strict schedule that included 3 days of running during the week and one long run on the weekends. It worked for us the last time, but we've decided to try something new this time around. We will be following a new training plan called the Hanson Marathon plan. The strategy behind this plan is that you don't have to kill yourself on one long run, you can get the same mileage by spacing it out over the course of the week. One thing that will be different for us is running 6 days in a row. And they throw in a speed workout on the 6th day. The theory is that we must run faster when our legs are tired on that 6th day and that is simulating the end of a marathon when your legs feel as if they've grown roots. We will be completing our speed/strength runs on the track or in the street with designated distances and specific pace times. On this plan, the furthest distance we will run is 16 miles three different times. Again, we will still run similar weekly mileage as the schedule we followed the first time, it's just more evenly spaced between the days of the week. Mentally, this may be tough for us. It is hard to think that the longest distance we will run is 16 miles during training, but we will still have 10 more miles to go race day. So... we may alter the schedule a bit depending on how we feel??
Here is the training schedule if you're interested to see how it works. Just like last time, we would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have some company on our runs. We are planning on doing most of our runs in the mornings since we are training over the summer, so hopefully some of you will be able to make a few. Remember, the first step is just getting out the door.
So that's the beginning.... we will update the blog each week with our trials and tribulations of running and life. Hope you check back and follow along with us on our second journey.
Stormie, JB, Alison, Lisa and Mitzi
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