For 13 Weeks, The "Yours" Is Mine

“If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

As the planets begin to come into alignment, I continue to attempt to put the pieces together for my next marathon in late May. After digging around the internet for a few days, I have settled on the Intermediate Plan of the Your Ultimate Marathon Training Plans presented on the Runner's World website.

I chose this particular plan as it requires only that I whittle the existing plan to thirteen weeks by picking up, beginning today, with week three thereby taking into account my previously established base. The plan also fits perfectly into my long time practice of using Mondays and Fridays as rest," or "recovery days", as well as logging my long(er) runs on Sundays.

Another improvement I am endeavoring to make to my training regimen is the close adherence to the paces, distances, and running strategies suggested by the plan. While I have incorporated such practices into my running, I have failed in the past to closely follow the scheduled inclusion of uphill runs and strides. As I reprae for this next marathon, I plan to do a better job doing so, and I am setting myself up for this by penciling the plan into my log using the complete training terminology. In that past I would pencil in simply "4 miles" and now I am breaking it out in explicit terms as suggested by the plan.

Things are slowly coming into frame, now what remains is the doing...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!