This week’s training started on a high note – and ended on one. The middle, not so much. It was a good reminder of the ups and downs of marathon training. You keep piling on the miles and putting in the work, and some days are better than others. But in the long run, you’re … Read more
Before you get started with marathon training, there’s a simple but important question that you should ask yourself: where should you run? It almost seems silly. I mean, you can run anywhere, right? Well, you can. But it helps to put some thought into planning your regular routes. The choices that you make about where … Read more
A common question among would be marathoners is: How much time does marathon training take? Before taking the plunge, casual runners may look at experienced marathoners and think, “Gee, they spend all their time training! I can’t do that!” True, marathon training is a commitment. Success relies on consistency, and that may mean making some … Read more
After a week away in Florida last week, I’m back to running at home in New Jersey. Although I thought winter was just about over, it returned for a few last cold days this week. I made it through, and hopefully cold weather running is behind me for this year. This was also the first … Read more
Last week, I took it easy following the Super Saturday Ten Miler in order to give myself some time to recover. This week, I got back to it with a few easy workouts to kick off the second phase of my marathon training. We were also traveling to visit family in south Florida. Luckily, the … Read more
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced runner, here are the best books on marathon training that you should have on your bookshelf. When I first started running, I didn’t know what I was doing. I had spent some time running in high school, but otherwise I’d had no coaching and I hadn’t read up … Read more
Last week, I ran the Super Saturday 10 Miler. That means that this week is focused on recovery. The last time I ran a serious tune up race in the middle of marathon training, I ended up injuring my hip flexor. It wasn’t a serious injury, but it disrupted my training for Philly. So, with … Read more
I just wrapped up the fifth week of my training for the Jersey City Marathon. This also brought to a close the first phase of the training cycle. After four weeks of building mileage and (mostly) nailing workouts, I took it a little easier this week in preparation for a 10 mile tune up race … Read more
I recently decided to publish a weekly log of my training for the Jersey City Marathon. This weekend, I got started and wrote up a reflection of week 4. You can read that here. Today, I’m rewinding the clock a bit and summing up the first three weeks of marathon training. From there, we’ll be … Read more
Spring marathons are made in the winter, as they say. So far, winter has been pretty mild here in New Jersey. There have been a few cold days, and a little snow, but a lot of mild to warm days. This week, though, it was back to winter, and I got another little taste of … Read more