First Day of Marathon Training.

Well today I started my 16-week marathon training countdown bright and early... did 5 miles before 8AM, plus 8-minute abs and stretching.

My schedule when I run in the mornings :
Wake up at 6:30. Eat a small granola bar to tide me over until breakfast. Drink a few sips of coffee. Out the door by 6:53.
Depending on length of run, I get home between 7:35 and 8:00. Breakfast (overnight oats which I pop in the microwave), finish coffee, stretch and shower. Grab my lunch (pre packed the night before) and out the door by 8:35!
Somedays all I have to do for work in the morning is make calls and emails which I can typically do from home, and then I head into the field later in the afternoon. Those days are nicer because I don't have to rush through my stretching and shower!

I think mostly during the week, my runs will stay the same as always (4-6 miles 3-4 times during the work week). Weekend long-runs are what will really count and will prep me to have the endurance to finish the marathon. Alex gave me "The Ultimate Marathon Guide" by Runners Connect, which has tips on nutrition, rest and recovery, and has suggestions on how to pace your long runs. I also found The Ultimate Chicago Marathon Race Guide which has specific tips about the course. This might seem a little intense/ambitious for a first-time marathoner but for me, knowledge is power, and if that's all it takes for me to sleep at night, I'll read as much as possible about marathons and Chicago :)

I am trying to implement a few lifestyle differences to help me stay healthy and injury-free during this training cycle. I'm so excited/nervous for the marathon that I know I could easily get too caught up in things and work too hard, causing illness or injury. These are already fairly likely to occur to anyone in training, and I think I am injury-prone so I want to be extremely careful by :

• Eating right. This is a big one for me. I've upped my protein intake since it was pretty shabby during my time in Europe. I've also made efforts to get more vitamins and nutrients into my diet. I.e. M&ms aren't lunch, but a plate of kale, faro, and a sweet potato slider are! Am I hungry for a snack? Instead of a handful of chocolate chips, it's time to try a hard-boiled egg or a fistful of almonds. I'm thinking of good ways to get in gluten-free carbs (like rice and faro) particularly leading up to long runs. I need to eat the appropriate foods that will help my body recover from workouts/long runs and keep me healthy. Plus, the refined sugars that we all know and love are highly inflammatory, which is obviously not good if I'm putting in a lot of miles and wearing down my muscles. To make sure I'm taking in enough "useful" calories to replenish my body, I'm going to stick with my recent plan of saving the sweets-eating for weekends. 
• Keeping up the core work. Having a strong core is so important for runners! I will try to keep doing 8-minute abs 4-5 times per week.
• Getting enough sleep. This makes such a difference in recovery, and how I feel during the day! I already go to bed pretty early, but I also like to wake up REALLY early so if that means going to bed even earlier, that's what I've got to do in order to stay healthy. This will probably be pretty easy for the remainder of the summer, but I also have 8 weeks of training during the beginning fall semester when I'm really busy. Sticking to a good sleep schedule will be key.
• Stretching. Of course, this is something I severely lack at doing right now. I need to get disciplined about stretching (and listening to my body).
• Taking rest days. I definitely take days off when I'm training for something like a half-marathon, but when I'm not really training I have a bad tendency to skip rest days and get really worn down. I'm sure in a few weeks, my rest days will be golden for me :) My current marathon training plan suggests several rest/cross-training days per week. Depending on how I feel, I will likely do 2+ days of cross-training per week (cycling or rowing or maybe even a combo) but will ALWAYS take 1 complete day off per week.
• Having fun. This is the whole point. Running is not my job. It's something I do because it makes me feel strong, accomplished, and confident about myself. More than that, running each day is a way I unwind and lose my thoughts. Sometimes it's the one time per day that I can clear my thoughts. I am lucky to be able to run. 

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Tangent : Have you heard of the The Skimm? This is a free email subscription to an abbreviated version of the news. If you don't have time/interest in watching the news or reading the paper, this is a great way to get filled in on all the national and international news for the day. They send it to you bright and early every morning (except weekends) and you can read it while you drink your coffee, eat your breakfast, get ready, etc. I've been receiving it for a week and love it!

Happy 25th wedding anniversary, Mom and Dad!