The official start to Marathon training has started. My good friend Hannah and I have signed up for the San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon. I sat down with my new Erin Condren Planner and wrote out my 14 week marathon training plan.
I think the most important thing to any race training program is to find balance. You need strength training and yoga to keep your body race day ready. If you only focus on running, you could potentially put yourself at risk for injury.
Here are the keys to planning out your training for your marathon. is my plan to get through my 26.2 miles on May 31st.
Sign-Up
First thing to your marathon plan is to sign-up. Based on your running experience choose a run that gives you enough time to train. Running is the one thing I always feel confident in. So, for me 3 months was a reasonable amount of time. I have run 3 half marathons before and several other races. So, I have a good idea of how runs go. I can also get up and run 8 miles any given day. So, I’m already a third of the way there.
Make A Plan
Once you have your race make a plan. I’m obsessed with the Erin Condren PetitePlanner. I have the Wellness Log, Goal Setting and Daily Planner. Here is how I use this planner to track my progress and keep myself on track. The Goal Setting Journal has my marathon with key points to getting to the goal. It also holds several business goals that I am working towards. My Daily Planner has my workouts written on the days I am scheduled to do them. Finally, the wellness log is where I am tracking my actual workouts.
As a mom we all know our “plan” doesn’t always turn out the way we thought it would. So, having the wellness log is a great backup for me to really keep track of not only my workouts. but my water intake. I dehydrate easily, so this is super important for me to have something to help me keep track of my water intake. Also, when training for a race your food intake can make or break you. You are burning hundreds of calories on your long runs, so I highly recommend keeping track of your nutrition.
Include Short Term Goals
Obviously, your long term goal is 26.2 miles, but how are you getting there? Make short term goals that will keep you on track and give you small accomplishments along the way. For me I have 13 miles about half way to my run date. Then my next goal is 20 miles a month out and my last goal is 23 miles two weeks to race day. This allows me to celebrate along the way. So, I don’t get burnt out on that big goal of 26 miles.
Check In
I have a friend running this race with me. So, in addition to my planner, I have someone else that I can check in with on my progress. Always doing a check-in is important. This is not only for your reaching your goal, but for your health. 26.2 miles is a long way and you need to check-in and make sure you are doing ok, physically and mentally.
Don’t Give Up
I’m not going to lie, I’m struggling with this one. A piece of me is terrified. I have bad hips because I am hyper mobile and it scares me that this race could put me out. So, I know when I start hitting those 15-20 miles I am going to panic. But, I can’t give up. Even if I never run another marathon, I have to do this for myself. I have always said I would do at least one.
Are you running a half marathon? Check out my half marathon training guide here.
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