Training partners...the best thing going!
First week of marathon training in the log book, 43 miles. Goal for the next four weeks is 40 to 45 a week, just getting in the miles and upping some of the long Sunday runs. Our group is excited about Grandma's Marathon, but as we begin to dial in our specific plans, it looks like we'll be breaking up a bit for some or our key runs. We enjoy running together, it's been a major reason we have all been able to keep up our winter training, however with each of us knowing that our time goals are a bit different, it will be a bit of juggling to keep meeting on a regular basis, but we will do it!
Bryan, our speedster, has his marathon in May, and has the need for speed the rest of can't support him with. Today he was able to train with a 2:32 marathoner and they ran 16 miles at 7:00 minute pace, hitting some 6:33's along the way. It was a great confidence booster for him, and a good benchmark of what all his training has been doing for him. Three months out and he's in great shape to begin his hill work, tempo runs and speed work. Fortunately, he will still run with us on some of his easy days, but I know he'll need to run a lot on his own in the next few months, and with faster runners, to get the training he needs to bust 2:50 on race day.
It's a cool thing, training with a group. We get to see the hard work of others, and hopefully our selves, pay off after months of training. All for the love of the sport and the benefits it brings to our life, family, health and overall well being. The empathy we share during the ebbs and flows of seasonal training help us pull each other through on the tough days, and push each other on those days we are running well and enjoying a steady pace. Running is a celebratory endeavor that is shown in a variety of ways, some simple, some that take big effort; waking up early for a morning run, heading out the door after arriving home from a long day at work, or posting a great effort/ race time, and it's nice to have a group to share those accomplishments with. We even get to share the tough times and help each other through those, too. Nothing like the encouragement of fellow runners to help us realize that one race does not define a season, and that we will get stronger and faster!
On race day we have a number of friends and family there for us at the finish line, but it's our training partners that really know what we've gone through, that really understand what race day means to us. And however we finish, it's good to know they will be there for us once we've left the finish area and begin our training all over again.
Bryan, our speedster, has his marathon in May, and has the need for speed the rest of can't support him with. Today he was able to train with a 2:32 marathoner and they ran 16 miles at 7:00 minute pace, hitting some 6:33's along the way. It was a great confidence booster for him, and a good benchmark of what all his training has been doing for him. Three months out and he's in great shape to begin his hill work, tempo runs and speed work. Fortunately, he will still run with us on some of his easy days, but I know he'll need to run a lot on his own in the next few months, and with faster runners, to get the training he needs to bust 2:50 on race day.
It's a cool thing, training with a group. We get to see the hard work of others, and hopefully our selves, pay off after months of training. All for the love of the sport and the benefits it brings to our life, family, health and overall well being. The empathy we share during the ebbs and flows of seasonal training help us pull each other through on the tough days, and push each other on those days we are running well and enjoying a steady pace. Running is a celebratory endeavor that is shown in a variety of ways, some simple, some that take big effort; waking up early for a morning run, heading out the door after arriving home from a long day at work, or posting a great effort/ race time, and it's nice to have a group to share those accomplishments with. We even get to share the tough times and help each other through those, too. Nothing like the encouragement of fellow runners to help us realize that one race does not define a season, and that we will get stronger and faster!
On race day we have a number of friends and family there for us at the finish line, but it's our training partners that really know what we've gone through, that really understand what race day means to us. And however we finish, it's good to know they will be there for us once we've left the finish area and begin our training all over again.
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