I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the One City Marathon is almost here. I’ve been thinking about this and planning for almost a year (a drastic departure from the LAST time I ran the marathon!), and the training has been intense and hard…but fun in so many ways. I’ve had a LOT of time to think and listen to podcasts over the last few months, so I’ve done a bit of self-reflection in the midst of all my training. I have, of course, many thoughts on the subject.

First, I can honestly say I have done everything I possibly can to reach the qualifying time of 3:30 for the Boston Marathon. I’ve had long runs and easy days, speed work and strength workouts, gym time and foam rolling and everything in between. I’ve changed my diet, I’ve slept a lot more, and I’ve done everything I can to stay healthy. If I don’t make the qualifying time, it won’t be for lack of trying…

Many of you who clicked on this probably thought, “hasn’t she already started training for a marathon?” In some ways, that’s true. As soon as I finished the One City Marathon back in March, I knew I would run another. I told everyone I was done because I wanted to test whether I truly wanted it, but deep down I knew I would be back for more. I bought Hanson’s Marathon Training Program, started doing my research, and jumped in with two feet with the goal of qualifying for Boston – which for me, means finishing the marathon in about 3 ½ hours, or the equivalent of 8 minutes per mile for 26.2 miles.

Even though I’ve been running for years, I’m a relative newbie to the idea of training. I’ve always just set a daily goal, run that, and gone to the gym a few times per week. I didn’t pay much attention to my pace, I never tracked anything except the distance, and I would often semi-frustrate other people when I would tell them I had no idea how fast I was going during a group run. In the last few months of digging into what a good training block should look like, here’s what I’ve learned…