Train is the game!

 

For the past 4 months, #trainisthegame pretty much sums up my spare time as I’ve been training for my first marathon.   I’ve completed three half marathon events over the past three years, but this year I really wanted to push the limits and do the full 42.2k.  I’m no athlete and I’m not a speedy runner by any means, but it’s a personal challenge I really want to achieve to complete.

So what does my training schedule look like?  Well it changes every week, but it’s running, running and more running.  The running has increased every week in distance to a peak last week.  I also include some core strength exercises and the occasional cross fit session.  Here’s what was in the schedule for last week:

Monday: Rest day (love these!)
Tuesday: 8km
Wednesday: 13km
Thursday: 8km (went to the gym and biked instead as I had a really sore foot!)
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 32.2km
Sunday: Cross training (I took the dog for a walk and did core strength exercises at home)

This was the biggest week in my training plan, and it tapers down from here on until race day.

Running distance is not only about fitness and endurance, it’s a mind game as well – to stick to your training run after work instead of a after work drink, or to choose to spend 3 hours running on a rainy Saturday morning when it would be so easy to just lay in bed.  But sticking to the training plan the majority of the time is key to making it to race day as fit as possible – plus even if you don’t want to run, the feeling afterwards is great.  You know you’re one run closer to your race.

One thing that also makes a big difference when you’re running long distance is your clothing.  You want to be as comfortable as possible,  you don’t want to be too hot, or too cold and you don’t want to be drenched in sweat because then you get cold.  Canterbury of NZ kindly sent me some gear to try out in training, and I’ve been impressed.  I’ve been trying out a couple of pieces from Canterbury of New Zealand’s new Spring range – here I’m wearing Canterbury Mercury Compression Leggings and their Performance Singlet.

The Mercury compression pants help improve circulation, and also boost evaporation of sweat so you feel drier and maintain a constant temperature.  There’s nothing worse than getting hot and then cold in training and I found running in them to really help with this.   The fabric of the performance singlet also helps keep you dry during training and it’s soft and light weight so doesn’t rub at all when you run.  Gorgeous colour too!

You can check out the new Canterbury of NZ spring range out over here.