The Schedule

Training's all about the schedule. It's the road map to race day success.

It's a bit overwhelming, but at the same time I find comfort in knowing all I need to do is follow the schedule. There are identifiable stages to the schedule -

The first month or so is no problem. I can run the weekday runs at lunch and still have a bit of a life after work.

In the second month, we start getting into double digit long runs. Post-run breakfast becomes necessary, followed by a nap.

By mid-August I'm doing 5-7 miles during the week. A little too much for lunchtime, so they shift to the evening. Once we're up to 25-30 miles a week, I allow myself to eat whatever I want. Now here comes the fun part of training! This is around the time training takes over my life.

The infamous 20 miler takes place in mid-September. This is the furthest we'll run before the race. After the 20 miler, tapering begins. We run less and rest more.

Finally, in early October, we're ready to go.