Why is this marathon training cycle different?

Ask me 6 months ago if I was ever going to do another marathon and the answer would have been a quick NO WAY.

On September 16th, 2017 was the day I became a marathoner, if you could call it that. This race was nothing short of a disaster. It was hands down the hardest thing I have ever done. I started training in the spring. I would run frequently prior to training, but have never actually trained hard for a race. About half way through the training cycle I became injured. I had so much shin pain, I couldn't walk without limping much less try and run. I had seen several doctors, had scans, and no one knew what was wrong. I iced, had massages, stretched, did everything. Needless to say, my training came to a hault and I had to miss nearly a month of running. Race day came, and I was not prepared. We drove 5 1/2 hours the night before and didn't get in until 11:00pm. The marathon was the next day. I was tired and exhausted. On top of that the weather was hot and humid. I hit a wall pretty early on and just wanted to quit. I didn't though. I pushed through and earned my first marathon medal. We won't talk about that time, I just finished and that's all that mattered that day.

SO WHY IS THIS MARATHON TRAINING CYCLE DIFFERENT?

I learned so much from that first marathon race experience. I learned the importance of stretching after runs, rolling out my muscles, getting a massage every other week, strength training, and most importantly MAKING THE EASY DAYS EASY and the hard days hard. For my first marathon, I was that runner who thought every run had to be hard, fast, and long. That's what injured me and burned me out quickly. This time around I am following a different plan that helped me build a solid base before actually starting the hard core training. It gives me the exact paces I should be running for every run whether it is an easy run, aerobic run, 5k pace, 10k pace, half marathon pace, or my marathon pace. It incorporates hill training, speed, easy and hard runs. Most importantly, it has more easy runs than hard. I am currently reading 80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower by Matt Fitzgerald. It explains that 80% of your weekly mileage should be run at a slow and easy pace. The remaining 20% is reserved for your faster workouts. I have read a lot of research and I heard this method works! I haven't trained this way for a race yet, but I already notice a difference in my training.

We will have to wait and see how my first half marathon of the year goes on March 25th for the Rock CF Half and marathon on May 5th for the Wisconsin Marathon! Hoping for some big PRs this year!!

"If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."

Thanks for reading my story and following my marathon training journey!