Once again Dearest and I will be running the 1/2 marathon at Disneyland! Training has gone a lot better this time around. Last year, the training was long and slow, especially since we had no experience running long distances. I can still remember our interval training of running 2 minutes and walking 1. About a month before the run, we ran our longest distance of 8 miles at the gym on a treadmill. I'm still amazed that we finished the 13.1 miles.
This time, we picked up running again earlier. Every few days we do a 2 mile run around our neighborhood for maintenance. Then once a week we go for a long run for distance training. Over the past month we've gradually increased our distance from 4 to 6 to 7 to 8 and now 9 miles. We found a great path- starting at the Boardwalk and running north to a state park just outside of town. Our plan is to do one more week at 9 miles, the next two weeks at 10 miles and then another two weeks at 11 miles. We'll stop the long runs and just do short runs for the week and a half before the run.
With our first run, we had a final time of 2hrs 48mins. We're hoping to shave off 20 minutes and finish under 2:30. At the pace we're running (and miraculously maintaining even with adding distance to our runs), we'll be able to almost meet that goal. We would be literally just 30 seconds away. I'm crossing my fingers that the adrenaline will give us a much needed boost!
I never thought I'd call myself a running junkie, but now I honestly can't see my life without it! Racing is quite addicting, especially Disney races. Most of all, it's really kept me in shape. Over the past 5 years, I've lost 20 lbs and I'm the most fit I've ever been. I definitely attribute it all to my amazing hubby who's been my motivation and support, I couldn't have done it without him. :)
