The winner of the Emergen-C giveaway is Ronald Marcin! Congrats Ronald! Email me at saralovingontherun{at}gmail{dot}com and we will get your 3 month supply on your way to you!

 

Thursday morning I ran 8 miles. It was in the low 80’s – LOW humidity and probably close to perfect running weather! After some crazy heat I accepted it with open arms.

I mapped out a new course because I wasn’t feeling like doing an out and back. The way the course worked is I could either run it one way and have the hills at the beginning or run it in reverse and have the hills at the end.

I don’t know about you, but I always choose to get the hills over with in the beginning while I’m still fresh. I don’t like to have to conquer them when I am so close to the finish.

Zoe and I have gotten into a routine where she comes outside and sits beside me while I stretch and cool down. I think she’s looking out for me!

I got an awesome new pair of PRO Compression socks in the mail and tried them out for the first time during the run. My love for PRO Compression just grows and grows. More to come on that at a later date!

 

Since it’s Friday and I’ve veered away from my Five Things Friday posts for a while, today I thought I’d get back on the train and talk about Five Things I Love About Marathon Training.

 

 

The LONG Runs

I have been doing long runs during my 10k training because my plan called for them, however they maxed out at 12 miles. Often times I stress about the long runs during marathon training but I really miss them.

There is something about heading out for a long run that makes me excited. Sure, they can be hard but they can also be so motivating and exciting as you get closer to the big day.

I love the feeling that long runs provide, and I can’t wait to get that back!

 

Finally Doing Things Right

A big focus of mine during this marathon training session is to get back to focusing on ALL aspects. The last time I was really in training I didn’t focus on stretching and I did very little strength training.

This is changing. I am putting a much bigger focus on stretching and foam rolling every day and adding in strength training 3-4 times per week.

Not only will this help to keep me injury free but it will allow me to feel stronger going into the race itself.

 

Running With  a Plan

It’s been 2 years since my last marathon and even though a chunk of that was spent injured, it was sometimes hard for me to not have a plan each day.

I thrive on having a goal to work towards and I am really excited to track my progress. I’ve also never run a marathon with a time goal. I’ve always run to complete. This time I look forward to training to get better and strive towards goals I once never thought I could complete.

 

Nutritional Focus

In the past when I trained I just ate whatever I felt like. It wasn’t a bad thing necessarily, but I didn’t have a focus on making sure what I was eating was what my body needed to perform.

This time around my focus is on eating clean, whole foods that will fuel my body to preform as it needs to. There will be no calorie counting or eating piles of processed foods. Sure, I’ll give in when I want to but my main focus is eating the right foods that will fuel and energize me through the training.

 

Exploring My New Home

It makes it even more fun now that we have moved to use my marathon training as a way to explore new areas of our town. I remember place, roads and directions much better when I run them.

Sometimes the only way to get through the long run is to try out new routes, new paths and finding new areas to run. I really look forward to exploring this new town during my training!

 

I’ll leave you by sharing this awesome gift that Wes gave me yesterday. I’ve been wanting a canvas print for our home for so long now. He found a Groupon recently and ordered one of our engagement prints.

I love it SO much!

 

What do you look forward to in marathon training?

Any plans for the weekend?