Training for my first marathon: week 1

So I'm training to run my first full marathon. And I decided that I wanted to log my progress week by week so for the next 17 weeks you will see updates on how my training went, how I felt, what I did, what I ate, how my body responded to the training.

I am running the Rock 'n roll Marathon in Nashville Tennessee on April 28th. It will be an amazing unique experience because I am running it with my three closest friends. Two of which are running their first full marathons as well.

I decided to train using the runners world magazine full marathon training schedule for intermediate runners. My first goal is to have fun and enjoy myself somehow. My second goal is to run it in four hours and 30 minutes in the hopes of beating Oprah (4:29:15 to be exact).

So my training schedule is to run five times a week. I have a few short runs, a few tempo runs, a long run and hill training.

Being a single mom, I am relying heavily on my family and friends to help me execute this hectic schedule without sacrificing time with my son. I am running on my lunch hour, late nights, and early mornings on the weekends.

So my first week I ran a total of 23.5 miles. My body felt okay during the intermediate runs during the week. But I did find myself falling asleep very early those nights. By the time my long run came on Saturday I was wiped. They may have been the hardest 8 miles I've ever had to do. I'm starting to think how am I ever going to get to 26.2 miles?

As for my nutrition, I certainly slacked. I know that I need to give my body the fuel it needs to get me through these training runs. As with every attempt at health and well-being, nutrition has always been my downfall and I'm hoping that somehow I will finally get it right.

I'm so inspired by my three closest friends who are all on this journey with me. I know that we will get through this together and enjoy every moment.

I hope by writing this blog that we can inspire others to do what they once thought was impossible. Something crazy like maybe even running a marathon!