So, you've registered for a marathon. Now what?
I'm sure most people that sign up for a Marathon are already seasoned runners, in their fittest fighting form, using the event to simply put the cherry on top of their already elaborate fitness-related trophy shelves.
But what if you have just committed to running 42 kilometers of severe Australian terrain, and only this morning felt out of breath while walking to your letterbox?
(P.s. Yeah. That's me).
The Kangaroo Island Marathon is on 1st May 2021. At the time of writing this post, my count-down timer at the top of this page tells me that this is a mere 458 days away.
So, if most Marathon training plans are 12-16 weeks long... how do we start training now?
Easy. If you know me, you know that I like to plan the shit out of everything. Time for one of my monster plans!
Oh, and I should mention, even though I am going on this adventure with Rhi again (who has non-stop harassed me about going back since we left that forsaken island), Rhi has actually been doing an amazing job keeping up with her fitness over Summer.
So initially, I am going to putting some extra hard work in, so that Rhi and I can train together like we did the first time.
So, here is my working theory of how I am going to start running again, from a current non-existent fitness level, to being able to run consistently for 6 or 7 hours.
Step 1: Lose some weight
It is almost the end of January and I am still holding onto all the bad nutritional decisions I made over the holiday period. It was amazing, but I think I need to eat a salad.
If you know me, you know I love talking to anyone that will listen about how well the Ketogenic Diet works for me. Yes, I know it may not work for you. That is cool too.
For me, this way of eating provides a positive change in the way I think about food and how I think about myself. I feel great, I look great, and I seriously shed the kilos.
Short term goal: Look stunning in my sister-in-laws wedding in April.... or at least be able to fit into a stunning Bridesmaids dress at my sister-in Laws wedding in April.
Step 2: Couch to 5km
If you followed my blog through our previous adventure, you might remember that the C25K App 8 week training plan worked really well for us. We intend to begin this towards the end of March.
Short term goal: Run a 5km race - we have set our sights on the Adelaide Marathon Festival, since this falls on the 31st May 2020.
STEP 3: Reach 10KM
Once we finish the C25K training plan, there is an option to continue on with a 10km training app. We will keep using this run/walk interval training method to continue increasing our stamina and endurance.
Short term goal: Run a 12km race. Perfectly positioned in the calendar is the Westpac City to Bay race on 20th September 2020.
Step 4: Survive Another Holiday Period
So far, everytime I look at this plan, I am hyper aware of the 3 month long span of "no plans" that occurs over the hottest months of the year.
It can be a real struggle to continue to run long distances when Adelaide can have weeks of nearly 50 degree Celsius, which sometimes does not go below 40 over night.
There also happens to be another series of running events that happens in the Summer time for those who are suicidal enough to challenge themselves. Trail running.
Because why wouldn't you want to run up the Australian bush, that could possible be on fire from the extreme heat, with the snakes, the giant ants, and the occasional Emu.
Short term goal: Enter and race in the Summer Trail Series over summer.
Step 5: TRAIN & RUN 21KM
The next logical step in this adventure is to train towards a half-marathon. One of the training plans I have already been eyeing up, recommends that we complete a half marathon 6-weeks out from the Full Marathon - so somewhere around the end of March? It is still too early to tell whether there might be any Half-Marathon's we can join around this date, and given that we are likely to have to begin our taper-madness four weeks out, this will have to be re-visited closer to the date.
At the very least, we would like to run a half-marathon distance around the Adelaide Hills and see if we can beat our previous time!
Short term goal: Enter and race in a half-marathon in March-April 2021.
STEP 6: TRAIN FOR THE a full marathon!
The final count-down!
From here on out, it should be only 4-6 weeks of longer runs including a mind-numbing taper to get us to our ultimate goal!
Final goal: Enter and race in the full Kangaroo Island Marathon, and do it in less that 7 hours!
See? Easy-peasy.
Keep on the lookout for my post updates, as well as our tailored running plans and upcoming events which will be updated as we go.
So... let's go!
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