I spent the past four weeks building up mileage to get ready for this day.  This is the day that I started training for the 2016 Boston Marathon.  The goal for this training cycle is to train smarter and get stronger to have the race of my life.

Last year I was just happy to be there in Boston.  I trained, but never dove into the strength work as much as I should have.  The result was a sluggish race with a tight glute that turned into a hip flexor issue halfway through the race.  Add to that the 40 degrees, 30 mph headwind and the driving rain and it made for a not so fun day.  Don’t get me wrong, the experience of the weekend and race was better than I expected.  It would have been nice to run well.

I recently passed my NASM Certified Personal Trainer exam and studying for that reinforced why I needed to strength train to be able to add mileage injury free.  I started from inside out, working on core stabilization.  That seems to have made an impact on my efficiency when running.  I also worked hard on concentrating on my running form.  I’ll continue to strengthen my body to withstand the increase in mileage I’m about to add.

The past two Mondays I have run 16 miles each time.  Last week it was an easy paced but hilly run to get to where I wanted to be as far as mileage.  Today the plan called for 12 of the 16 miles to be run at marathon pace.  Using my spreadsheet that has enable me to dial in the right training paces for the past few years I set out in the humid air.  I nailed the workout averaging less than .2 seconds per mile faster than the goal pace.  I don’t think I’ve ever nailed a workout that close even in mid training, let alone on day one.

To say that this gives me confidence that I am going to have a great training cycle is an understatement.  I believe the strength training and slow build up of weekly mileage has set me up in a good way.  Mentally I am all in this time.  It’s amazing what your mind enables you to do if it’s in the right frame.  Today I went out knowing I would nail my workout and I did.  I never got sore or tight anywhere as opposed to previous training cycles where I would struggle to finish the first few weeks of tough workouts.

For those of you that follow where I’m racing, in late January I’ll do a test race, the Celebration Half Marathon.  I have another continuing education course, Flexible Movement Systems, I’ll use for my coaching business and it’s near Clearwater the weekend before the race so I thought I’d stick around the warmer climate in January.  I’m also scheduled to run the New York City Half Marathon in March which will be a perfect way to start my taper towards marathon day.

If you’ve got a big race this next year, please give me a chance to train you.  Contact me to get it started or ask questions!